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Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
On-line version ISSN 2224-9435
Print version ISSN 1019-9128
Abstract
CHISI, Songelwayo L.; AKOL, George W. and VAN HEERDEN, Henriette. Use of Brucella abortus species specific polymerase chain reaction assay for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc. [online]. 2017, vol.88, n.1, pp.1-3. ISSN 2224-9435. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v88i0.1433.
Serology is primarily used in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. Bacterial culture and isolation is the gold standard in diagnosing brucellosis but, like serology, it does not offer complete (100%) diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been suggested to offer better specificity and sensitivity. In this study, we evaluated the performance of Brucella abortus species specific (BaSS) PCR directly from different samples in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in naturally infected cattle in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa with known infectious status from culture. The BaSS PCR had a low diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) of 70%, but was able to identify vaccine strains using abomasal fluid from aborted foetuses and detect Brucella DNA from decomposing samples. The best sample for the BaSS PCR was abomasal fluid.