Antibody tests for identification of Mycobacterium bovis- infected bovine herds

Abstract

Antibody in sera from 560 cattle of tuberculosis (TB)-infected and TB- free herds was investigated by competition and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using bovine purified protein derivative tuberculin as the antigen. Antibody was detected in sera from both types of herd, with a widely overlapping range of titers. However, a 'tail' of high-titered sera was observed for the distribution of data for only those cattle from TB- infected herds.