Differentiation of antibodies against Brucella abortus and Yersinia enterocolitica by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was found to be from ten to hundred-fold more sensitive than commonly used tube agglutination text. The ELISA using both direct and indirect inhibition assays revealed antigenic differences between Brucella abortus and Yersinia enterocolitica O-group V (serotype 9), which are undetected by commonly used serological routine tests. The results point to the possibility that the ELISA assay can be used as a serological method for differentiation between antibodies against different Brucella species and Y. enterocolitica O-group V.