Use of species specific polymerase chain reaction assay for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis.

Serology is primarily used in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis. Bacterial culture and isolation is the gold standard in diagnosing brucellosis but, like serology, it does not offer complete (100%) diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been suggested to offer better specificity and sensitivity.

An evaluation of serological tests in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in naturally infected cattle in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.

The diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) of the Rose Bengal test (RBT), the complement fixation test (CFT), the serum agglutination test (SAT), the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and the indirect ELISA (iELISA) were determined in naturally infected cattle in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa with known infectious status from culture (gold standard). Natural brucellosis infection status of animals was determined by culturing and identification of Brucella abortus biovar 1 from abomasal fluid, milk, hygroma fluid, lymph nodes or uterine discharges samples. The diagnostic specificity (DSp) of the tests mentioned above was determined using samples from known negative herds.

The prevalence and distribution of non-communicable diseases and their risk factors in Kasese district, Uganda.

Background: To date there has been no population-based survey of the major risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD) in Uganda. Hospital-based data from urban centres report an increasing burden of NCDs in Uganda. This population-based survey aimed to describe the prevalence of risk factors for NCDs in a rural Ugandan district.

Characterisation of a highly pathogenic influenza A virus of subtype H5N2 isolated from ostriches in South Africa in 2004.

Objectives: The HPAI H5N2 strain that caused an outbreak in ostriches of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa in 2004 was characterized.

Design: Haemagglutination inhibition (HI) and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) were performed on sera from ostrich farms in the outbreak region, and intravenous pathogenicity (IVPI) tests, reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain reaction (RT-PCR), nucleic acid sequencing and phylogenetic comparisons were performed on the HPAI H5N2 virus isolated during the outbreak.

Results: The deduced amino acid sequence at the HA0 cleavage site determined by RT-PCR and nucleotide sequencing was PQREKRRKKRGLF and thus the virus fell within the definition of a highly pathogenic virus, but in an IVPI test in chickens on the virus isolated from the index case and a value of 0.