Validation of a multiplex PCR assay to detectspp. andin cattle in Uruguay in the absence of a gold standard test.

Abstract

Detection of bovinespp. andis based on the reading of Giemsa-stained blood or organ smears, which can have low sensitivity. Our aim was to improve the detection of bovinespp. andby validating a multiplex PCR (mPCR). We used 466 samples of blood and/or organs of animals with signs and presumptive autopsy findings of babesiosis or anaplasmosis. The primers in our mPCR amplified thegene region ofand, and theregion of. We used a Bayesian model with a non-informative priori distribution for the prevalence estimate and informative priori distribution for estimation of sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity and specificity for smear detection ofspp. were 68.6% and 99.1%, and for85.6% and 98.8%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for mPCR detection forspp. were 94.2% and 97.1%, and for95.2% and 92.7%, respectively. Our mPCR had good accuracy in detectingspp. and, and would be a reliable test for veterinarians to choose the correct treatment for each agent.