Bayesian assessment of two competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the detection of bovine viral diarrhoea virus antibodies in bovine sera

Infections due to bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) are endemic in most cattleproducing countries throughout the world and bovine viral diarrhoea is considered a transboundary disease. The key elements of a BVDV control programme are vaccination, biosecurity, elimination of persistently infected (PI) animals and surveillance. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity (Se) and the specificity (Sp) of two commercial competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on selected immune-dominant BVDV proteins: the non-structural protein NS3 (p80) and the recombinant envelope glycoprotein E0(Erns). Both tests were used on individual serum samples from randomly sampled young bovines in southern Belgium in order to detect specific BVDV antibodies. The Se and Sp were assessed using a Bayesian approach and were estimated, respectively, at 97.2% (with 95% credibility interval [Cr I]: 95.1–99.8) and 98.7%(95% Cr I: 96.6–99.9) for the first test and 95.8% (95% Cr I: 91.1–99.7) and 96.1%(95% Cr I: 95.1–97.7) for the second test. The results obtained with the two tests were not significantly different. In addition, using both ELISAs, the current BVDV exposure among young bovines in southern Belgium was estimated at 23.3% (95%Cr I: 20.6–26.2). Combining virological testing of all newborns to detect PI animals with regular serological testing of young stock using ELISAs is recommended in the surveillance of BVDV.