Evaluation of three competitive ELISAs and a fluorescence polarisation assay for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis.
Bovine brucellosis is an infectious disease of worldwide public health and economic importance. The usual tests for the diagnosis of this disease include the Rose-Bengal test (RBT), complement fixation test (CFT), serum agglutination test (SAT) and indirect ELISA. New tests such as competitive ELISAs (C-ELISA) and fluorescence polarisation assay (FPA) have been developed. However, C-ELISA may correspond to different protocols and a wide variation may exist in their diagnostic performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate three commercially available C-ELISA kits (C-ELISA1-3) and FPA for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis and compare test performance with RBT, CFT, indirect ELISA and FPA. Sera submitted to EU laboratories in 2011 from 5111 adult cattle were tested. Individual test sensitivities (Se) and specificities (Sp) were estimated. Threshold assessment using the receiver operating characteristic method was also performed. The most sensitive tests were FPA (99.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 97.9-100%), C-ELISA1 (98.4%; 95% CI, 97.0-99.8%) and RBT (97.7%; 95% CI, 95.9-99.3%). The most specific tests were CFT (99.98%; 95% CI, 99.93-100%), SAT (99.98%; 95% CI, 99.93-100%) and RBT (99.89%; 95% CI, 99.79-99.99%). Among the new tests, none of the three C-ELISA kits studied could be recommended as a single screening test because of their low specificity, especially when used in a herd. C-ELISA3 could not be recommended as confirmatory test on individual animals to determine whether false positive serological test results had occurred.
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Epidemiology of Animal Infectious Diseases Unit, French Agency for Food, Occupational Health & Safety (Anses), Université Paris-Est, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France. Electronic address: anne.praud@vet-alfort.fr.
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Praud
Laboratorio Central de Sanidad Animal (LCSA), Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, 18320 Santa Fe, Granada, Spain.
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Durán-Ferrer
Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (CERVA-CODA), Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, 1180 Brussels, Belgium.
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Fretin
Paris-Est University/Anses, Animal Health Laboratory, EU/OIE/FAO Brucellosis Reference Laboratory, 94706 Maisons-Alfort, France.
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Jaÿ
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Veterinary Sciences Division, Immunodiagnostic Branch, Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, Belfast BT4 3SD, Northern-Ireland, UK.
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O'Connor
Veterinary Laboratory of Larisa, Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, 41110 Larisa, Greece.
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Stournara
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise, Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, 64100 Teramo, Italy.
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Tittarelli
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), Animal Production Health Unit, Brucellosis National Reference Laboratory, 1500-311 Lisbon, Portugal.
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Travassos Dias
Paris-Est University/Anses, Animal Health Laboratory, EU/OIE/FAO Brucellosis Reference Laboratory, 94706 Maisons-Alfort, France.
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Garin-Bastuji
D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D002002:Brucella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002007:Brucellosis, Bovine / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D002417:Cattle; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D016231:Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012395:Rose Bengal / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D012395:Rose Bengal
Bovine brucellosis; Competitive ELISA; Fluorescence polarisation assay; Screening tests