Agreement between assays of cell-mediated immunity utilizing Mycobacterium bovis-specific antigens for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer)

We assessed the use of Mycobacterium bovis-specific peptides for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) by evaluating the agreement between the single intradermal comparative tuberculin test (SICTT), the Bovigam® EC (BEC) assay, the Bovigam® HP (BHP) assay and two assays utilizing the QuantiFERON® TB-Gold (in tube) system employing 20 h (mQFT20 assay) and 30 h (mQFT30 assay) whole blood incubation periods. Of 84 buffaloes, 45% were SICTT-positive, 48% were BEC-positive, 50% were BHP-positive, 37% were mQFT20-positive and 43% were mQFT30-positive. Agreement between the BEC and BHP Bovigam® assays was high (κ = 0.86, 95% CI 0.75-0.97) and these detected the most test-positive animals suggesting that they were the most sensitive assays. Interferon-gamma release was significantly greater in buffaloes that were test-positive for all tests than in animals with discordant but positive Bovigam® results. Agreement between the mQFT assays was equally high (κ = 0.88, 95% CI 0.77-0.98); however, all buffaloes with discordant mQFT results (n = 6) were mQFT30-positive/mQFT20-negative, including three confirmed M. bovis-infected animals, suggesting that the mQFT30 assay is the more sensitive of the two. Agreements between the two Bovigam® and two mQFT assays were moderate, suggesting that in its current format the mQFT assay is less sensitive than either the BEC or the BHP assays.