Efficacy Study of Immuno-histochemical Approach for Diagnosis of Rabies in Dogs

Twenty seven dog brain tissues were examined for rabies infection by fluorescent antibody technique, immunohistochemistry and Hemi-Nested Reverse Transcriptase (HnRT-PCR). 16 (59.25%) dogs were confirmed to be rabid by FAT and HnRT-PCR assay while 15 samples were positive by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Sensitivities of HnRT-PCR and IHC were 100% and 94.11% respectively whereas both approaches detected rabies with 100% specificity. Rabies was diagnosed with accuracy of 100% by HnRT-PCR and 96.42% by IHC. It is, therefore, recommended that sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of IHC is comparable to advanced molecular approach viz. HnRT-PCR, thus, IHC could be relied upon for authentic diagnosis of rabies in dogs, in laboratories, where molecular approach is not feasible and/or facilities for immunofluorescence do not exist.