title: Comparative diagnostic potential of three serological tests for abortive Q fever in goat herds.
abstract: Performances of an ELISA, an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and a complement fixation test (CFT) were assessed for detecting antibodies against Coxiella burnetii after Q fever abortions in naturally infected goats. The goal of the study was to provide information useful for veterinary serodiagnosis in regard to categories of goats either experiencing Q fever abortion or not, blood sampling times and recommended cut-offs. The study was conducted on eight goat herds with evidence of C. burnetii abortions. In each herd, at least 5 goats that had aborted and 10 goats prior to parturition or at term were monitored 15, 30 and 60 days (D15, D30, D60) after the onset of Q fever abortion. The overall CFT results distribution did not differ between the two groups of goats and showed poor agreement with the ELISA results. In contrast, the ELISA and IFA results revealed comparable significant differences, but overall the ELISA test was slightly more sensitive than the IFA test. Seroprevalence, according to ELISA and IFA respectively, was higher in the aborting (88% and 82%) than in the non-aborting group (60% and 50%). High levels of serum antibodies were detected in goats post-abortion with an average of 114 %OD using ELISA and a log10(titer) of 2.4 using IFA. Strongly positive ELISA (%OD>80) and positive IFA results (log10(titers)>1.9) were significantly associated with abortion. Sampling on D15 gave the best association with ORs of 10 for ELISA and 6 for IFA. The practical interest of these results is discussed.
authors.affiliation: AFSSA, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (French Agency for Food Sanitary Safety), Unité Pathologie des Petits Ruminants (Laboratory of Pathologies in Small Ruminants), Sophia Antipolis, France. e.rousset@afssa.fr
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rousset
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Durand
authors.forename: Mustapha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berri
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prigent
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Thibault
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Delcroix
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Touratier
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodolakis
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aubert
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006041:Goats; D011247:Pregnancy; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial