Assessment of rapid immunochromatographic assay for detection of rabies infection under field condition

Abstract

Rapid and early diagnosis of rabies is of paramount importance in field conditions for control of the disease as well as for epidemiological surveillance of the prevalence of the disease. Techniques like Fluorescent Antibody Test and RT-PCR, although highly sensitive and specific, require laboratory facilities, trained laboratory personnel and are time consuming. Therefore there was an impending need to evaluate an essay for quick and accurate diagnosis of rabies under field conditions. The present study was carried out to study the efficacy of a commercially available diagnostic immunochromatographic kit for detection of rabies antigen from BioNote Inc. Seoul, Korea in comparison with conventional techniques viz. seller’s stain and FAT as well as sensitive molecular techniques viz. RT-PCR. Also, the importance of rapid immunodiagnostic test was evaluated for rapid and accurate diagnosis of rabies under field conditions. A total of 25 brain samples of different species like cattle, buffalo, mongoose and sloth bear were collected from outbreaks and incidences of rabies in Gujarat State and examined in this study. Sensitivity of the kit was found to be 100% and specificity was also found to be 100%. Also, 100% agreement was observed between chromatographic assay, seller’s stain, FAT and RT-PCR. The study implies that the immunochromatographic diagnostic test kit may be employed for diagnosis of rabies in field conditions.