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Blood culture and stimulation conditions for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in cervids by the Cervigam assay

¹ Tuberculosis Research Project, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, Iowa 50010, USA
² Brucellosis Research Project, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, Iowa 50010, USA
³ Periparturient Diseases of Cattle Research Project, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, Iowa 50010, USA
⁴ National Tuberculosis Eradication Program, Veterinary Services, USDA, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
⁵ National Wildlife Research Center, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
⁶ Ottawa Laboratory Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, K2H 8P9 Canada

Mitogen- and antigen-induced interferon- (IFN-) responses of peripheral blood leucocytes from cervids were evaluated by a commercial whole-blood assay. The assay was applied to Mycobacterium bovis-infected white-tailed deer and reindeer, M bovis BCG-vaccinated white-tailed deer and elk, and unvaccinated, uninfected white-tailed deer, fallow deer, elk and reindeer. The responses of the M bovis-infected white-tailed deer to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) varied with time and between individuals. The responses of the M bovis-infected reindeer to PWM and M bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) were positively associated. Samples from tuberculosis-free captive herds in various parts of the USA were also evaluated. Four per cent of fallow deer, 20 per cent of elk, 44 per cent of white-tailed deer, and 91 per cent of reindeer had responses to PWM exceeding 0·25 optical density, that is, PWM stimulation minus no stimulation. The specificity of the responses to M bovis PPD and a Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex-specific antigen rESAT-6:CFP-10, excluding animals not responding to PWM, ranged from 78 per cent to 100 per cent and was dependent upon the species and the positive response cut-off value. The results show that the commercial assay is valid for the detection of TB in reindeer; however, further development of the assay will be required before it is used in surveillance programmes for white-tailed deer, fallow deer, and elk.

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