Direct fluorescent antibody test in laboratory diagnosis of animal rabies in Ukraine

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze the role of the direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) test in the system of laboratory diagnosis of animal rabies in Ukraine. For the analysis, materials of official veterinary reporting were used according to Form No. 2-VET “Report on the work of the state laboratories of veterinary medicine” regarding the results of laboratory studies of pathological material suspicious of rabies, the State Research Institute of Laboratory Diagnostics and Veterinary and Sanitary Expertise (SRILDVSE) and virology departments of the State Regional Laboratories of the State Food and Consumer Service of Ukraine, and analytical materials: Report “On the assessment of the risk of spread of rabies among domestic and farm animals under the current animal rabies control system in Ukraine” and the Report “On the assessment of the risk of spread of rabies among wild animals in Ukraine”. It has been determined that, over the past 15 years (2006–2020), 194,079 tests of the pathological material were carried out in state laboratories. The direct fluorescent antibody test is the main technique for the diagnosis of animal rabies in Ukraine, when used in 94.5% of cases, the final diagnosis of rabies is made. We have used standardization of approaches, including the use of the reference rabies virus CVS-11 (ATCC VR 959), to the organization and conducting of interlaboratory rounds of professional testing VET-TEST to identify of rabies virus antigen within the requirements ISO 17043:2017 “Conformity assessment. General requirements for testing professional level”. DFA test is the main reaction for the diagnosis of rabies in animals in Ukraine. Standardized approaches were introduced and interlaboratory rounds of professional testing BET-TEST have been organized in 2020 for the detection of rabies virus antigen in accordance with the quality standard ISO 17043:2017. The necessity of introducing new methods of laboratory diagnostics of rabies, such as viral isolations in tissue culture and polymerase chain reaction, has been established