Sensitivity Of The Immunohistochemistry Technique In Central Nervous System Fragments Of Cattle And Horses Naturally Infected By Rabies Virus.

Achkar S.M., Fernandes E.R., Carrieri M.L., Castro A.B.M., Batista A.M., Duarte M.I.S. & Kotait I. 2010. [Sensitivity of the Immunohistochemistry technique in central nervous system fragments of cattle and horses naturally infected by rabies virus.] Sensibilidade da tecnica de imuno-histoquimica em fragmentos de sistema nervoso central de bovinos e equinos naturalmente infectados pelo virus da raiva. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 30(3):211-218. Instituto Pasteur, Av. Paulista 393, Cerqueira Cesar, Sao Paulo, SP 01311-000, Brazil. E-mail: samira_achkar@yahoo.com.brRabies is a viral zoonosis that causes disease in the central nervous system (CNS) of mammals and it is considered a serious problem of public health. Herbivorous (bovines and equines) are often infected after being attacked by vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus). The direct fluorescent antibody technique is used as a diagnostic test to detect viral antigens in fresh tissues and is recommended by the World Health Organization. The immunohistochemistry technique (IHC) is used to detect the viral antigen through the use of monoclonal/policlonal antibodies in formalin-fixed tissues. The aim of this work was to evaluate the sensitivity of the IHC in samples of CNS of herbivorous fixed in formol, analyzing the antigenic distribution in different fragments of the CNS. The results demonstrated good agreement between the two techniques for the rabies diagnosis. The IHC presented higher sensitivity in samples of cattle comparing to horse samples, especially in fragments of cerebellum and brain stem. These fragments demonstrated to be more suitable for antigen detection by both techniques in the two species. These data demonstrate that the IHC is suitable for rabies vigilance yet cautions should be taken in examining cattle and horses samples, when the submitted specimen is only the hippocampus.