DETECTION OF BRUCELLAE AND THEIR ANTIBODIES BY FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY AND AGGLUTINATION TESTS

Abstract

Conditions are described for preparing antigens and antisera and for performing 3 kinds of fluorescent antibody tests for detecting brucellae and their antibodies in various kinds of materials. The sensitivity and specificity of the fluorescent antibody tests were compared with that of cultural and agglutination techniques. It was demonstrated that positive fluorescent antibody reactions were demonstrable with smears of suspensions containing as few as 2.5 x 103 viable or nonviable brucellae per ml. The presence of massive bacterial or environmental contamination did not appear to affect the sensitivity or specificity of the tests. Demonstration of positive agglutination reactions required suspensions containing no less than 6.0 x 107 cells per ml. Higher serum antibody titers were obtained by agglutination and fluorescent antibody inhibition tests than by indirect fluorescent antibody tests.