Evaluation of lymphocyte stimulation tests for diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in elk (Cervus elaphus).

Lymphocyte stimulation tests (LST), performed using 6 antigen preparations, were compared individually and in pairs. The tests were performed on 433 blood samples collected from elk in Mycobacterium bovis-infected herds. These elk were killed as part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's bovine tuberculosis eradication policy, and mycobacterial culture results were obtained from tissues of each animal. The LST, which had the highest total sum of sensitivity and specificity, was a comparative test that used M bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) and M paratuberculosis (johnin) PPD. This test had a sensitivity of 76%, with confidence limits (CL) of 63 to 85% for this estimate, and specificity of 77% (CL, 72 to 81%). The LST, using only M bovis PPD antigen, had a sensitivity of 70% (CL, 57 to 80%) and specificity of 74% (CL, 69 to 79%); when it was compared with culture results, using the kappa statistic, agreement was only 32%. This indicated that the LST identified different elk than did M bovis isolation tests.