ELISA Effective in FMD Diagnosis
The use of Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was found to be effective and extremely valuable for diagnosing, monitoring and for the surveillance of foot and mouth disease in the Philippines. Specifically, the assay is useful in the fast detection and diagnosis of FMD suspect cases and in the measurement of antibodies agains FMD virus (FMDV) in serum samples from all animals either vaccinated or infected.
This was revealed in a study conducted by scientists form FMD Laboratory, Philippine Animal Health Center (PAHC) of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). According to Dr. Blesilda C. Verin, a veterinarian and Rosalinda M. Arvesu a medical technologist who led the team of researchers, ELISA should now be the standard test for diagnosis monitoring, and surveillance of FMD in the country. It will also be used for potency testing of FMD imported vaccines.