Robert Hudak Roy Mondesire Laurie A. Baeten Robin E. Russell Tonie E. Rocke Rachel C. Abbott 2014 <p>Plague surveillance is routinely conducted to predict future epizootics in wildlife and exposure risk for humans. The most common surveillance method for sylvatic plague is detection of antibodies to <i>Yersinia pestis</i> F1 capsular antigen in sentinel animals, such as coyotes (<i>Canis latrans</i>). Current serologic tests for <i>Y. pestis</i>, hemagglutination (HA) test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), are expensive and labor intensive. To address this need, we developed a complete lateral flow device for the detection of specific antibodies to <i>Y. pestis</i> F1 and V antigens. Our test detected anti-F1 and anti-V antibodies in serum and Nobuto filter paper samples from coyotes, and in serum samples from prairie dogs (<i>Cynomys ludovicianus</i>), lynx (<i>Lynx canadensis</i>), and black-footed ferrets (<i>Mustela nigripes</i>). Comparison of cassette results for anti-F1 and anti-V antibodies with results of ELISA or HA tests showed correlations ranging from 0.68 to 0.98. This device provides an affordable, user-friendly tool that may be useful in plague surveillance programs and as a research tool.</p> application/pdf 10.7589/2013-07-174 en Wildlife Disease Association A rapid field test for sylvatic plague exposure in wild animals article