Comparison of Three Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kits for Diagnosis of Dairy Cattle Shedding Mycobacterium Avium Subsp. Paratuberculosis in Feces

The goal of a paratuberculosis control program is to lower the within-herd infection prevalence to levels that limited its economic impact, i.e. to a level where the cost of the disease that is less than the cost of the control program. This requires a combination of feasible and affordable changes to calf management designed to limit M. paratuberculosis infection transmission coupled with use of diagnostic tests to identify as many of the infectious cows as possible, and management of those cows accordingly [2]. It is imperative that diagnostic tests used to support a control program in commercial dairy herds be cost-effective, i.e. have maximal accuracy at least cost. Serological tests for paratuberculosis using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technology nicely fill this need providing accurate, low-cost, high-throughput tests to support paratuberculosis control programs. When results are reported quantitatively, e.g. S/P values, they can help dairy producers rank cows for culling or segregation at the time of calving [3]. A new ELISA kit (SERELISA® ParaTB Ab Mono Indirect, Zoetis Diagnostics, Kalamazoo, MI) for bovine paratuberculosis has entered the U.S. market. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of this kit for detection of dairy cattle shedding M. paratuberculosis in feces with two other USDA-licensed ELISA kits. Evaluation procedures were consistent with STRADASparaTB guidelines [4].