Protein Microarray-Guided Development of a Highly Sensitive and Specific Dipstick Assay for Glanders Serodiagnostics

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Microbiology
• Immunodiagnostics
• Bacterial Pathogenesis

Background:

• Glanders, caused by Burkholderia mallei, is a significant equine disease.
• Current diagnostic methods for glanders, like complement fixation, have limitations in sensitivity and specificity.
• There is a need for improved diagnostic tools for B. mallei and B. pseudomallei infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate novel serodiagnostic tools for glanders in horses.
• To adapt a previously developed microarray for human melioidosis to detect B. mallei infections.
• To create a rapid point-of-care diagnostic test for glanders.

Main Methods:

• Modification of a B. pseudomallei-based microarray using anti-horse IgG conjugate.
• Testing sera from B. mallei-infected horses, negative controls, and horses with other infections.
• Development of a dipstick assay based on highly reactive B. mallei proteins identified from the microarray.

Main Results:

• The modified microarray demonstrated 96.7% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity for glanders diagnosis in horses.
• A panel of 12 highly reactive proteins was identified for glanders diagnosis.
• The novel dipstick assay achieved 90.0% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity, providing results in under 15 minutes.

Conclusions:

• The developed microarray and dipstick assays are effective tools for diagnosing glanders in horses.
• These novel tests offer improved sensitivity and specificity compared to traditional methods.
• The diagnostic platforms can potentially be adapted for detecting both B. mallei and B. pseudomallei infections in various animal species.