title: Improving murine health surveillance programs with the help of on-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
abstract: Timely and accurate detection of murine pathogens is essential in contemporary biomedical research. Cost, accuracy, and reproducibility of test results are frequent concerns when initiating an on-site serology program. This study was conducted to evaluate the advantages of on-site serology performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) versus pathogen surveillance conducted off-site by a commercial vendor. We divided 92 sentinel mouse serum samples and tested them in parallel for a panel of 10 murine pathogens at our institution and by an off-site vendor. On-site testing was performed with commercially available test kits and according to the kit manufacturer's directions, whereas serum samples for off-site testing were prepared according to the vendor's specifications. Results from the 2 testing strategies were compared, and a good beyond- chance level of agreement was demonstrated by means of the kappa test (kappa = 0.86). The turn-around time between sample preparation and results availability for on-site ELISA was 16 h versus 72 h for off-site testing. On-site ELISA demonstrated considerable cost reduction, ranging from 15.10% to 43.33% depending on the number of agents being tested. This study demonstrates the accuracy and time- and cost-effectiveness of on-site ELISA as well as its potentially valuable role in achieving more timely and efficient disease surveillance and control programs in contemporary biomedical research facilities.
authors.affiliation: Animal Care Services, Office of Research and Graduate Programs, University of Florida Gainsville, Florida, USA. bzamora@ufl.edu
authors.forename: Bernadette M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Zamora
authors.forename: Rebecca S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Schwiebert
authors.forename: Gregory W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: Patrick E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D007756:Laboratory Animal Science / Q000592:standards; D051379:Mice / Q000382:microbiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D013997:Time Factors; D014766:Viremia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary