Protective levels of canine distemper virus antibody in an urban dog population using plaque reduction neutralization test

Blood samples from 50 dogs were collected at three veterinary clinics in Ibadan and Abuja, Nigeria and the serum from each sample was evaluated serologically for neutralizing antibodies against canine distemper virus (CDV) by the highly sensitive plaque reduction (PRN) neutralization assay. Thirteen dogs had plaque reduction neutralization titres of 0-100, seven had titres of 100-1,000 while 30 had titres ranging from 1,000-6,000. The PRN titres of vaccinated dogs were found to be significantly higher than unvaccinated dogs. The widespread use of the highly reproducible PRN test for the evaluation of antibody response to CDV may be very important in the generation of international CDV positive serum standards that should help to improve pre-and post-vaccination testing of dogs worldwide.