Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a method for detection of specific antibodies in animal sera

This paper aims to evaluate different forms of the enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assays (ELISA) for the detection of virus-specific antibodies andfocuses on factors which may influence the diagnostic reliability of such tests.The differences between competitive and non-competitive ELISAs are described, with reference to the influence of the antigen, the conjugated antibody, and the test sample on the test results. Attention is drawn to interference, which may result in false positive or false negative test results. The use ofmonoclonal antibodies and discriminatory tests is briefly discussed. Diagnosticreliability is described for tests that are used in monitoring or eradicationprogrammes, emphasising the consequences of false negative or false positiveresults.