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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, November 1999, p. 787-790, Vol. 6, No. 6
Laboratorio di Medicina Veterinaria, Istituto
Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy
Received 12 March 1999/Returned for modification 28 June
1999/Accepted 26 July 1999
The live attenuated Brucella abortus strain RB51 is a
rifampin-resistant, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-chain-deficient mutant of virulent B. abortus 2308. The reduced O-chain content in
RB51 prevents this bacterium from inducing antibodies detectable by the
conventional serologic tests for bovine brucellosis diagnosis that
mainly identify antibodies to LPS. The absence of available serologic
tests for RB51 also complicates the diagnosis of possible RB51
infections in humans exposed to this strain. The purpose of this study
was to evaluate the suitability of a complement fixation (CF) test
performed with the rough strain B. abortus RB51, previously
deprived of anticomplementary activity, in detecting anti-B.
abortus RB51 antibodies in cattle and sheep experimentally vaccinated with this strain. The results of this study showed that a CF
test with RB51 as the antigen is able to specifically detect antibodies
following RB51 vaccination in cattle and sheep. In addition, this
method could be a useful tool for detecting B. abortus RB51
infection in humans.
1071-412X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Complement Fixation Test To Assess Humoral Immunity
in Cattle and Sheep Vaccinated with Brucella abortus
RB51
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratorio di
Medicina Veterinaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina
Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. Phone: 39-6-49902728. Fax: 39-6-49387077. E-mail: adone{at}iss.it.
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