Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay as complement of intradermal skin test for the detection of mycobacterium bovis infection in cattle.

Diagnostic tests based on cell-mediated immunity are used in programs for the control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis. Additional serological assays could be performed as an ancillary method to detect an infected animal that fails to produce an immune response against the intradermal reaction (IDR), the official bTB test. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that uses bovine PPD as a capture antigen as a complement to the IDR in herds with confirmed cases of bTB. The study was conducted in two stages. First, a panel of 200 serum samples was analyzed by ELISA. The sensitivity and specificity obtained were 60% and 99%, respectively. The subsequent stage consisted of evaluating 7,494 bovines from 14 selected dairy farms. The number of animals yielding a IDR negative/ELISA positive result were 200. A necropsy analysis of 33 of these IDR negative/ELISA positive animals revealed that 30 (91%) presented granulomatous lesions and positive M. bovis isolation. This finding confirmed bTB in most cases. Altogether, the results obtained in the present study suggest that the combined use of IDR and ELISA is an effective strategy to improve the control of bTB in endemic herds.

Evaluation of an immunomagnetic capture method followed by PCR to detect Mycobacterium bovis in tissue samples from cattle / Evaluación de un método de captura inmunomagnética seguida de PCR para la detección de Mycobacterium bovis en tejidos de ganado

Tuberculosis is one of the most important infectious diseases worldwide. Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), an important animal pathogen with public health implications as it is a zoonosis. Currently, the diagnosis of BTB is based on the caudal fold test of the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). Post-mortem bacterial culture is carried out to confirm the diagnosis, and then specific biochemical tests are performed for the characterization of the etiologic agent. Culture takes at least 4 to 8 weeks to develop. The diagnosis by molecular tests such as PCR can provide fast and reliable results, significantly decreasing the time of confirmation (from two months to two days), thus allowing the possibility of taking control actions to prevent the spread of the disease in herds. In this work the use of an immunomagnetic separation capture followed by PCR (IMS-PCR) based on the IS6110 element showed a detection threshold corresponding to 10 CFU in M. bovis-spiked PBS. In the case of infected bovine fresh tissues, after five replicates, the minimum value of detection was 1000 CFU in 100% of the trials (5/5). This paper attempts to provide a sensitive, rapid and specific technique for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis, and opens up the possibility of a direct application in the control and eradication of this cattle disease.

La tuberculosis es una de las enfermedades infecciosas más importantes. Mycobacterium bovis es el agente causal de la tuberculosis bovina (TBB), un patógeno animal y zoonótico. En la actualidad, el diagnóstico de TBB se basa en la prueba intradérmica de la tuberculina. El cultivo bacteriano post mortem se lleva a cabo para confirmar el diagnóstico y a continuación se realizan pruebas bioquímicas específicas para la caracterización del agente etiológico. El cultivo bacteriano toma por lo menos 4 a 8 semanas para su desarrollo. El diagnóstico mediante pruebas moleculares como PCR puede proporcionar resultados rápidos y robustos, con un considerable acortamiento hasta la confirmación del diagnóstico (de 2 meses a 2 días). En este trabajo, el uso de captura inmunomagnética seguida de PCR (IMS-PCR) dirigida al elemento IS6110 mostró un umbral de detección correspondiente a 10 UFC en M. bovis diluido en PBS. En el caso de tejidos bovinos inoculados experimentalmente después de 5 réplicas, el valor mínimo de detección fue de 1000 UFC en el 100% de los ensayos. Este artículo aspira a proporcionar una técnica sensible, rápida y específica para el diagnóstico de la tuberculosis bovina, con el fin de abrir la posibilidad de una aplicación directa en el control y la erradicación de esta enfermedad en el ganado.

Evaluation of an immunomagnetic capture method followed by PCR to detect Mycobacterium bovis in tissue samples from cattle.

Tuberculosis is one of the most important infectious diseases worldwide. Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), an important animal pathogen with public health implications as it is a zoonosis. Currently, the diagnosis of BTB is based on the caudal fold test of the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST). Post-mortem bacterial culture is carried out to confirm the diagnosis, and then specific biochemical tests are performed for the characterization of the etiologic agent. Culture takes at least 4 to 8 weeks to develop. The diagnosis by molecular tests such as PCR can provide fast and reliable results, significantly decreasing the time of confirmation (from two months to two days), thus allowing the possibility of taking control actions to prevent the spread of the disease in herds. In this work the use of an immunomagnetic separation capture followed by PCR (IMS-PCR) based on the IS6110 element showed a detection threshold corresponding to 10 CFU in M. bovis-spiked PBS. In the case of infected bovine fresh tissues, after five replicates, the minimum value of detection was 1000 CFU in 100% of the trials (5/5). This paper attempts to provide a sensitive, rapid and specific technique for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis, and opens up the possibility of a direct application in the control and eradication of this cattle disease.