Evaluation of different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the diagnosis of brucellosis due to Brucella melitensis in sheep.
Six serological assays for the diagnosis of ovine brucellosis, due to Brucella melitensis were evaluated. Reference serum samples from sheep of known B. melitensis infection status (n=118) were assessed using the Rose Bengal test (RBT), complement fixation test (CFT) and four commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), including two indirect ELISAs (iELISAs), one competitive ELISA (cELISA) and one blocking ELISA (bELISA). The highest differential positive rates (DPR) were obtained with the cELISA and bELISA, while the lowest DPR was estimated using iELISAs. A latent class analysis was performed to estimate the accuracy of the CFT, RBT and bELISA using 1827 sera from sheep undergoing testing as part of a surveillance and control programme. Lower sensitivity and specificity were obtained for the three serological tests when the field samples were used. A higher DPR was achieved by the CFT, compared to bELISA and RBT. The results suggest that ELISAs, and particularly the bELISA, might be suitable for inclusion in the European Union legislation on intra-community trade for diagnosing B. melitensis infection in sheep, as it has a similar test performance compared to the RBT.
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address: nacho.garcia@uco.es.
Ignacio
I
García-Bocanegra
Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
Alberto
A
Allepuz
Laboratorio de Sanidad y Producción Animal, Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca y Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía, 41071 Sevilla, Spain.
Julio José
JJ
Pérez
Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), UAB-IRTA, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
Anna
A
Alba
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e delMolise G. Caporale, Via Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
Armando
A
Giovannini
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), Córdoba, Spain.
Antonio
A
Arenas
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e delMolise G. Caporale, Via Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
Luca
L
Candeloro
Servicio de Sanidad Animal, Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca y Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía, Spain.
Alberto
A
Pacios
Subdirección General de Sanidad de la Producción Primaria, Dirección General de Recursos Agrícolas y Ganaderos, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, y Medio Rural y Marino, 28071 Madrid, Spain.
José Luís
JL
Saez
Agencia de Gestión Agraria y Pesquera de Andalucía (AGAPA), Consejería de Agricultura, Pesca y Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Andalucía, Sevilla, Spain.
Miguel Ángel
MÁ
González
D000818:Animals; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000662:veterinary*; D012395:Rose Bengal; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D013030:Spain
D012395:Rose Bengal
Brucella melitensis; Complement fixation test; ELISA; Latent class analysis; Rose Bengal test; Sheep