A review on diagnostic techniques for brucellosis

Brucellosis presents with many clinical manifestation that make its diagnosis a difficult task. The most widely used methods of diagnosis are based on serology. These tests are most commonly used because they are safe. Other useful tests include the direct smear examination which is a presumptive method that involves making smears from vaginal swabs, placentas or aborted foetuses, stained with the stamp modification of the Ziehl-Neelsen method Culture and isolation of the organism from blood or tissue samples has remained the only “unequivocal” method but lacks sensitivity, and its outcome depends on individual laboratory practices, and how actively the obtaining of cultures is pursued. More recently, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been found to be a useful and more sensitive test, but has not been validated for standard laboratory use. This paper highlights useful samples and, especially the different conventional to more sophisticated molecular techniques for the diagnosis of brucellosis.