Evaluation of the slide agglutination test for detection of leptospiral antibodies in serum samples of slaughter pigs.

Serum samples of 259 randomly selected slaughter pigs were studied comparatively in the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and the slide agglutination test (SAT) for the presence of leptospiral antibodies. 12 of 13 serum samples with MAT titres of 1:400+ + and higher were positive in the SAT. 27 of 46 sera with MAT titres in the borderline range (1:100+ + to 1:400+) showed a positive reaction in the SAT. 31 of 200 serum samples with MAT titres of 1:100+ and less reacted also positively in the SAT. Statistical evaluation of the results showed that the SAT is accurate if results are positive but less so if the results are negative (sensitivity 92.3%, specificity 76.4%).