Detection of antibody to chicken anaemia agent: A comparison of three serological tests

A comparison was made between sensitivities of the virus neutralisation (VN) test, indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to chicken anaemia agent (CAA). Sera from chickens inoculated with CAA at 11 weeks of age and from specific pathogen-free (SPF) and field breeder chicken flocks were tested. Seroconversion was detected by the three tests in all the inoculated birds at 2 to 3 weeks post-inoculation (pi). Neutralising antibody to CAA was still detectable in all the inoculated birds 37 weeks after infection, the end of the observation period. One of the seven inoculated birds tested by the ELISA gave positive results for the same period whereas the IFA test detected anti-CAA antibody only for 9 weeks. In field sera, the VN test detected many more positive sera than did the ELISA and IFA test. No antibodies to CAA were detected in sera of SPF chickens by the three tests. The IFA test frequently gave false positive results when VN antibody-negative sera were tested at dilutions of </=1:50.