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BMC veterinary research2009; 5; 32; doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-5-32

Prevalence-dependent use of serological tests for diagnosing glanders in horses.

Abstract: The internationally mandatory complement fixation test (CFT) for testing of equine sera for the absence of glanders has repeatedly led to discrepant results. Not only do "false positive" sera pose a problem for the diagnostician and the animal health authorities but they can also result in significant financial losses for the animal owners.Due to the very low prevalence of glanders in the horse population it is of major importance to use tests with a high specificity to overcome unreliable predictive values. We have compared formalin-fixed B. mallei whole cell antigen and a well characterised mouse monoclonal antibody with regard to their specificity and sensitivity for glanders serodiagnosis using CFT, an indirect (i) and a competitive (c) ELISA platform. Results: Our results show that the CFT is still a very reliable technique in horse populations with very low glanders prevalence. The cELISA has a high sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of the CFT. The cELISA offers the possibility for automatisation, can be applied to non-complement fixing sera and used for various host species. Conclusions: The CFT is still the method of choice for testing horses for the absence of glanders.
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Publication Date: 2009-09-01 PubMed ID: 19723336PubMed Central: PMC2745380DOI: 10.1186/1746-6148-5-32Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

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The research explores the effectiveness of various testing methods for diagnosing glanders in horses, emphasizing the importance of high specificity tests in populations with low glanders prevalence.

Research Background

  • The research focuses on diagnosing glanders, a disease in horses, that causes major economic losses for affected horse owners.
  • The prevalent test, known as the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) has exhibited inconsistent results including false positives, stirring up problems in diagnostic methods and leading to significant financial losses.
  • Detecting glanders is a critical concern because of the disease’s extremely low prevalence among the horse population.

Research Approach

  • The researchers compared a formalin-fixed B. mallei whole cell antigen and a mouse monoclonal antibody regarding their specificity and sensitivity for glanders serodiagnosis.
  • The comparison used three techniques – Complement Fixation Test (CFT), Indirect (i), and Competitive (c) ELISA platforms.

Research Results

  • The results revealed that despite the inconsistent outcomes, the CFT proves reliable for horse populations with exceptionally low glanders prevalence.
  • The Competitive ELISA (cELISA) had a high sensitivity and specificity, comparable to that of the CFT. This could potentially pave the way for automation of testing procedures, reliable application to non-complement fixing sera, and usage across different host species.

Research Conclusions

  • The research concludes that despite the advent of methods like cELISA, the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) remains the most effective technique in testing horses for glanders, primarily due to its reliability in low-prevalence populations.

Cite This Article

APA
Sprague LD, Zachariah R, Neubauer H, Wernery R, Joseph M, Scholz HC, Wernery U. (2009). Prevalence-dependent use of serological tests for diagnosing glanders in horses. BMC Vet Res, 5, 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-6148-5-32

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 5
Pages: 32

Researcher Affiliations

Sprague, Lisa D
  • OIE Reference Laboratory for Glanders, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Naumburger Str, 96a, D-07743 Jena, Germany. natter13@gmx.de
Zachariah, Reena
    Neubauer, Heinrich
      Wernery, Renate
        Joseph, Maria
          Scholz, Holger C
            Wernery, Ulrich

              MeSH Terms

              • Animals
              • Antigens, Bacterial
              • Burkholderia mallei / immunology
              • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / standards
              • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
              • Glanders / diagnosis
              • Glanders / epidemiology
              • Prevalence
              • Serologic Tests / standards
              • Serologic Tests / veterinary

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