Assessment of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of cattle infected with Mycobacterium bovis

An indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using an unpurified antigen was assessed for its accuracy in detecting Mycobacterium bovis infected cattle. The ELISA test recorded sensitivities of 88.7% and 63%, respectively, for infected cattle tuberculin tested positive and for infected cattle never tuberculin tested. Specificity was determined at 52.6% for cattle from confirmed free herds which had never been tuberculin tested. Significant differences in the mean ELISA values were recorded between the 3 groups. No evidence was found for long term effects of tuberculin testing upon the titre of antibodies detected by the ELISA in unaffected cattle. The indirect ELISA using the unpurified antigen of this assay was considered to be unsuitable as an alternative to tuberculin testing for the detection of M. bovis infected animals.