Prevalence of rinderpest antibodies in sheep and goats in southern India

Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College, Bangalore, India.

Rinderpest antibodies were demonstrated in 37 per cent of 2400 sheep and 29.5 per cent of 1000 goats in the southern states of India by the avidin-biotin enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique. This technique, besides quantifying rinderpest antibodies, has provided a simple method for the differentiation of positive and negative serum samples on the basis of the development of a pink colour, a great advantage in the screening of large numbers of sera for field epidemiological studies. The presence of the antibodies in apparently healthy small ruminants is of great significance in the context of the control of rinderpest in India.