Large or Food Animal and Equine Medicine Commons^™

A Systematic Literature Review Of Granulocytes-Colony Stimulating Factor Treatment In Animals, Syahirah Ahmad Affandi, Nurul Hayah Khairuddin, Mohammed Sadiq Babatunde, Azalea Hani Othman, Collin Looi Seng Kim, Siti Sarah Othman, Sharifah Roohi Syed Waseem Ahmad

The Thai Journal of Veterinary Medicine

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) on the efficacy of granulocytes-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) as a treatment component in relation to clinicopathological parameters and overall outcomes. Using the PICO approach, a research question development tool, the SLR was designed to identify the animals in which G-CSF had been used, the types of G-CSF utilized and their effectiveness as a therapeutic agent in stimulating haematological parameters, as well as their potential adverse effects. Three primary keywords associated with the review topic were selected and incorporated into the search query to retrieve pertinent literature from three databases: Scopus, Science Direct, …

Molecular And Sequencing Study And Identification Of Novel Sem-Type In Beta-Hemolytic Streptococci Involving The Upper Respiratory Tract In Iran, Sina Moghaddam, Samad Lotfollahzadeh, Taghi Zahraei Salehi, Ali Hassanpour, Hamid Tavanaei Manesh, Iraj Ashrafi Tamai

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Beta-hemolytic streptococci involving the upper respiratory tract cause strangles and strangles-like diseases in horses and cause severe economic damage to the equestrian club each year. Therefore, careful epidemiological study of these bacteria, evaluation of phylogenetic connections and SeM-typing can be useful to determine the source and epidemiological characteristics of the disease outbreak. Isolates were analyzed using molecular and phylogenetic methods and to determine antibiotic resistance pattern in Iranian isolates. Molecular and phylogenetic methods were used to evaluate Iranian streptococcal isolates, and the similarity of the Iranian SeM-97 sequence with other alleles was assessed using the Neighbor-joining method with the …

Evaluation Of Serum Concentration Of Acute-Phase Proteins (Haptoglobin And Serum Amyloid A) In The Affected Arabian Foals With Rhodococcosis, Ali Hassanpour, Sina Moghaddam

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Early detection of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals is essential for horse health and for veterinarians.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to demonstrate the usefulness of assessing the serum concentration of acute-phase proteins (APPs) in the early diagnosis of pneumonia.

METHODS: The study evaluated APPs in 19 Arabian foals with R. equi pneumonia and compared them with 18 normal Arabian foals in equestrian clubs in Tabriz, Iran. Affected foals were identified through history, clinical findings and bacterial culture of tracheal washing. Biochemical methods and polymerase chain reaction tests were performed by examining the 16S rRNA and vapA genes to confirm …

A Single-Cell Atlas Of Bovine Skeletal Muscle Reveals Mechanisms Regulating Intramuscular Adipogenesis And Fibrogenesis, Leshan Wang, Peidong Gao, Chaoyag Li, Qianglin Liu, Zeyang Yao, Yuxia Li, Xujia Zhang, Jiangwen Sun, Constantine Simintiras, Matthew Welborn, Kenneth Mcmillin, Stephanie Oprescu, Shihuan Kuang, Xing Fu

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Background: Intramuscular fat (IMF) and intramuscular connective tissue (IMC) are often seen in human myopathies and are central to beef quality. The mechanisms regulating their accumulation remain poorly understood. Here, we explored the possibility of using beef cattle as a novel model for mechanistic studies of intramuscular adipogenesis and fibrogenesis.

Methods: Skeletal muscle single-cell RNAseq was performed on three cattle breeds, including Wagyu (high IMF), Brahman (abundant IMC but scarce IMF), and Wagyu/Brahman cross. Sophisticated bioinformatics analyses, including clustering analysis, gene set enrichment analyses, gene regulatory network construction, RNA velocity, pseudotime analysis, and cell-cell communication analysis, were performed to elucidate …

Parasite Dynamics In Untreated Horses Through One Calendar Year, Ashley E. Steuer, Haley P. Anderson, Taylor Shepherd, Morgan Clark, Jessica A. Scare, Holli S. Gravatte, Martin K. Nielsen

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Horses are host to a plethora of parasites. Knowledge of the seasonality of parasite egg shedding and transmission is important for constructing parasite control programs. However, studies describing these patterns are sparse, and have largely been conducted only in the United Kingdom. This study evaluated strongylid egg shedding patterns and transmission dynamics of Strongylus vulgaris in naturally infected and untreated mares and foals through one calendar year in Kentucky, USA. The study also investigated the existence of a peri-parturient rise (PPR) in strongylid egg counts in foaling mares and collected information about Strongyloides westeri and Parascaris spp. in the …

