Immunodiffusion studies with bovine mucosal disease

Abstract

Summary Immunodiffusion tests with tissues taken from cattle which are clinically affected with mucosal disease indicate that about 35 per cent of them possess a specific antigen which is demonstrable in one or more tissues. The tissue of choice for the demonstration of this antigen is the mucosa of the alimentary tract, especially that of the small intestine which reacts in about 75 per cent of cattle with one or more positive tissues. It is preferable to obtain tissues from animals which have died and have not been killed. The antigen is heat-labile, is probably a lipo-protein and can be extracted from tissues of affected cattle. It is indistinguishable from a soluble antigen elaborated in CT or CK cells infected with known strains of mucosal disease virus. Tests with sera from affected or in-contact cattle have demonstrated the presence of antibody, and increases in preciptating potency in paired serum samples have been associated with the clinical disease. Immunodiffusion tests as described are considered to provide a simple and rapid method for the diagnosis of mucosal disease in field outbreaks.