Diagnosis
In most areas, including the USA, vesicular stomatitis is a reportable disease. Samples for diagnostic purposes are generally taken by a foreign animal disease diagnostician or other regulatory veterinarians and are tested by officially designated government laboratories. Diagnosis is based on the presence of typical signs and either antibody detection through serologic tests, viral detection through isolation, or detection of viral genetic material by molecular techniques. Samples for viral isolation may include vesicular fluid, epithelial tags from lesions, or swabs of lesions. Vesicular stomatitis viruses are easily propagated in cell culture. Three commonly used serologic tests are competitive ELISA, virus neutralization, and complement fixation. PCR tests may also be used to identify the virus. Of primary concern in diagnosis is differentiation of vesicular stomatitis from clinically indistinguishable but much more devastating viral diseases, including foot-and-mouth disease in ruminants and swine (see Foot-and-Mouth Disease), swine vesicular disease (see Swine Vesicular Disease), and vesicular exanthema of swine (see Vesicular Exanthema of Swine). Horses are not susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease. Both noninfectious and infectious causes of oral lesions must be considered.