An Inactivated Bacterium (Paraprobiotic) Expressing Bacillus Thuringiensis Cry5b As A Therapeutic For Ascaris And Parascaris Spp. Infections In Large Animals, Joseph F. Urban, Martin K. Nielsen, David Gazzola, Yue Xie, Ethiopia Beshah, Yan Hu, Hanchen Li, Florentina Rus, Kelly Flanagan, Austin Draper, Sridhar Vakalapudi, Robert W. Li, Gary R. Ostroff, Raffi V. Aroian

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Ascaris and Parascaris are important parasites in the family Ascarididae, large, ubiquitous intestinal-dwelling nematodes infecting all classes of vertebrates. Parasitic nematode drug resistance in veterinary medicine and drug recalcitrance in human medicine are increasing worldwide, with few if any new therapeutic classes on the horizon. Some of these parasites are zoonotic, e.g., Ascaris is passed from humans to pigs and vice versa. The development of new therapies against this family of parasites would have major implications for both human and livestock health. Here we tested the therapeutic ability of a paraprobiotic or dead probiotic that expresses the Bacillus …

Advances In Gene Ontology Utilization Improve Statistical Power Of Annotation Enrichment, Eugene Waverly Hinderer Iii, Robert M. Flight, Rashmi Dubey, James N. Macleod, Hunter N. B. Moseley

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Gene-annotation enrichment is a common method for utilizing ontology-based annotations in gene and gene-product centric knowledgebases. Effective utilization of these annotations requires inferring semantic linkages by tracing paths through edges in the ontological graph, referred to as relations. However, some relations are semantically problematic with respect to scope, necessitating their omission or modification lest erroneous term mappings occur. To address these issues, we created the Gene Ontology Categorization Suite, or GOcats—a novel tool that organizes the Gene Ontology into subgraphs representing user-defined concepts, while ensuring that all appropriate relations are congruent with respect to scoping semantics. Here, we demonstrate the …

Systematic Review Of Gastrointestinal Nematodes Of Horses From Australia, Muhammad A. Saeed, Ian Beveridge, Ghazanfar Abbas, Anne Beasley, Jenni Bauquier, Edwina Wilkes, Caroline Jacobson, Kris J. Hughes, Charles El-Hage, Ryan O'Handley, John Hurley, Lucy Cudmore, Peter Carrigan, Lisa Walter, Brett Tennent-Brown, Martin K. Nielsen, Abdul Jabbar

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Background: Equine gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) have been the subject of intermittent studies in Australia over the past few decades. However, comprehensive information on the epidemiology of equine GINs, the efficacy of available anthelmintic drugs and the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance (AR) in Australasia is lacking. Herein, we have systematically reviewed existing knowledge on the horse GINs recorded in Australia, and main aspects of their pathogeneses, epidemiology, diagnoses, treatment and control.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched for publications on GINs of Australian horses that met our inclusion criteria for the systematic review. Subsets of publications were subjected to review epidemiology, …

An Epidemiologic Study Of Antimicrobial Resistance Of Staphylococcus Species Isolated From Equine Samples Submitted To A Diagnostic Laboratory, Ronita Adams, Jackie Smith, Stephan Locke, Erica Phillips, Erdal Erol, Craig N. Carter, Agricola Odoi

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Background

Antimicrobial resistance limits traditional treatment options and increases costs. It is therefore important to estimate the magnitude of the problem so as to provide empirical data to guide control efforts. The aim of this study was to investigate the burden and patterns of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among equine Staphylococcus samples submitted to the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL) from 1993 to 2009. Retrospective data of 1711 equine Staphylococcus samples submitted to the UKVDL during the time period 1993 to 2009 were included in the study. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, that included 16 drugs, were performed using cultures followed …

Equine Arteritis Virus Elicits A Mucosal Antibody Response In The Reproductive Tract Of Persistently Infected Stallions, Mariano Carossino, Bettina Wagner, Alan T. Loynachan, R. Frank Cook, Igor F. Canisso, Lakshman Chelvarajan, Casey L. Edwards, Bora Nam, John F. Timoney, Peter J. Timoney, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has the ability to establish persistent infection in the reproductive tract of the stallion (carrier) and is continuously shed in its semen. We have recently demonstrated that EAV persists within stromal cells and a subset of lymphocytes in the stallion accessory sex glands in the presence of a significant local inflammatory response. In the present study, we demonstrated that EAV elicits a mucosal antibody response in the reproductive tract during persistent infection with homing of plasma cells into accessory sex glands. The EAV-specific immunoglobulin isotypes in seminal plasma included IgA, IgG1, IgG3/5, and IgG4/7. Interestingly, seminal …

Seroepidemiology Of Sarcocystis Neurona And Neospora Hughesi Infections In Domestic Donkeys (Equus Asinus) In Durango, Mexico, Cosme Alvarado-Esquivel, Daniel K. Howe, Michelle R. Yeargan, Domingo Alvarado-Esquivel, José Alfredo Zamarripa-Barboza, Jitender P. Dubey

