Probe-Based Real-Time qPCR Assays for a Reliable Differentiation of Capripox Virus Species

Outbreaks of the three capripox virus species, namely lumpy skin disease virus, sheeppox virus, and goatpox virus, severely affect animal health and both national and international economies. Therefore, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) classified them as notifiable diseases. Until now, discrimination of capripox virus species was possible by using different conventional PCR protocols. However, more sophisticated probe-based real-time qPCR systems addressing this issue are, to our knowledge, still missing. In the present study, we developed several duplex qPCR assays consisting of different types of fluorescence-labelled probes that are highly sensitive and show a high analytical specificity. Finally, our assays were combined with already published diagnostic methods to a diagnostic workflow that enables time-saving, reliable, and robust detection, differentiation, and characterization of capripox virus isolates.