A comparative study of detection methods for Aleutian disease viral antibody.

Four methods of detecting and quantitating mink antibody against Aleutian disease (AD) virus were compared. Counterelectrophoresis, modified, counterelectrophoresis, immunofluorescence, and complement fixation were performed blindly on 274 serum samples. All four methods were reliably specific for AD antibody. Immunofluorescence was less reproducible than the other systems. Immunofluorescence complement fixation were 4- to 8-fold more sensitive than regular or modified counterelectrophoresis, but were limited by background staining and anti-complementary activity, respectively, when used to detect small amounts of antibody in undiluted sera.