EVALUATION OF PCR, CULTURE AND SEROLOGY METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF BRUCELLA SPP IN FRESH CHEESE SAMPLES

Abstract The diagnosis of Brucellosis is frequently difficult to establish. The established diagnostic methods are not always successful. In this research a polymerase chain reaction test was developed to detect Brucella spp. 60 peripheral cheese samples produced with sheep and cow milk were collected. In this study, the serology, that is agglutination method (ring test), the culture and PCR optimized using Primers pair to amplify a 223 bp region within a gene coding for the BSCP -31 gene were used. Of the 60 cheese samples from sheep milk none of them were positive in culture method i.e. showing any brucella species and 8 of them (13/33) % were positive by PCR and 9 of them 15%were positive by serology test.Regarding several advantages of PCR over the conventional methods for the detection of Brucella, it can be said that it is an indirect test indicating the sanitary quality of milk used in dairy industries. However, PCR might be considered as the complementary to the traditional methods and followed up by serology and/or culture or confirming method. The technique showed good sensitivity and specificity. It is safety, faster than the conventional bacteriological assays

Keyword: Brucella, PCR, Primer, Serology, Culture