Serological diagnosis of bovine leukosis with BOVINCR antigen

The aim of the investigation was to evaluate the specific nature and sensitivity of the Polish variant of BLV antigen in routine serological diagnoses of bovine leukosis. The experimental BOVINCR antigen prepared from NCR-II cells culture and the reference antigen prepared from FLK cells (American variant) were used for the pul pose of the investigation. A total of 1031 samples of sera from 4 - 8 year-old cattle infected with bovine leukemia virus were studied. The positive results of the immuno-diffussion test for BOVINCR antigen was demonstrated in 292 (78.7%) sera fi om farm A, 87 (41.4%) sera from farm P and 16 (3.5%) from farm G. The results for the reference antigen were similar - 290 (78.2%), 86 (40.9) and 16 (3.5%), respectively. The positive serum with specific BLV antibodies gave clearly marked precipitation bands for the gp51 and p24 proteins of both these antigens. In effect, the examined antigen proved to be very useful for routine diagnosis of bovine leukosis in Poland in the immuno-diffussion test.