Use of an amplified enzyme immunoassay for the detection of chlamydiae in a suppurative vaginal discharge from cattle with a chlamydia-induced endometritis

By inoculation of the yolk sac of embryonating hen eggs and a commercial available enzyme amplified immunoassay to detect chlamydial antigen 63 samples of purulent vaginal discharge from heifers with Chlamydia-induced endometritis were tested for chlamydiae. Vaginal mucus samples from 42 slaughter cattle without any signs of vaginitis/endometritis and 14 samples from various pyogenic bovine infections served as controls. Chlamydiae were isolated from 44 of 63 samples from the experimentally infected heifers. None of the 66 controls gave a positive response neither in the yolk sac culture nor in the ELISA. The overall correlation of the ELISA with culture was 89.9%. Analysis of the ELISA-results revealed the discordance between ELISA and culture presumably to be caused by false negative results in the hen egg technique.