Summary
A commercial rapid-absorbed elisa developed to detect antibodies to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in bovine serum was modified for use with goat serum. Diagnostic sensitivity was evaluated, using a group of 163 goats from a herd with endemic paratuberculosis. Blood and fecal samples were obtained simultaneously, and prevalence of shedding of M paratuberculosis in the feces was estimated by detection of dna of the mycobacterial insertion sequence, IS900, using a commercial test kit. Diagnostic specificity was evaluated, using blood samples from a total of 123 goats in 10 herds that were considered clinically free of paratuberculosis.
The IS900 dna was detected in 35 of the 163 goats (21%) from the infected herd. Serum antibody to M paratuberculosis was detected in 19 of the 35 IS900 dna-positive goats, for apparent sensitivity of 54%. Serum antibody was detected in 18 of the 128 IS900 dna-negative goats from the infected herd.
Negative results for serum antibody to M paratuberculosis were obtained for all 123 goats from the herds that were considered clinically free of paratuberculosis.
