Comparison of serological tests for the detection of ovine and caprine antibody to Brucella melitensis

Abstract

The indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IELISA), the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CELISA) and the fluorescence polarisation assay (FPA) were evaluated with sera from sheep experimentally infected with Brucella melitensis and negative Canadian sheep. The sensitivity and specificity of the assays were as follows: IELISA: 91.7% and 97.6%, CELISA: 75.0% and 99.8% and FPA: 91.7% and 89.5%. Sera from the same experimental population were divided according to serological reaction in the rose bengal agglutination test (RBT) and the complement fixation test (CFT). Reactivity relative to the RBT positive and CFT positive sera were as follows: IELISA: 99.7%, CELISA: 93.2% and FPA: 99.1%. Since sera from goats with proven B. melitensis infection were not available, 699 sera from goats judged positive in the buffered antigen plate agglutination test (BPAT) and CFT and 982 BPAT/CFT negative Canadian goats were used. The sensitivity and specificity of the assays relative to the BPAT and CFT positive sera were: IELISA: 99.4% and 98.0%, CELISA: 95.4% and 97.1% and FPA: 92.7% and 99.8%.

Sensitivity and Specificity of Various Serological Tests for Detection of <i>Brucella spp</i>. Infection in Male Goats and Sheep

“…The result is agreement with other studies [6] [13]. Although IgM is the first class of immunoglobulins appearing after infection, yet it was proved to be of nonspecific nature, besides, most Gram negative bacteria produce IgM similar to those produced by Brucellae [10], Corbel [14].…”

“…The standard Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) is used to detect antibodies against Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis infections. This test has been useful in eradication of bovine brucellosis in some countries [6]. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a highly specific and sensitive diagnostic assay since it directly detects antibody and has minimal or no false positive reactions of agglutination test [7].…”

Bayesian estimation of true prevalence, sensitivity and specificity of indirect ELISA, Rose Bengal Test and Slow Agglutination Test for the diagnosis of brucellosis in sheep and goats in Bangladesh

“…The sensitivity of RBT in goats and sheep were 80.2% and 82.8% respectively even though the specificity of RBT in both goats and sheep was more than 98%. The estimated sensitivity and specificity of RBT were coherent with findings from previous studies (Nielsen et al, 2004;Ramirez-Pfeiffer et al, 2008). The sensitivity and specificity of SAT in goats and sheep were 57.1%, 99.3% and 72.0%, 98.6% respectively.…”

Use of the Brucella melitensis Native Hapten To Diagnose Brucellosis in Goats by a Rapid, Simple, and Specific Fluorescence Polarization Assay

“…Studies have shown that IELISA, CELISA, and the fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) might be useful. Despite its high sensitivity, IELISA has a relative lack of specificity, and interference from cross-reacting antibodies may arise (15). This weakness was largely overcome by the development of CELISA (10,17) and the FPA (12), since ELISAs and the FPA are not significantly affected by antibodies resulting from immunization (3,12,13,17,24) and are faster than the CFT (16).…”

“…This weakness was largely overcome by the development of CELISA (10,17) and the FPA (12), since ELISAs and the FPA are not significantly affected by antibodies resulting from immunization (3,12,13,17,24) and are faster than the CFT (16). Previous evaluations of the FPA (11,15,16,19,20) using the O-polysaccharide (OPS) conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) as a tracer (OPS tracer) in goats and sheep, have shown that the diagnostic performance results might be affected by different selection criteria for positive reference standards and by the quality of sera used; however, there appears to be agreement that the OPS tracer might be a useful tool for the diagnosis of brucellosis in small ruminants (9,15,16,19,20).…”