Division 3

Virus isolation is best suited for the investigation of samples from small numbers of animals rather than mass surveillance. The virus isolation procedure is labour intensive and requires at least three days before results are available. Two further cell culture passages may be necessary in order that a small amount of virus in the sample is detected. This may lead to an investigation time of up to 10 days before a final result is obtained. Autolysed samples can be cytotoxic to the cell culture and consequently limit its use.