An indirect haemolysis test (IHLT) for bovine brucellosis

A simple indirect haemolysis test (IHLT) was developed to avoid the problem of prozones in the complement fixation test (CFT) for bovine brucellosis. It makes use of a sheep or bovine erythrocytes, treated with a crude lipopolysaccharide fraction of Br. abortus, which are lysed by specific antibody in the presence of excess complement (C'). A number of bovine serum which gave large prozones in the warm CFT, and some in which C'-fixation was completely blocked, were found to react to high titre, without prozones, in the IHLT. Following primary vaccination with Br. abortus strain 19, fewer animals gave positive reactions in the IHLT than in the CFT. Following two doses of 45/20 vaccine, however, positive reactions were more frequent in the IHLT than in the CFT. Preliminary studies of serums from animals known to be infected indicate that the IHLT may be of diagnostic value. The test is easy to carry out, especially when bovine erythrocytes are used, since very few bovine serums require preliminary absorption.