AIM We describe a laboratory investigation carried out to confirm the etiology of the heavy mortality (37 animals died out of total 44, i.e. 84%) in goats in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, Northeast region of India in December 2015. The clinical signs observed were abortion, diarrhea, high fever (up to 104°F), pox lesion in the skin, and respiratory distress. MATERIALS AND METHODS The samples...

The use of Bacillus anthracis as a biological weapon in 2001 heightened awareness of the need for validated methods for the inactivation of B. anthracis spores. This study determined the gamma irradiation dose for inactivating virulent B. anthracis spores in suspension and its effects on real-time PCR and antigen detection assays. Strains representing eight genetic groups of B. anthracis were e...

BACKGROUND Presently, tuberculosis (TB) poses a global threat to human health. The development of reliable laboratory tools is vital to the diagnosis and treatment of TB. MPT64, a protein secreted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, is highly specific for TB, making antibody to MPT64 a reagent specific for the diagnosis of TB. METHOD Antibody to MPT64 was obtained by a combination of genet...

PURPOSE To establish monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against megakaryocyte potentiation factor (MPF) and detect MPF in the blood of patients with mesothelioma. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Mice were immunized with a purified recombinant human MPF-rabbit-Fc fusion protein and with MPF. Several hybridomas producing mAbs to MPF were established. A double-determinant (sandwich) ELISA was constructed using mAb...