Bovine tuberculosis of cattle results primarily from infection with Mycobacterium bovis, a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Despite intensive control efforts, bovine tuberculosis persists as a costly disease, with adverse impacts on animal health and welfare, the trade of animals and animal products, and the livelihoods of producers. In addition, the persistence of this disease necessitates the maintenance of costly regional and federal networks for control/eradication campaigns. The mainstays of bovine tuberculosis control are (i) abattoir surveillance with epidemiological investigations after detection of M. bovisinfected animals, to identify bovine tuberculosis-affected herds (1); (ii) application of antemortem testing for routine surveillance, movement of animals, and identification and removal of infected animals from tuberculosis-affected herds (2); and (iii) management of the disease in wildlife reservoirs, such as whitetailed deer in Michigan (3), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand, Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Spain (4), and Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in the United Kingdom/Ireland (5). Tuberculin-based cellular immune assays, including measurements of in vitro interferon gamma release and measurements of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions via skin test procedures, are the principal diagnostic tests used for the control of bovine tuberculosis in cattle in most countries (6, 7). In the United States, the caudal fold test (CFT) (intradermal injection of M. bovis purified protein derivative [PPD] in the caudal skin fold) is used as a primary test and the comparative cervical test (CCT) (intradermal injection of Mycobacterium avium and M. bovis PPDs at separate sites in the neck) and the Bovigam assay (Prionics Ag, Schlieren, Switzerland) (an interferon gamma release assay) are used as secondary or confirmatory tests (8).Several serological tests designed to detect antibodies (Abs) to immunodominant M. bovis antigens (e.g., MPB83, MPB70, ESAT-6, and CFP10) have emerged for potential application in cattle (9-13). A commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for MPB83 and MPB70 (M. bovis Ab test; IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, ME) (9) has been approved by the Office International des Epizooties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in cattle in bovine tuberculosis control programs, although applications of this test are primarily limited to ancillary purposes such as confirmation of infections and potentially detection of M. bovis-infected cattle anergic in the skin test. A

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In 2009, Mycobacterium bovis infection was detected in a herd of 60 elk (Cervus elaphus) and 50 fallow deer (Dama dama) in Nebraska, USA. Upon depopulation of the herd, the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB) was estimated at ∼71–75%, based upon histopathology and culture results. Particularly with elk, gross lesions were often severe and extensive. One year ago, the majority of the elk had been tested for TB by single cervical test (SCT), and all were negative. After initial detection of a tuberculous elk in this herd, 42 of the 59 elk were tested by SCT. Of the 42 SCT-tested elk, 28 were TB-infected with only 3/28 reacting upon SCT. After SCT, serum samples were collected from the infected elk and fallow deer from this herd at necropsy and tested by three antibody detection methods including multiantigen print immunoassay, cervidTB STAT-PAK, and dual path platform VetTB (DPP). Serologic test sensitivity ranged from 79 to 97% depending on the test format and host species. Together, these findings demonstrate the opportunities for use of serodiagnosis in the rapid detection of TB in elk and fallow deer.

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BackgroundBovine tuberculosis (TB) control programs generally rely on the tuberculin skin test (TST) for ante-mortem detection of Mycobacterium bovis-infected cattle.ResultsPresent findings demonstrate that a rapid antibody test based on Dual-Path Platform (DPP®) technology, when applied 1-3 weeks after TST, detected 9 of 11 and 34 of 52 TST non-reactive yet M. bovis-infected cattle from the US and GB, respectively. The specificity of the assay ranged from 98.9% (n = 92, US) to 96.0% (n = 50, GB) with samples from TB-free herds. Multi-antigen print immunoassay (MAPIA) revealed the presence of antibodies to multiple antigens of M. bovis in sera from TST non-reactors diagnosed with TB.ConclusionsThus, use of serologic assays in series with TST can identify a significant number of TST non-reactive tuberculous cattle for more efficient removal from TB-affected herds.