Detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum in naturally infected Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

A double-antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum. The ELISA assay was rapid and sensitive, with a lower limit of detection of 0.3 μg R. salmoninarum antigen per ml. Under field conditions with naturally infected fish, the ELISA proved more sensitive than bacteriological methods, and therefore has the potential for the rapid screening of fish from wild or farmed populations for evidence of BKD infection. However, in some cases fish with resolving BKD lesions (i.e. previously infected) were not detected by this method.