The development of antibodies in rabbits and cattle infected experimentally with an african strain of malignant catarrhal fever virus

An indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test for antibody to wildebeest-derived strains of malignant catarrhal fever virus (MCFV) was developed using infected bovine embryonic kidney cells as antigen. This IIF technique and a microtitre method for the assay of virus-neutralizing (VN) antibody were then applied to sequential serum samples from rabbits and calves infected experimentally with a virulent strain of MCFV, which caused lethal disease.Antibody of the IIF type appeared in both species about 6–7 days prior to the onset of pyrexia and increased continuously until death. Neutralizing antibody was detected shortly before the end of the incubation period in the majority of rabbits but was not produced in calves which were killed up to 3 days after reaction. The presence of either antibody did not affect the fatal outcome in rabbits.