The complement fixation test for the diagnosis of Brucella ovis infection in sheep

Authors: Ris DR
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 22, Issue 8, pp 143-146, Aug 1974
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Disease/defect, Infectious disease, Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Reproduction, Zoonosis, Public health
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract: The complement fixation (CF) test has been used for the diagnosis of Brucella ovis infection in sheep by several workers (Clapp, 1955, 1961; Biberstein anld McGowan, 1958; Biberstein et al 1964; Ryan, 1964; Gorrie, 1964, 1968; Hughes and Claxton, 1968). When the CF test described by Clapp ( 1961) was used in a study of natural and experimental infections in rams (Ris, 1964), it was found that some rams excreting Br. ovis organisms in their semen had no detectable CF titres. This occurred some 6 months after initial infection when the rams had been serologically positive for at least 2 months. However, CF antibodies were again detected after an interval which varied from 2 weeks to 3 months. It therefore appeared advisable to increase the sensitivity of the CF test in order to detect all infected rams. This was achieved by allowing fixation to take place for 18 h at 4°C (Ris, 1967). At that time few sera were available for comparative purposes. However, a large number of sera from infected and noninfected animals has since become available, and a detailed comparison of the different methods is now possible. This paper compares the sensitivity of the cold fixation method with that of the original test (fixation at 37°C for 30 min) using sera from culturally positive and negative rams.

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