Production of Salmonella Pullorum and Salmonella Gallinarum Antigens for Rapid Plate Agglutination Testing in the Detection of Pullorum Disease and Fowl Typhoid in Poultry Flocks.

Fowl typhoid and pullorum disease are bacterial infections caused by Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Pullorum, which can infect chickens and turkeys. These are among the most significant infectious diseases in the poultry industry, resulting in substantial economic losses in many developing countries. Serological tests are suitable for identifying the presence and estimating the prevalence of these infections within poultry flocks. The rapid agglutination test offers speed, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and reliability over other serological tests for screening fowl typhoid and pullorum diseases. In this research, we produced a mix-stained suspension of S. Gallinarum and S. Pullorum from local isolates which were incubated in two different incubation times (۲۴ and ۷۲ hours) for the rapid plate agglutination test. To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the produced antigen, we compared it with another commercial rapid plate agglutination kit (SP RPAT, Lillidale®). The results obtained with this kit were considered as true negative and positive results. Comparing the mentioned commercial rapid plate agglutination kit, the prepared antigen from ۲۴-hour cultures demonstrated a sensitivity of ۱۰۰% and a specificity of ۹۹.۱۳%, while the antigen prepared from ۷۲-hour cultures showed a sensitivity of ۹۳.۳۳% and a specificity of ۹۸.۸۴%. Additionally, the agglutination quality of the ۷۲-hour culture results slightly outperformed the ۲۴-hour culture results. In conclusion, we found that the produced antigens are similar to the commercial antigens in terms of specificity and sensitivity, making them effective for diagnosing Salmonella Gallinarum and Salmonella Pullorum infections.

Keywords:

Salmonella Pullorum , Salmonella Gallinarum , Pullorum disease , Fowl typhoid , Rapid plate agglutination test