The detection of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus antigen by agar gel precipitation test and counter-immunoelectrophoresis

The detectability of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viral antigen in both ante-mortem secretions and necropsy samples from experimentally infected goats was investigated by both the agar gel precipitation test (AGPT) and counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE). Viral antigen was detected from 42·6% of the samples tested by the AGPT and 80–3% by CIE. The detection of viral antigen in a high proportion of the ocular and nasal secretions as well as the faeces and buccal scrapings, particularly from those collected within seven days of the onset of fever, by both techniques, would seem to obviate the need for lymph node biopsies or post-mortem samples in order to make a diagnosis of PPRV infection.