Abstract

Ming Yang , Alfonso Clavijo, John Pasick, Tim Salo , Zhiliang Wang , Yanling Zhao , Dongxia Zheng and Yohannes Berhane*

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for avian influenza (AI) H5 specific antibody detection was previously developed. In this study, additional serum samples from infected and vaccinated birds were tested and the results were compared to other serological tests. Using the samples from experimentally infected chickens, the H5 cELISA was shown to be comparable to other serological assays. Using samples from free-living blue-winged teals and vaccinated birds, a correlation was found between the H5 cELISA and the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) assay. In conclusion, the H5 cELISA will be a useful tool for the serological diagnosis, surveillance of AI H5 infections, and for measuring of protective antibody levels.