Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a systemic disease of ruminants caused by a gamma herpesvirus, ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2). Dot blot hybridization (DBH) protocols for detecting and differentiating this MCF virus were developed. OvHV-2 specific primer pairs, 556/555, were used for the amplification of target DNA. Then, the amplified DNA was labeled with incorporation of digoxigenin (DIG). The Dig-labeled probe was able to detect and differentiate specifically OvHV-2 DNA. This DBH technique can be applied to confirm the presence of MCF virus on clinical samples and to differentiate specifically between OvHV-2 infection and other viral infections.