Comparison of the Q-fever complement fixation test and two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for the detection of serum antibodies against<i>Coxiella burnetii</i>(Q-fever) in ruminants: Recommendations for use of serological tests on imported animals in New Zealand

Abstract

The two commercial ELISA were more sensitive than the CFT in all panels from infected ruminants. However, they could only detect IgG. The I-ELISA should be the serological test method of choice for cattle, sheep and goats for import testing of animals into New Zealand because it was more sensitive than the P-ELISA and was equally specific to the PELISA and the CFT. For other animal species, such as deer and camelids, the CFT should still be used since none of the ELISA has been evaluated for these species. This study has shown that the two commercial ELISA will detect the majority of infected ruminants but may miss animals that have not developed an IgG response.