Investigations on the Diagnosis of Pseudotuberculosis Infections in Sheep by Allergic Skin Tests

Authors: YAHYA KUYUCUOĞLU

Abstract: This investigation was carried out to evaluate the use of allergic skin tests in the diagnosis of pseudotuberculosis in sheep. For this purpose, two different allergens were prepared by two different methods. Allergens were prepared from C. pseudotuberculosis NVH 3368 strain. The study was carried out on farms with a total of 300 sheep in the province of Konya. The effects of two different allergens injected into four different sites in all three groups (infected, suspected and healthy) were examined (P < 0.05). At the end of the allergic skin test it was found that 73 (73%) of infected sheep tested positive. Sixty-one (83.5%) of these 73 were tested by SAT, 60 (82.1%) by postmortem examination and 38 (52.0%) by bacteriological examination (P < 0.05). All tests gave negative results for the healthy group. Moreover, in the infected animals, the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values from SAT, postmortem examination and bacteriological examination were investigated. The values were 100.0%, 29.0% and 75.5% for the axillary site. It was confirmed that the axilla is the best injection site in allergic tests. In conclusion, it was found the allergic skin test was a reliable method for the diagnosis of pseudotuberculosis in sheep in the field.

Keywords: Caseous lymphadenitis, allergic skin test, sheep.

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