Future options for brucellosis surveillance in New Zealand beef herds

Authors: MacDiarmid SC
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 36, Issue 1, pp 39-42, Mar 1988
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Bacterial, Biosecurity, Disease/defect, Infectious disease, Disease control/eradication, Epidemiology, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Reproduction, Zoonosis, Public health
Article class: Scientific Article

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Abstract: It is probable that bovine brucellosis will be eradicated from New Zealand by 1990. However, continued surveillance for the disease will have to be maintained for a number of years. This paper examines alternative methods of surveillance in beef herds with a view to ensuring that the most cost effective method is used. The three surveillance methods examined are the present automated complement fixation test, abattoir surveillance, and a system based on a delayed hypersensitivity skin test using a purified Brucella protein antigen. It is concluded that despite the relatively low sensitivity of the skin test the probability of its identifying herds as infected is likely to be greater in practice than abattoir surveillance. The skin test is cheaper than the present complement fixation test.

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