Comparison of the Methods Used in Serological Diagnosis of Brucellosis in Farm Animals

In this study, it was aimed to determine the sensitivity and comparative analysis of serological techniques for the diagnosis of brucellosis in livestock. One hundred cattle and 100 sheep with a history of abortion both of that have not been vaccinated against brucellosis along with 100 horses from the farms of traditional management in Kars region of Turkey were included in the study, with a cluster sampling method. Brucella antibodies were tested through Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), Serum Agglutination Test (SAT) and Non-­‐Enzymatic Rapid Immunofiltration Assay (NERIFA). Of these, 1/40 and above for the cattle and horse and 1/20 and above dilutions for sheep were considered as diagnostic titre in the SAT. Out of 100 cattle samples, 26 (26%) were detected positive in the RBPT, 23 (23%) in the SAT and 25 (25%) in the NERIFA in terms of Brucella antibodies. Out of 100 sheep sera samples, 18 (18%) with the RBPT, 14 (14%) with the SAT and 21 (21%) with the NERIFA were found positive for Brucella antibodies. For horse samples 13 (13%) with the RBPT, 14 (14%) with the SAT and 12 (12%) with the NERIFA were found positive for Brucella antibodies. The sensitivity and specifity of NERIFA were found as 87% and 93% in cattle, 85% and 89% in sheep and 78% and 98% in horse. The agreement between the NERIFA and the RBPT was found as almost perfectly as in cattle (kappa: 0.921) and horse (kappa: 0.862), while substantially in sheep (kappa: 0.713). In conclusion, it was suggested that the NERIFA can be used as a fast screening test such as the RBPT for diagnosis of Brucella antibodies in farm animals both in the field and in limited laboratory conditions and the present results are needed to be verified with more advanced techniques.