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Use of the brucellosis card test for screening cattle in Saskatchewan
Insights
The brucellosis card test is a useful screening tool for large cattle herds, accurately identifying infected animals for quick isolation. It shows good agreement with established serological tests for brucellosis.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Immunology
- Bovine Disease Diagnostics
- Serological Assays
Background:
- Brucellosis remains a significant concern in cattle populations worldwide.
- Accurate and efficient diagnostic tools are crucial for controlling brucellosis outbreaks.
- Existing serological tests for brucellosis vary in sensitivity and practicality for large-scale screening.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the brucellosis card test (BCT) in comparison to established serological methods.
- To determine the utility of the BCT as a screening tool in large bovine populations.
- To assess the agreement between the BCT and the tube serum agglutination test (TSAT) and complement fixation test (CFT).
Main Methods:
- Two groups of bovine sera were tested: a large cohort (n=28,714) using BCT and TSAT, and a smaller cohort (n=496) with BCT against TSAT, CFT, plate serum agglutination test (PSAT), and acid antigen serum agglutination test (AASAT).
- Comparative analysis of BCT results against results from TSAT, CFT, PSAT, and AASAT.
- Calculation of agreement percentages for various test combinations.
Main Results:
- The TSAT confirmed 99.8% of negative BCT results in the first group.
- The BCT identified 63% of TSAT-positive reactors in the first group.
- In the second group, the BCT identified 99.1% of CFT-positive sera and 91.3% of sera positive by other serological tests.
Conclusions:
- The brucellosis card test demonstrates satisfactory agreement with both the complement fixation test and tube serum agglutination test.
- The BCT is a valuable and efficient screening test for brucellosis in large-scale bovine operations.
- The BCT facilitates rapid identification and isolation of reactors, aiding in disease control efforts.
Abstract:
One group of 28,714 bovine sera were tested by both the brucellosis tube serum agglutination test and the brucellosis card test. The tube serum agglutination test confirmed 99.8% of the negative brucellosis card test results. The brucellosis card test identified 63% of the tube serum agglutination test reactors. In a second group of 496 sera reacting to either the tube serum agglutination test, complement fixation test, plate serum agglutination test or acid antigen serum agglutination test the brucellosis card test identified 99.1% of the complement fixation test positive sera and 91.3% of the sera reacting to any of the other serological tests. The brucellosis card test showed satisfactory agreement with both the complement fixation test and tube serum agglutination test. It appears to be a useful screening test in operations involving large numbers of animals since under these conditions the reactors can be quickly identified and isolated.