Surveillance Network of Wildlife Diseases, Department of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
BMC Vet Res. 2012 Jun 18;8:80. doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-8-80.
Brucellosis is frequently reported among wild boar populations in Europe. The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiological situation in Belgium, regarding the steady increase of wild boar populations over the last decades. Several serological tests were used and compared with culture and IS711 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to determine the most suitable combination of diagnostic tools for conducting a successful prevalence study in wildlife.
An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) was used on 1168 sera from hunter-killed wild boar sampled between 2003 and 2007 in 4 natural regions of southern Belgium. Results gave an apparent prevalence of 54.88% (95% CI 52.03-57.73). Prevalence was significantly affected by age and by the year of study, but not by sex nor by the region of sampling. The relative sensitivities of the complement fixation test (CFT), the Rose Bengal test (RBT), and the slow agglutination test (SAT) versus the iELISA differed widely between tests, reaching 62.67%, 46.68%, and 34.77%, respectively. The relative specificities of the CFT, RBT and SAT versus the iELISA were respectively 99.01%, 92.49%, and 99.1%. From seropositive animals (iELISA), 9% were positive by culture and 24% by PCR when testing spleen and/or tonsils. Sensitivity of the PCR was higher on tonsils than on spleen. All bacterial isolates were identified as Brucella suis biovar 2.
Brucellosis is widespread among wild boar in southern Belgium, with seroprevalences having increased over ten years, and constitutes a growing risk of spillback to outdoor-farmed pig herds. The iELISA showed a better sensitivity than the CFT, RBT and SAT. Serological tests must be associated with direct diagnosis and PCR proved more sensitive than culture under wildlife sampling conditions. Spleen and tonsils are lymphoid tissues usually sampled in multi-disease monitoring programs. They remain top-grade organs for direct diagnosis of brucellosis, with a preference for tonsils.
布鲁氏菌病在欧洲野猪种群中经常报告。本研究的目的是评估过去几十年野猪数量稳步增加的情况下，比利时的流行病学情况。使用了几种血清学检测方法，并与培养和 IS711 聚合酶链反应（PCR）进行了比较，以确定用于在野生动物中进行成功流行率研究的最合适的诊断工具组合。
在 2003 年至 2007 年间，在比利时南部的 4 个自然区域中，对 1168 份来自猎人捕杀的野猪血清进行了间接酶联免疫吸附试验（iELISA）。结果显示，明显的流行率为 54.88%（95%CI52.03-57.73）。流行率受年龄和研究年份的显著影响，但不受性别或采样区域的影响。补体结合试验（CFT）、虎红平板试验（RBT）和缓慢凝集试验（SAT）的相对敏感性与 iELISA 差异很大，分别为 62.67%、46.68%和 34.77%。CFT、RBT 和 SAT 与 iELISA 的相对特异性分别为 99.01%、92.49%和 99.1%。从血清阳性动物（iELISA）中，通过培养和 PCR 检测脾脏和/或扁桃体时，有 9%和 24%为阳性。PCR 的敏感性在扁桃体上高于脾脏。所有细菌分离株均被鉴定为 2 型猪布鲁氏菌生物型。
比利时南部野猪中布鲁氏菌病广泛流行，血清流行率在十年内增加，对户外养殖猪群的溢出风险构成了不断增长的威胁。iELISA 比 CFT、RBT 和 SAT 的敏感性更高。血清学检测必须与直接诊断相结合，PCR 在野生动物采样条件下比培养更敏感。脾脏和扁桃体是通常在多疾病监测计划中采样的淋巴组织。它们仍然是直接诊断布鲁氏菌病的最佳器官，首选扁桃体。
