Assessment of plaque assay methods for alphaviruses

► Three plaque assay methods were evaluated for alphavirus detection. ► Mayaro virus, VEE virus, Una virus, and WEE virus were tested. ► The solid method showed greater sensitivity than the semisolid method. ► A semisolid-variant method was easy to perform and had good WEEV sensitivity. ► Modifications in plaque assays impact the results depending on the alphavirus tested.