An evaluation of serologic tests used to diagnose brucellosis in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

Five serologic procedures were evaluated in buffaloes and results compared with cultures of 64 udder secretion specimens. The rivanol test was superior to all other methods in specificity. The card, rivanol and complement fixation tests identified all infected cows. Many sera had complement fixing antibodies while agglutinins were absent. It was concluded that these were false positive results. A new procedure, the particle concentration fluorescence immunoassay, was a sensitive screening test but lacked specificity. On a limited number of samples, the tube agglutination test lacked sensitivity and was not a very useful procedure for the diagnosis of brucellosis. All 18 isolates of Brucella abortus were biovar 1.