Production of Salmonella Pullorum and Salmonella Gallinarum Antigens for Rapid Plate Agglutination Testing in the Detection of Pullorum Disease and Fowl Typhoid in Poultry Flocks.

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/ijmcm.2024.710026

Abstract

Fowl typhoid and pullorum disease are bacterial infections caused by Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Pullorum, which can infect chickens and turkeys. These are among the most significant infectious diseases in the poultry industry, resulting in substantial economic losses in many developing countries. Serological tests are suitable for identifying the presence and estimating the prevalence of these infections within poultry flocks. The rapid agglutination test offers speed, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and reliability over other serological tests for screening fowl typhoid and pullorum diseases. In this research, we produced a mix-stained suspension of S. Gallinarum and S. Pullorum from local isolates which were incubated in two different incubation times (24 and 72 hours) for the rapid plate agglutination test. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the produced antigen, we compared it with another commercial rapid plate agglutination kit (SP RPAT, Lillidale®). The results obtained with this kit were considered as true negative and positive results. Comparing the mentioned commercial rapid plate agglutination kit, the prepared antigen from 24-hour cultures demonstrated a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.13%, while the antigen prepared from 72-hour cultures showed a sensitivity of 93.33% and a specificity of 98.84%. Additionally, the agglutination quality of the 72-hour culture results slightly outperformed the 24-hour culture results. In conclusion, we found that the produced antigens are similar to the commercial antigens in terms of specificity and sensitivity, making them effective for diagnosing Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Pullorum infections.

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