Historically, the greatest threats to the US swine production are from foreign animal diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF). ASF virus (ASFV) infection can have a deleterious effect on swine production, causing excessive morbidity and mortality in domestic pigs. Currently, no vaccine and treatment are available for ASFV. The only way to control the disease is to quarantine, isolate and eliminate the infected animals in order to stop the spreading of the disease. High levels of biosecurity measures, including surveillance along with rapid diagnostics are critical to identify infected animals. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) is a key reagent for detecting of viral infection. This study generated a panel of specific mAbs against selected immunogenic ASFV proteins. Their application in the detection of ASFV infection was tested in various diagnostic assays, including the immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). One of the mAbs was further used to develop a mAb-based bELISA for detecting host antibody response against ASFV infection. The bELISA showed good diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and it is highly repeatable. The availability of ASFV-specific mAbs and bELISA provides valuable tools in ASFV epidemiological survey and outbreak investigation. For more information, please contact Dr. Ying Fang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Phone: 217-300-5483, E-mail: [email protected].
Key Findings:
• A panel of ASFV-specific mAbs has been generated;
• An ASFV anti-p30 mAb-based bELISA has been developed;
• This panel of mAbs and bELISA provides valuable tools in ASFV epidemiological surveys and outbreak investigations;
