title: Improved serodetection of Mycobacterium bovis infection in badgers (Meles meles) using multiantigen test formats.
abstract: Despite attempts to control bovine tuberculosis, the incidence of disease in Great Britain continues to rise. In GB, the European badger (Meles meles) is a reservoir of infection with Mycobacterium bovis. In an effort to improve the serodetection of badger tuberculosis, we examined sera from M. bovis culture-positive and culture-negative badgers for their ability to recognize M. bovis antigens, using a multi-antigen print immunoassay (MAPIA). Depending on the antigens used in the MAPIA, the assay had a sensitivity of 49-59% and a specificity of 84-88% Results from the MAPIA were used to select antigens for the development of a lateral-flow immunoassay. This so-called 'Rapid Test' used 5microl of serum and gave unambiguous results within 10 min. When applied to 178 badger sera, the Rapid Test had a sensitivity of 53% and a specificity of 95%. This represented an improvement over the performance of the existing ELISA Test, which had a sensitivity of 47% and a specificity of 89% on the same sera. This is the first report of a diagnostic test for badger tuberculosis that can be performed alongside the captive animal.
authors.affiliation: Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., Medford, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greenwald
authors.forename: Javan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Esfandiari
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lesellier
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Houghton
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pollock
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aagaard
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.forename: R Glyn
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Hewinson
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chambers
authors.forename: Konstantin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lyashchenko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002335:Carnivora / Q000382:microbiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000662:veterinary*; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial