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RBPT, SDB Dangerpora, 30.04.2024
RBPT, SDB Dangerpora, 30.04.2024
Sd/=
Laboratory Officer
Disease Investigation Laboratory
Noorbagh Baramu lla
I. Rose Bengal Plate Test
S.No. Tag/Brand No. Species Sex Age Conditi on of Conditi on of Test result Ti me of
sample recei ved sample tested reaction
(min)
1 612 Ovine Female *** Clear Clear -ve ≤4
2 086 Ovine Female *** Clear Clear +ve ≤4
3 337 Ovine Female *** Clear Clear +ve ≤4
4 292 Ovine Female *** Clear Clear +ve ≤4
5 554 Ovine Female *** Hemolyzed Hemolyzed +ve ≤4
a) The Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), in principle, is essentially a serological variant of plate/slide
agglutination test (visible clu mping observed in ≤4 minutes) in which killed Gram negative bacilli
namely Brucella abortus organisms stained with acidified Rose Bengal dye (containing 0.95g/ L of
Sodiu m azide as a preservative and buffered at pH=3.6) are used as antigen for direct detection of
Brucella agglutinins / antibodies in the serum of the suspected ruminant animal (A m. J. vet res, 18:
550(1957); J A m Vet Med Assoc: 151: 1778(1967); Co mp . Immune M icrobiol Infect Dis, 1 107
(1978).
b) This Antigen is reactive with both immunoglobulin G (detected earlier especially in subclinical
infections) and immunoglobulin M.
c) It is a quick yet inexpensive and highly effective test for screening of the livestock for Brucellosis,
with a d iagnostic specificity sometimes approaching 100% (OIE, 1995).
d) No test is 100% sensitive and/or specific. RBPT has a tendency to give False Negative results (WHO
Tech. Rep. Ser., 740 (1986) 62-63; J. Clin. Microbiol., 36 (1998) 1425-1427; Proc. Final Res. Coord.
Meet. FAO/IAEA/SIDA, Austria (1990) 151-162) due to low antibody titres, observer bias and
prozone phenomenon.
e) Many biochemical conditions such as vaccination with strain-19, Covid-19 infections, Tularaemia
infections, Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 infections, Escherichia coli infections, Salmonella group N
(O:30) infections and Hyperbilirubinaemia may affect the reaction results; however Hemoglobin levels
and Lipaemic conditions do not seem to be among the interfering factors.
f) Disease Investigation Laboratory Baramulla publishes results keeping in view the probabilit ies of false
positive and false negative results arising due to a plethora of factors as can be imagined under a given
set of field and/or laboratory conditions. The results published by DIL Baramu lla must be carefully
compared and correlated with the pertinent clinical signs and symptoms in the animal/s under
investigation. In case the test results do not seem to be complying with the clinical picture, the animals
can be resampled and retested at DIL Srinagar using ELISA fo r confirmation (J. Bacteriol. Res., 1 (3)
(2009) 30-33; Turk. J. Vet. Anim. Sci., 37 (2013) 1-5) to provide a better clinical understanding of the
investigative process.
a) The RBPT test when performed under standard, controlled conditions can yield highly specific results.
Once the sera samples submitted to the Disease Investigation Laboratory Noorbagh Baramu lla are
declared as showing a Brucellosis positive reaction to the test antigen, the infected animals have to be
disposed off to stop the infection from spreading to other animals and humans However it can also
spread by other routes such as by consuming raw infected milk fro m ru minants, handling infected
animal t issues such as uterine secretions, placentae and fetuses or by entering skin wounds, cuts or
intact mucous memb ranes and handling infected laboratory samp les.
b) In animals it causes poor reproductive performance such as abortions, still births, retention of
placenta, repeat breeding and decreased libido in males . So me an imals may recover, parturate normally
and produce offspring folowing treatment with antibiotic drugs. However, they may continue shedding
the Brucellotic bacilli for a pro longed period thereafter.
c) Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it can infect and clinically affect humans as well,
causing a febrile disease known as Undulant Fever wherein it causes severe debilitating problems such
as fatigue, irregular fever, headache, asthenia (Weakness, weight loss), profuse sweating (foul s melling
perspiration), chills, mig ratory arthralgia (sacroilit is, osteomyelit is, spondylodescitis, septic arthritis,
epidural abscess), infertility (Epid idy mo-Orchitis), ly mphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, blindness
(uveitis, keratoconjunctivitis, iridocyclitis, optic neuritis, cataract) and death (pericardit is,
endocarditis).
Sd/=
Laboratory Officer
Disease Investigation Laboratory
Noorbagh Baramu lla