COMPARISON OF A RAPID TEST WITH bPAG ELISA IN PREGNANCY DIAGNOSIS IN COWS

H O Dyary,M O Mohammed,O I Dana,R H Mukhtar

doi:10.36103/ijas.v52i6.1488

Abstract

Early pregnancy detection is vital for properly managing livestock farms by re-inseminating nonpregnant females and minimizing the calving intervals. The present investigation was executed to compare a rapid test (Dairy Cow Pregnancy Test from Span Biotech Ltd. Shenzhen, China) with a commercial bPAG ELISA test (IDEXX®) for pregnancy diagnosis in non-descriptive cows. The study also aimed to elucidate if the rapid test could be an alternative method to ELISA in the field. Blood and urine samples were collected from 43 cows to measure the concentrations of bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) in the blood samples and detect progesterone via the rapid test in the urine samples. Examining the genital tracts was achieved after slaughtering the cows to determine the uterus’ state, used as the reference standard for both tests. The results showed that the bPAG ELISA test was more accurate in pregnancy detection than the rapid test. However, there were no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) between both methods’ results. We conclude that the rapid test can be a suitable alternative method to the bPAG ELISA test for diagnosing pregnancy in cows in field conditions.

Highlights

Low conception rates negatively impact the cattle industry by extending the calving intervals and, reducing the offspring number and milk production
Progesterone concentration remains high during the gestation period due to corpus luteum graviditatis, which is present before the onset of parturition
We elucidated if the rapid test could be an alternative method to a commercial Bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (bPAG) ELISA assay for early pregnancy detection

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Low conception rates negatively impact the cattle industry by extending the calving intervals and, reducing the offspring number and milk production. Estimating plasma progesterone level is considered one of the old methods used in pregnancy diagnosis 19–21 days postinsemination in cattle [5] Samples such as blood, milk, feces, and urine are used to monitor progesterone levels [8, 13, 22]. We elucidated if the rapid test could be an alternative method to a commercial bPAG ELISA assay for early pregnancy detection. Ltd. Shenzhen, China) is a rapid test that detects P4 in urine and is used for early pregnancy diagnosis in cows. This grouping was based on pregnancy assessment results using the bPAGs ELISA and rapid tests for pregnancy diagnosis in the cows and comparison with the gross examination of the genital tract as a standard.

Method of pregnancy detection

Findings

CONCLUSION