article · PLoS ONE
Glanders is a contagious zoonotic infection affecting equids, caused by Burkholderia mallei. Accurate diagnosis using blood tests remains difficult because existing tools often generate false results. A comparative evaluation was conducted on serum samples from 3,000 disease-free and 254 infected equids to assess the standard complement fixation test alongside a Western blot and five enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The Western blot and most of the evaluated assays demonstrated significantly higher specificity than the standard test. While assays based on the TssA, TssB, and BimA antigens proved less sensitive, the Western blot, the Hcp1 assay, and a semi-purified antigen test achieved sensitivities comparable to the standard method. Because of their balanced diagnostic accuracy, these top-performing assays represent promising candidates for refinement to satisfy international regulatory standards.
Glanders poses a serious risk to equine health and can transmit to humans, making dependable screening vital. Routine cross-border movement of horses relies on reliable diagnostics, yet current tests can yield false results. Identifying more specific diagnostic alternatives helps improve disease surveillance, reduces unnecessary trade disruptions, and lowers the risk of spreading a dangerous zoonotic pathogen.
This study evaluates diagnostic assays for veterinary screening and international equine trade monitoring. The Western blot, Hcp1 assay, and IDVet test are applied and tested candidates that could serve veterinary reference laboratories and animal health authorities. However, these tools are not yet ready for market adoption or regulatory approval, as further technical development is required to satisfy the international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health.
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Glanders is a zoonotic contagious disease of equids caused by Burkholderia (B.) mallei. Serodiagnosis of the disease is challenging because of false-positive and false-negative test results. The accuracy of the complement fixation test (CFT) which is prescribed for international trade by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), five ELISAs and a Western blot (WB) were compared for serodiagnosis of glanders using sera from 3,000 glanders-free and 254 glanderous equids. Four ELISA tests are based on recombinant antigens (TssA, TssB, BimA and Hcp1), the IDVet ELISA is based on a semi-purified fraction of B. mallei and WB makes use of a purified LPS-containing B. mallei-antigen. Sensitivity and specificity of tests were estimated using cut-off values recommended by the test developers. The WB and all ELISAs, except BimA, were significantly more specific than the CFT. ELISAs based on TssA, TssB, and BimA antigens had significantly lower sensitivity compared to CFT while the sensitivities of the Hcp1-ELISA, the IDVet-ELISA and the WB did not differ significantly from that of the CFT. Given their comparable sensitivities and specificities, the CFT (98.0%, 96.4%), the WB (96.8%, 99.4%), the Hcp1-ELISA (95.3%, 99.6%) and the IDVet-ELISA (92.5%, 99.5%) should be further developed to meet OIE requirements.
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DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214963
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