Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona antibodies in bovine sera

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a specific monoclonal antibody (M898) was developed for detection of bovine antibodies to Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona, This assay was evaluated using field sera (n = 190) with serovar pomona microscopic agglutination test (MAT) titers of greater than or equal to 100 as the positive population (group A); field sera (n = 1,445) which were negative in the MAT (1:100 dilution) for serovar pomona (group B); and sera (from a specific-pathogen-free cattle herd [n = 210]) which were negative in the MAT (1:100 dilution) for serovars canicola, copenhageni, grippotyphosa, hardjo, pomona, and sejroe (group C), At the cutoff point recommended by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of the combined ELISA results of serum groups A, B, and C, the sensitivity and specificity values were 93.7 and 96,3%, respectively. The value for the area under this ROC curve was 0,977, indicating a high level of accuracy for the ELISA. Similar results were obtained from the analysis of the combined results of serum groups A and B and from the analysis of the combined results of serum groups A and C.