Evaluation of comparative cervical tuberculin skin testing in cervids naturally exposed to mycobacteria.
A comparative cervical tuberculin skin test was evaluated in cervids with naturally acquired mycobacterial infections. The test exhibited a high degree of sensitivity (84%) and specificity (80%) in detecting infected animals but a low level of accuracy (57%) in differentiating Mycobacterium bovis infections from infections caused by M avium and other Runyon groups III and IV mycobacteria. This phenomenon was attributed to a low recovery rate of more than 1 species of mycobacteria from individuals with mixed infections.
D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009162:Mycobacterium avium; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis; D014374:Tuberculin Test / Q000662:veterinary*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*