Comparative detection of bovine herpesvirus-1 using antigen ELISA, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence methods in cattle with pneumonia

This study was conducted to detect the prevalence and presence of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1) using immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) and antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the lung samples of cattle (n = 1023). In addition, three methods were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and chi-square test (chi(2) test), and their usability were evaluated in laboratory conditions. Macroscopically, pneumonia was seen in 120 of the lung tissue samples (11.73%). Based on the microscopic examinations, the pneumonia types were classified as catarrhal-suppurative bronchopneumonia (6.7%), fibrinous bronchopneumonia (5%), interstitial pneumonia (84.1%), and granulomatous pneumonia (4.2%). The IHC, IF and antigen ELISA positivity were 48.33%, 50.83%, and 29.9%, respectively. Considering IF as a gold standard, IHC had more acceptable sensitivity and specificity than antigen ELISA. In conclusion, it has been observed that when IF method is not available, IHC is more reliable than antigen ELISA in the diagnosis of BoHV-1.