Technique of fluorescence polarization for the diagnosis of Brucella in Chaetophractus villosus

Brucellosis is a disease widespread throughout the world. The diagnosis is made through the use of different techniques including the isolation of the etiological agent or by serology detecting specific antibodies. All these methods are standardized and validated in general for animal species of zoo-technical interest. In wild animals, serological procedures may be used, but each should be validated for the particular animal species studied. The objective of this work was to verify if the technique of Fluorescent Polarization used for the determination of antibodies against Brucella in ruminants can be used for the diagnosis of Brucella in Chaetophractus villosus. To this aim, s 150 blood samples of Chaetophractus villosus were taken. Twenty-four samples were positive by the techniques of Antigen Buffered in Plate, serum agglutination test (SAT), 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) agglutination test and complement fixation test (CFT). The same samples were also positive by Fluorescent Polarization, and a cut-off limit of 82 mP was established. The KAPPA index was 1 for all diagnostic tests compared to FPA (CI: 0.84-1).