Species-specific multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of Brucella ovis, Actinobacillus seminis, and Histophilus somni infection in rams

Table 2 Frequency (%) of Histophilus somni detection by PCR and bacteriology of semen, blood, urine, preputial wash and tissue samples from experimentally infected rams, during six weeks of infection and from negative control

Sample	Infected rams		Negative control rams		Agreement (%)^c	Kappa^c
	Bacteriology	PCR	Bacteriology	PCR
Semen^d	38.3% (23/60) ^a	58.3% (35/60) ^b	0.0% (0/27) ^a	0.0% (0/27) ^a	86.2	0.70
Blood^d	0.0% (0/60) ^a	10.0% (6/60) ^a	0.0% (0/11) ^a	0.0% (0/11) ^a	91.4	0.00
Urine^d	40.0% (24/60) ^a	23.3% (14/60) ^a	0.0% (0/8) ^a	0.0% (0/8) ^a	73.5	0.36
Preputial wash^d	35.0% (21/60) ^a	30.0% (18/60) ^a	0.0% (0/8) ^a	0.0% (0/8) ^a	72.1	0.32

^a,b Different letters in the same row indicate statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) according to the Fisher’s exact test.
^c Kappa test values considering samples from experimental infection and negative controls.
^d These are cumulative results from samples collected weekly throughout the course of infection (up to 42 days post infection).

ISSN: 1746-6148