Evaluation of an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep

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Abstract
SUMMARY: :Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure antibody to the cell wall antigen (C-ELISA) and toxin antigen (T-ELISA) of C. pseudotuberculosis were evaluated on serum from 6 separate groups of sheep. For sheep naturally infected with C. pseudotuberculosis the sensitivity and specificity of the C-ELISA was 76% and 73% respectively and for the T-ELISA 67% and 77% respectively. For sheep slaughtered one year after artificial infection the sensitivity of both tests was 83% and the specificity 72%. For sheep slaughtered 4 months after artificial infection the specificity of both tests was < 30% while the mean sensitivity was 85%. The C-ELISA in conjunction with the T-ELISA detected 92% of sheep with lung lesions. Aust Vet J 64: 263–266