The invention provides a
nucleotide sequence corresponding to a
classical swine fever virus (CSFV)
genome or a part or a
mutant thereof, which comprises at least a part of the
nucleotide sequence of the CSFV C-strain depicted in SEQ ID No. 1, or a complement or
RNA equivalent of such
nucleotide sequence, or which comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding at least the
amino acid sequence 268-494 of the
amino acid sequence depicted in SEQ ID No. 1, or a complement or
RNA equivalent of such nucleotide sequence. Also provided is a
pestivirus polypeptide corresponding to the
amino acid sequence 690-1063 of SEQ ID No. 1 or part thereof, which contains a
mutation in one of the epitopes within amino acid sequences 691-750 or 785-870, said
mutation altering said
epitope. Further provided is a method of determining the presence of a test substance capable of specifically binding with a
binding site of a binding partner, in a sample, by means of competition of said test substance with a measurable amount of a reference substance capable of specifically binding with the same
binding site of said binding partner, comprising: (1) contacting said sample with (a) said reference substance bound to a
solid carrier, (b) the binding partner of said reference substance, said binding partner molecule containing at least two identical binding sites for said reference substance, and (c) said reference substance provided with a
label; (2) measuring the degree of binding of said
label to said carrier.