Division 1 Detection of Newcastle disease virus

Several rapid test that directly detect Newcastle-disease antigens have been employed in the diagnosis of infections in vaccinated birds. Those most commonly used to date are fluorescent antibody tests on longitudinal sections of the trachea and peroxidase antibody tests on the brain. There seems no reason to doubt that other direct antigen detection tests could be applied to Newcastle-disease virus infections.

The drawback to such tests is that it is impracticable to examine all the potential sites of replication of Newcastle-disease virus in the vaccinated birds. So that, for example, absence of evidence of virus in the trachea does not preclude virus replication in the gut. No direct detection method is recommended for routine use in the diagnosis of Newcastle disease, although in specific circumstances such tests may have a useful role.