Comparison of rapid immunodiagnosis assay kit with molecular and immunopathological approaches for diagnosis of rabies in cattle

AIM: Presently, diagnosis of rabies is primarily based on, conventional fluorescent antibody technique (FAT), immunopathological and molecular techniques. Recently, rapid immunodiagnostic assay (RIDA) - A monoclonal antibody-based technique has been introduced for rapid diagnosis of rabies. The present investigation is envisaged to study the efficacy of RIDA kit for the diagnosis of rabies in cattle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: About 11 brain samples from cattle, clinically suspected for rabies, were screened by the FAT, Heminested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (HnRT-PCR), Immunohistochemistry (IHC), and RIDA. RESULTS: The sensitivity for detection of rabies from brain tissue by RIDA was 85.7% as compared to 100% by IHC as well as HnRT-PCR. The accuracy of detection of rabies by RIDA was 91.6% as compared to 100% that of IHC and HnRT-PCR, whereas specificity of RIDA was 100% like that of the IHC and HnRT-PCR. CONCLUSION: Despite a comparatively low-sensitivity and accuracy of RIDA, latter can still be useful in screening a large number of field samples promptly. However, it is recommended that negative results with RIDA in cattle need to be authenticated by suitable alternative diagnostic approaches.