Abstract
Routine serologic testing for Avian melapneumovirus (AMPV) infection of turkey flocks at slaughter is currently being used to monitor changes in the occurrence of AMPV infection in endemic areas and can also be used to detect the emergence of infection in currently unaffected areas. Because of the costs associated with false-positive results, particularly in areas that are free of AMPV infection, there is a need to obtain improved estimates of flock-level specificity (SP). The objective of this study was to estimate flock-level SP of a program to monitor AMPV infection in turkey flocks at processing using a standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A study was carried out in which 37 AMPV-free flocks from 7 Midwest operations were followed serologically. Six percent, 3%, and 0.2% of total samples tested AMPV positive at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and at processing, respectively. Overall, flock-level SP increased as the cutoff increased and as age increased. Flock-level SP at processing was 97%, if a cutoff of 1 was used (the flock was classified as positive if at least 1 sample tested positive), and 100%, if any other cutoff was used. Administration of antibiotics (P = 0.02) and vaccination for Bordetella avium (P = 0.08) were positively associated with the probability of (false) positive test results. These findings suggest possible cross-reactions with other infections and highlight the need to consider variable diagnostic performance depending on farm conditions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 240-243 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgements. The authors thank the turkey producers that participated in the study and the laboratory personnel at the Iowa and Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories and the Minnesota Poultry Testing Laboratory for sample processing and testing. This study was funded by Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council (Project 2005–05) and a U.S. Department of Agriculture-Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Special Research Grant to the Midwest Poultry Consortium.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Avian metapneumovirus
- Diagnostics
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- Specificity
- Turkeys