title: Evaluation of a modified Rose Bengal test and an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of Brucella melitensis infection in sheep.
abstract: A modified Rose Bengal test (mRB) and an indirect ELISA (iELISA) with Protein G as the conjugate, were evaluated for the diagnosis of Brucella melitensis infection in unvaccinated sheep with a known bacteriological status, and their diagnostic efficacy was compared with that of the standard Rose Bengal (RB) and Complement Fixation (CF) tests used in the current eradication campaign in EU countries. All tests showed 100% specificity when testing the sera from 212 Brucella-free sheep. When testing the sera from 219 Brucella melitensis culture-positive sheep, both the mRB and iELISA tests were more sensitive (98.6% and 96.8%, respectively) than the RB and CF tests (95.0% and 92.7%, respectively). These results were similar when testing the sera from 181 animals belonging to infected flocks but found bacteriologically negative, suggesting that the mRB or iELISA tests could advantageously replace the current RB procedure used as the screening test.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Nacional de Investigação Veterinária (LNIV), Estrada de Benfica, 701,1549-011 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Travassos Dias
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mariano
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belo
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rolão Preto
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manteigas
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pina Fonseca
authors.forename: Maria Inácia
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Corrêa De Sá
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D012395:Rose Bengal; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D034561:Sheep, Domestic / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D012395:Rose Bengal