Abstract
In Hokkaido, an abattoir survey was made onCorynebacterium pseudotuberulosis(Cp)infection sheep. Of 248 sheep slaughtered during a period of October 1985 to July 1986, 13 sheep (5.2%) had caseous abscesses caused by the organisms in the lymph nodes, liver and/or lung.
Two goats were infected experimentally with Cp to compare serum antibody titer among different serological methods.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)and immune hemolysis(IHL)test were more specific and sensitive than indirect hemagglutination and immunodiffusion tests.
A serological survey on Cp infection was performed with sheep sera collected from the abattoir. When the IHL test was used, 9 of 13 sera(69.2%)from sheep affected with the organisms positive and 222 of 235 sera from unafected sheep negative.
In ELISA with untreated sera, a false positive reaction was observed in sera from unaffected sheep at a ratio of 29.8%. After absorption of the test sera with bacterial cells of Rhodococcusequi Presoctt type, a positive reaction was seen in sera from all the 13 affected sheep and a negative reaction in 233 of the 235 sera from unaffected sheep.
These results indicate that ELISA is a precise method for the serodiagnosis of Cp infection sheep.
