Capripox test validation

Summary

​Capripoxviruses cause sheeppox, goatpox, and lumpy skin disease of cattle, which are the most serious poxvirus diseases of production animals. There are currently no validated, high-throughput antibody detection tools available for undertaking post-outbreak surveillance and re-establishing freedom from disease, which is the primary factor that would mitigate the economic impact to livestock industries in the event of an outbreak. This project builds directly on a previous MDC-funded project, which led to the development and preliminary validation of an antibody detection ELISA for capripoxviruses. To determine the reproducibility of this assay, an inter-laboratory evaluation of the ELISA was undertaken. Useable data were received from five out of eight participating laboratories (in Australia, North America, Europe and Africa), all of which correctly classified each test sample as positive or negative. Based on the analysis of paired samples in each serum panel, acceptable reproducibility and repeatability were demonstrated. Subsequent analysis identified the ELISA blocking buffer as a likely contributor to the variation observed in the results. This buffer will need to be replaced prior to test implementation internationally, and this would be best undertaken by conversion of the ELISA into kit form in collaboration with a commercial partner.