Diagnostic Approaches towards Camelpox Disease

Abstract

Camelpox is routinely diagnosed based on clinical signs, pathological findings and cellular and molecular assays. Tentative diagnosis can be made based on clinical signs and pox lesions, but will confuse with other diseases, such as contagious ecthyma, papillomatosis and reaction to insect bites. Identification of the agent and antibody detection from serum samples can be used for the differential diagnosis of the disease. Different complementary test methods have been developed for the diagnosis of Camelpox disease. The choice of the test method depends on the purpose of the investigation and the availability of the test methods at a time. Generally isolation and identification of the virus using transmission electron microscopy TEM, Immunohistochemistry, cell cultures and molecular techniques (PCR and LAMP assays) are advised for the confirmation of clinical cases. On the other hand, serological tests are valuable for secondary confirmatory testing. The basic principles, comparative advantages and disadvantages of the different diagnostic techniques of camelpox diseases are described in this review.