Challenges of BTV-Group Specific Serology Testing: No One Test Fits All.

A newly formatted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to bluetongue virus (BTV) was developed and validated for bovine and ovine sera and plasma. Validation of the new sandwich ELISA (sELISA) was achieved with 949 negative bovine and ovine sera from BTV endemic and non-endemic areas of Australia and 752 BTV positive (field and experimental) sera verified by VNT and/or PCR. The test diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) and diagnostic specificity (DSp) were 99.

Micronutrient optimization for tissue engineered articular cartilage production of type II collagen.

Tissue Engineering of cartilage has been hampered by the inability of engineered tissue to express native levels of type II collagen . Inadequate levels of type II collagen are, in part, due to a failure to recapitulate the physiological environment in culture. In this study, we engineered primary rabbit chondrocytes to express a secreted reporter, Luciferase, driven by the type II collagen promoter, and applied a Design of Experiments approach to assess chondrogenic differentiation in micronutrient-supplemented medium.

Experimental bluetongue virus infection of Culicoides austropalpalis, collected from a farm environment in Victoria, Australia.

Following the emerging bluetongue virus transmission in European temperate regions, we question the vector competence of the abundant Culicoides austropalpalis Lee and Reye in South-East temperate Australia. Field collected Culicoides midges were membrane fed with a bluetongue virus serotype 1 (BTV-1). The average feeding rate was 50%.

Optimization and diagnostic evaluation of monoclonal antibody-based blocking ELISA formats for detection of neutralizing antibodies to Hendra virus in mammalian sera.

Maintenance of Hendra virus (HeV) in pteropid bat populations has been associated with spillover events in horses, humans and dogs. Experimental studies have demonstrated infections for several other species including guinea pigs, cats and ferrets. The criteria of a sensitive and specific serological test that is effective for a range of species, but which does not require use of live virus, has not been satisfactorily addressed by currently available tests.

Attenuation of Bluetongue Virus (BTV) in an Model Is Related to the Changes of Viral Genetic Diversity of Cell-Culture Passaged BTV.

The embryonated chicken egg (ECE) is routinely used for the laboratory isolation and adaptation of Bluetongue virus (BTV) in vitro. However, its utility as an alternate animal model has not been fully explored. In this paper, we evaluated the pathogenesis of BTV using a pathogenic isolate of South African BTV serotype 3 (BTV-3) derived from the blood of an infected sheep.