Comparison of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and fluorescent microbead immunoassays for detection of antibodies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in boars

The objective of this study was to compare the ability of two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and an 'in-house' fluorescent microbead immunoassay (FMIA) to detect IgG antibodies against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) types 1 and 2 in serum and oral fluids from boars infected experimentally. Samples from uninfected control pigs and PRRSV-negative field samples were also used. Serum samples were tested by ELISAs (IDEXX Se, HIPRA Se) and an 'in-house' FMIA-Se for detection of PRRSV types 1 and 2. Oral fluids were tested by ELISAs (IDEXX-SO, IDEXX-OF, HIPRA-OF) for detection of PRRSV types 1 and 2. Among the sera, IDEXX-Se and HIPRA-Se had similar sensitivity and specificity (p > 0.05); however, IDEXX-Se detected positive animals earlier than HIPRA-Se (p < 0.05). FMIA-Se had the highest false-positive rates in known negative field samples (1/205 for IDEXX-Se, 5/205 for HIPRA-Se, and 37/205 for FMIA-Se; p < 0.01). Serum and oral fluid samples had similar detection rates and antibody kinetics using the IDEXX tests. There was a higher detection rate in serum than oral fluid using the HIPRA assays. In this study, the nucleocapsid protein utilized as antigen in the FMIAs yielded a low specificity. IDEXX-Se had the earliest detection and similar sensitivity and specificity to the HIPRA-Se.