Comparison of immunochromatographic diagnostic test with Hheminested Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for detection of rabies virus from brain samples of various species.

AIM: Detection of rabies is a cause of serious concern in developing countries, where dearth of highly equipped laboratories and trained personnel to handle sophisticated investigations is felt. The availability of a diagnostic kit, which can be used in the field, is essential for diagnosis and control programs as well as for epidemiological surveillance of the prevalence of the disease. This study was planned to evaluate anigen rabies Ag test kit for its efficacy to be used for rapid diagnosis of rabies under field conditions. The test results were compared with hemi-nested reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and with a gold standard fluorescent antibody test.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 34 brain samples from different rabies suspected animals including dogs, buffaloes, cow, horse, and cat were examined in this study.

RESULTS: Sensitivity of the kit was found to be 91.66%, specificity 100%, and accuracy was 94.11%.

CONCLUSION: The study implies that the immunochromatographic diagnostic test kit may be employed for diagnosis of rabies in field conditions.