Evaluation of four serological tests for the diagnosis of caprine melioidosis

A complement fixation (CF) test, 2 indirect haemagglutination (IHA-A; IHA-L) tests which differed in antigen preparation and technique, and a microtitre agglutination (MA) test were compared in the serodiagnosis of melioidosis in goats. One hundred and eighteen experimental serums and 3143 field serums from goats in endemic and non-endemic areas of north Queensland were used in the evaluation. Culture of samples for Pseudomonas pseudomallei from 112 goats provided substantiating evidence of infection. The IHA-A test was the most sensitive, and the CF test the most specific. We advocate the use of the IHA-A as a screening test followed by the CF test for confirmation of active melioidosis. The IHA-A test is the better indicator of past infection.