Evaluation of PCR and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on milk samples for diagnosis of brucellosis in dairy cattle

J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Dec;33(12):3198-200. doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.12.3198-3200.1995.

Abstract

A study was performed to evaluate the previously described PCR (C. Romero, C. Gamazo, M. Pardo, and I. López-Goñi, J. Clin. Microbiol. 33:615-617, 1995) for the diagnosis of brucellosis in dairy cattle. Milk samples from 56 Brucella milk culture-positive cattle and from 37 cattle from Brucella-free herds were examined for Brucella DNA by PCR and for specific antibodies by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The specificities of both tests were 100% when testing the milk samples from Brucella-free cattle. The milk samples from 49 infected cattle were positive by PCR (87.5% sensitivity), and 55 were positive by ELISA (98.2% sensitivity). A PCR-positive sample was negative by ELISA, and 7 ELISA-positive samples were PCR negative, yielding an observed proportion of agreement of 0.91 for the two tests. Although the results suggest that ELISA is a better screening test than PCR, the combined sensitivity of the two assays was 100%, and their simultaneous application could be more useful than one test alone for a rapid screening of brucellosis in dairy cattle.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / analysis
  • Bacteriological Techniques
  • Brucella / genetics*
  • Brucella / immunology*
  • Brucella / isolation & purification
  • Brucellosis, Bovine / diagnosis*
  • Brucellosis, Bovine / immunology
  • Brucellosis, Bovine / microbiology
  • Cattle
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / statistics & numerical data
  • Evaluation Studies as Topic
  • Female
  • Milk / microbiology*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / statistics & numerical data
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • DNA, Bacterial