Comparative evaluation of new and conventional serological assays for diagnosis of brucellosis in buffaloes

Brucellosis, a major zoonotic disease, is prevalent in most parts of the world and is mainly diagnosed by serological tests.The present study aimed to assess the diagnostic efficacy of RBPT, MAT, mMAT and I-ELISA, in order to identify an optimal combination for enhanced and precise diagnosis of brucellosis in buffaloes.A total of 450 buffalo serum samples were analysed against these tests.The data were analysed in Winepiscope-2 software for determining the degree of agreement between test combinations.Out of these, 138 (30.66%) tested positive in I-ELISA, while 72 (16%), 93 (20.66%), and 84 (18.66%) were positive in RBPT, MAT, and mMAT, respectively.I-ELISA detected the highest number of positive samples, with RBPT exhibiting the lowest positivity rate.Across all four serological assays, 296 samples tested negative and 63 tested positive.I-ELISA identified 49 samples as positive that were negative in the other tests.Nine samples positive in RBPT were negative in rest of the three tests.RBPT identified 21 samples as negative, all of which yielded positive results in the remaining three serological tests.12 samples positive in MAT were negative in rest of the sero-assays.MAT exhibited the highest sensitivity (75.85%), followed by mMAT (72.16%), with RBPT having the lowest (69.89%), all relative to I-ELISA, which had 100% sensitivity.In terms of specificity, RBPT and MAT recorded 97.44%, while mMAT had the highest at 98.53%.A substantial degree of agreement was observed between the test combinations.It may be concluded that I-ELISA is a highly accurate and precise test and can be used for routine sero-diagnosis of brucellosis in buffaloes, in combination with mMAT to supplement the diagnosis, so as to reduce the likelihood of false test outcomes.