Development of a novel ELISA for serodiagnosis of Leptospirosis and additional detection of pathogenic Leptospira by polymerase chain reaction for veterinary routine diagnostics.

A multi-serovar ELISA based on the outer membrane Lipoprotein L41 (LipL41) of pathogenic Leptospira was developed to increase sensitivity by using a single test antigen. A sensitivity of 99 % and a specifity of 92 % could be achieved. The established diagnostic polymerase chain reaction is also able to detect fast and reliably pathogenic Leptospira in different clinical samples.