The use of a polyvalent antigen in complement fixation tests for bovine leptospirosis

Authors: Hodges RT
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 22, Issue 3, pp 21-24, Mar 1974
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Diagnostic procedures, Zoonosis, Disease/defect, Infectious disease, Public health
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract: The serological diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis, especially in areas where several serotypes of Leptospira are known to exist, would be greatly facilitated if a method could be used to screen sera for evidence of infection irrespective of the causal serotype. Once infection has been diagnosed, a more specific serological test could be employed to determine the serotype responsible. At least 4 serotypes of Leptospira are known to infect cattle in New Zealand, namely, pomona, hardjo, copenhageni and ballum. In an earlier study in which the warm complement fixation (C.F.) test and the microscopic agglutination test were compared using sera collected from calves experimentally infected with these serotypes, it was found that greatest cross-reactivity occurred with the C.F. test, particularly at the time when antibody titres were greatest (Hodges and Ris, 1974). However, antibody titres using antigens prepared from heterologous serotypes were lower than and detectable for shorter intervals after infection than antibody titres detected when using homologous antigens. In addition it is important to note that cross-reactivity was not observed between all of these serotypes…

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