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Blood culture and stimulation conditions for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in cervids by the Cervigam assay
Author(s) -
Waters W. R.,
Palmer M. V.,
Thacker T. C.,
Orloski K.,
Nol P.,
Harrington N. P.,
Olsen S. C.,
necke B. J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.162.7.203
Subject(s) - mycobacterium bovis , biology , herd , veterinary medicine , tuberculosis , stimulation , pokeweed mitogen , bovine tuberculosis , zoology , mycobacterium tuberculosis , medicine , pathology , endocrinology , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , biochemistry , in vitro
Mitogen‐ and antigen‐induced interferon‐γ ( ifn ‐γ) responses of peripheral blood leucocytes from cervids were evaluated by a commercial whole‐blood assay. The assay was applied to Mycobacterium bovis ‐infected white‐tailed deer and reindeer, M bovis bcg ‐vaccinated white‐tailed deer and elk, and unvaccinated, uninfected white‐tailed deer, fallow deer, elk and reindeer. The responses of the M bovis ‐infected white‐tailed deer to pokeweed mitogen ( pwm ) varied with time and between individuals. The responses of the M bovis ‐infected reindeer to pwm and M bovis purified protein derivative ( ppd ) were positively associated. Samples from tuberculosis‐free captive herds in various parts of the usa were also evaluated. Four per cent of fallow deer, 20 per cent of elk, 44 per cent of white‐tailed deer, and 91 per cent of reindeer had responses to pwm exceeding 0·25 Δ optical density, that is, pwm stimulation minus no stimulation. The specificity of the responses to M bovis ppd and a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex‐specific antigen r esat‐6:cfp‐10 , excluding animals not responding to pwm , ranged from 78 per cent to 100 per cent and was dependent upon the species and the positive response cut‐off value. The results show that the commercial assay is valid for the detection of tb in reindeer; however, further development of the assay will be required before it is used in surveillance programmes for white‐tailed deer, fallow deer, and elk.