Comparative evaluation of RT-PCR with sandwich-ELISA for detection of Peste des petits ruminant in sheep and goats

Aim: To assess the suitability, sensitivity and specificity of F gene based RT-PCR for detection of PPRV infection in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 26 blood samples collected from 26 animals suspected for Peste des petits ruminant (PPR) were tested by RT-PCR using F1/F2 primers set and then compared with sandwich-ELISA for detection of PPR virus. Results: Out of 26 samples tested RT-PCR reported 10 (38.46%) samples as positive as compared to Sandwich-ELISA which reported 11(42.30%) samples as positive for PPR virus. Further analysis of samples revealed that 3 (11.53%) samples which were negative by sandwich-ELISA reported positive with RT-PCR. Whereas 4 (15.38 %) samples shown negative by RT-PCR were positive with sandwich-ELISA. The relative sensitivity and specificity of F-gene based RT-PCR when compared with sandwich-ELISA was 63.60% and 80.00%, respectively. The overall agreement between the two tests was of 73.10% with kappa value 0.442, which suggesting a moderate agreement between the two tests. Conclusion: A low sensitivity and specificity along with moderate agreement shown by F-gene based RT-PCR when compared with sandwich ELISA suggests that some other highly sensitive and specific primers should be explored for detection of PPR by RT-PCR.