Abstract

The diagnosis of brucellosis is the corner stone in any control and eradication program. Therefore, the main objective of the present study was to apply more advanced techniques for rapid and accurate diagnosis of brucellosis that can overcome the draw backs of the traditional diagnostic techniques. Different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were applied in the present study, either singly or in a multiplex format, that enable to detect and differentiate most of Brucella species. The PCR assay detection limit was evaluated in a preliminary study. The obtained results recommend the PCR assay as a valuable, rapid, very specific, highly sensitive and safe laboratory diagnostic test that can be used not only for detection of Brucella antigen either in culture or in clinical samples but also in differentiating most of the virulent and vaccinal strains.

Key words: Brucella species, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, diagnosis, vaccinal strains, Brucella antigen.