EN
In a previous paper an ELISA for detecting anti-Brucella antibodies in cattle sera was elaborated and evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ELISA for testing individual milk samples from cattle. Validation was performed by comparing the results of this test with those in the Rose Bengal Test (RBT), tube agglutination test (TAT), complement fixation test (CFT), Coombs anti-globulin test (Coombs), 2-mercaptoet- hanol test (2-ME) and serum ELISA. The examinations involved 79 milk samples from cows in which sera were positive in the RBT, 14 milk samples from cows in which sera were positive in the CFT, Coombs or 2-ME, 530 milk samples from cows considered free of brucellosis and 309 milk samples from cows from herds suspected of brucellosis. No correlation between the milk ELISA and RBT results was found - among 79 samples from cows in which sera reacted positively in the RBT only 22 were positive or doubtful in the ELISA, but all samples in which the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies was confirmed in the CFT, Coombs or/and 2-ME reacted positively in the ELISA (14 out of 14 samples). All 530 milk samples from cows free of brucellosis were negative in the ELISA. Among 309 milk samples from cows from herds suspected of brucellosis 11 positive and 20 doubtful results were obtained in the ELISA and this method proved to be more sensitive than traditional methods and serum ELISA, in which method only 3 samples from the same cows reacted positively and 2 doubtfully. The ELISA for testing individual milk samples proved to be a useful method for diagnosis of brucellosis in cattle.