Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis
The performance of direct tests, such as bacteriological culture and qPCR, for the diagnosis of brucellosis has been evaluated in a limited number of studies, often based on small sample sizes. Moreover, the absence of a gold standard makes this assessment even more challenging. A potential alternat...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
|
| Series: | Veterinary Quarterly |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2514753 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849470028316934144 |
|---|---|
| author | Giovanna Fusco Alessandro Bellato Lorena Cardillo Agata Campione Michela Di Roberto Anna Cerrone Francesca Bove Roberta Pellicanò Maria Ottaiano Marco Esposito Antonio Limone Anna Rita Attili Esterina De Carlo |
| author_facet | Giovanna Fusco Alessandro Bellato Lorena Cardillo Agata Campione Michela Di Roberto Anna Cerrone Francesca Bove Roberta Pellicanò Maria Ottaiano Marco Esposito Antonio Limone Anna Rita Attili Esterina De Carlo |
| author_sort | Giovanna Fusco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The performance of direct tests, such as bacteriological culture and qPCR, for the diagnosis of brucellosis has been evaluated in a limited number of studies, often based on small sample sizes. Moreover, the absence of a gold standard makes this assessment even more challenging. A potential alternative for evaluating the performance of direct tests is Bayesian latent class analysis (BLCA), which does not require prior knowledge of disease status or a gold standard. This study aimed to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of bacteriological culture for brucellosis diagnosis. In a brucellosis-endemic area, a large number of seronegative and seropositive buffaloes and cattle were tested using bacteriological culture and qPCR. BLCA was applied to estimate the performance of both tests. The median Se of bacteriological culture was estimated at 61.3%, compared to 70.9% of qPCR. The median Sp was 99.6% for bacteriological culture and 89.3% for qPCR. Bacteriological culture demonstrated a higher Positive Predictive Value (PPV) than qPCR in both buffaloes and cattle, whereas the Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of the two methods did not differ significantly. These results suggest that, in settings of low brucellosis prevalence, a positive bacteriological culture has a greater predictive value than qPCR . |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a94fbe3b8d747729cf0462476fca395 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0165-2176 1875-5941 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a94fbe3b8d747729cf0462476fca3952025-08-20T03:25:16ZengTaylor & Francis GroupVeterinary Quarterly0165-21761875-59412025-12-0145111010.1080/01652176.2025.2514753Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysisGiovanna Fusco0Alessandro Bellato1Lorena Cardillo2Agata Campione3Michela Di Roberto4Anna Cerrone5Francesca Bove6Roberta Pellicanò7Maria Ottaiano8Marco Esposito9Antonio Limone10Anna Rita Attili11Esterina De Carlo12Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Sciences, Università di Torino, Grugliasco, Turin, ItalyDepartment of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyDepartment of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyRegional Observatory of Epidemiology and Biostatistic, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyRegional Observatory of Epidemiology and Biostatistic, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyUOD Prevenzione e Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria, Regione Campania, Naples, ItalyGeneral Direction, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalySchool of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Università di Camerino, Matelica, Macerata, ItalyScientific Direction, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Portici, Naples, ItalyThe performance of direct tests, such as bacteriological culture and qPCR, for the diagnosis of brucellosis has been evaluated in a limited number of studies, often based on small sample sizes. Moreover, the absence of a gold standard makes this assessment even more challenging. A potential alternative for evaluating the performance of direct tests is Bayesian latent class analysis (BLCA), which does not require prior knowledge of disease status or a gold standard. This study aimed to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of bacteriological culture for brucellosis diagnosis. In a brucellosis-endemic area, a large number of seronegative and seropositive buffaloes and cattle were tested using bacteriological culture and qPCR. BLCA was applied to estimate the performance of both tests. The median Se of bacteriological culture was estimated at 61.3%, compared to 70.9% of qPCR. The median Sp was 99.6% for bacteriological culture and 89.3% for qPCR. Bacteriological culture demonstrated a higher Positive Predictive Value (PPV) than qPCR in both buffaloes and cattle, whereas the Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of the two methods did not differ significantly. These results suggest that, in settings of low brucellosis prevalence, a positive bacteriological culture has a greater predictive value than qPCR .https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2514753BrucellosisBayesian modellingbacteriological culturesensitivityspecificitylivestock |
| spellingShingle | Giovanna Fusco Alessandro Bellato Lorena Cardillo Agata Campione Michela Di Roberto Anna Cerrone Francesca Bove Roberta Pellicanò Maria Ottaiano Marco Esposito Antonio Limone Anna Rita Attili Esterina De Carlo Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis Veterinary Quarterly Brucellosis Bayesian modelling bacteriological culture sensitivity specificity livestock |
| title | Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis |
| title_full | Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis |
| title_fullStr | Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis |
| title_short | Large-scale evaluation of bacteriological-based method and qPCR performance for Brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using Bayesian latent class analysis |
| title_sort | large scale evaluation of bacteriological based method and qpcr performance for brucellosis diagnosis in livestock using bayesian latent class analysis |
| topic | Brucellosis Bayesian modelling bacteriological culture sensitivity specificity livestock |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/01652176.2025.2514753 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT giovannafusco largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT alessandrobellato largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT lorenacardillo largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT agatacampione largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT micheladiroberto largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT annacerrone largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT francescabove largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT robertapellicano largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT mariaottaiano largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT marcoesposito largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT antoniolimone largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT annaritaattili largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis AT esterinadecarlo largescaleevaluationofbacteriologicalbasedmethodandqpcrperformanceforbrucellosisdiagnosisinlivestockusingbayesianlatentclassanalysis |