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

There is currently no information regarding Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi infections in donkeys in Mexico. Here, we determined the presence of antibodies against S. neurona and N. hughesi in donkeys in the northern Mexican state of Durango. Serum samples of 239 domestic donkeys (Equus asinus) were assayed for S. neurona and N. hughesi antibodies using home-made enzyme-linked immunoassays; six (2.5%) of the 239 donkeys tested seropositive for S. neurona. The seroprevalence of S. neurona infection was comparable among donkeys regardless of their origin, health status, or sex. Multivariate analysis showed that seropositivity to S. neurona was …

A Serosurvey Of Selected Cystogenic Coccidia In Spanish Equids: First Detection Of Anti-Besnoitia Spp. Specific Antibodies In Europe, Daniel Gutiérrez-Expósito, Ignacio García-Bocanegra, Daniel K. Howe, Antonio Arenas-Montes, Michelle R. Yeargan, Sallyanne L. Ness, Luis M Ortega-Mora, G. Álvarez-García

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Background: Equine besnoitiosis, caused by Besnoitia bennetti, and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), caused by Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are relevant equine diseases in the Americas that have been scarcely studied in Europe. Thus, a serosurvey of these cystogenic coccidia was carried out in Southern Spain. A cross-sectional study was performed and serum samples from horses (n = 553), donkeys (n = 85) and mules (n = 83) were included. An in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to identify a Besnoitia spp. infection and positive results were confirmed by an a posteriori western blot. For Neospora …

Evaluation Of Circulating Mirnas During Late Pregnancy In The Mare, Shavahn C. Loux, Kirsten E. Scoggin, Jason E. Bruemmer, Igor F. Canisso, Mats H. T. Troedsson, Edward L. Squires, Barry A. Ball

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs which are produced throughout the body. Individual tissues tend to have a specific expression profile and excrete many of these miRNAs into circulation. These circulating miRNAs may be diagnostically valuable biomarkers for assessing the presence of disease while minimizing invasive testing. In women, numerous circulating miRNAs have been identified which change significantly during pregnancy-related complications (e.g. chorioamnionitis, eclampsia, recurrent pregnancy loss); however, no prior work has been done in this area in the horse. To identify pregnancy-specific miRNAs, we collected serial whole blood samples in pregnant mares at 8, 9, 10 m of gestation …

Exogenous Lactobacilli Mitigate Microbial Changes Associated With Grain Fermentation (Corn, Oats, And Wheat) By Equine Fecal Microflora Ex Vivo, Brittany E. Harlow, Laurie M. Lawrence, Patricia A. Harris, Glen E. Aiken, Michael D. Flythe

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Cereal grains are often included in equine diets. When starch intake exceeds foregut digestion starch will reach the hindgut, impacting microbial ecology. Probiotics (e.g., lactobacilli) are reported to mitigate GI dysbioses in other species. This study was conducted to determine the effect of exogenous lactobacilli on pH and the growth of amylolytic and lactate-utilizing bacteria. Feces were collected from 3 mature geldings fed grass hay with access to pasture. Fecal microbes were harvested by differential centrifugation, washed, and re-suspended in anaerobic media containing ground corn, wheat, or oats at 1.6% (w/v) starch and one of five …

Detection Of Strongylus Vulgaris In Equine Faecal Samples By Real-Time Pcr And Larval Culture – Method Comparison And Occurrence Assessment, A. Kaspar, K. Pfister, Martin K. Nielsen, C. Silaghi, H. Fink, M. C. Scheuerle

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Background: Strongylus vulgaris has become a rare parasite in Germany during the past 50 years due to the practice of frequent prophylactic anthelmintic therapy. To date, the emerging development of resistance in Cyathostominae and Parascaris spp. to numerous equine anthelmintics has changed deworming management and the frequency of anthelmintic usage. In this regard, reliable detection of parasitic infections, especially of the highly pathogenic S. vulgaris is essential. In the current study, two diagnostic methods for the detection of infections with S. vulgaris were compared and information on the occurrence of this parasite in German horses was gained. For this purpose, …

Allelic Variation In Cxcl16 Determines Cd3+ T Lymphocyte Susceptibility To Equine Arteritis Virus Infection And Establishment Of Long-Term Carrier State In The Stallion, Sanjay Sarkar, Ernest Bailey, Yun Young Go, R. Frank Cook, Ted Kalbfleisch, John E. Eberth, R. Lakshman Chelvarajan, Kathleen M. Shuck, Sergey Artiushin, Peter J. Timoney, Udeni B. R. Balasuriya

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory, systemic, and reproductive disease of horses and other equid species. Following natural infection, 10–70% of the infected stallions can become persistently infected and continue to shed EAV in their semen for periods ranging from several months to life. Recently, we reported that some stallions possess a subpopulation(s) of CD3⁺ T lymphocytes that are susceptible to in vitro EAV infection and that this phenotypic trait is associated with long-term carrier status following exposure to the virus. In contrast, stallions not possessing the CD3⁺ T …

Effect Of Dietary Starch Source And Concentration On Equine Fecal Microbiota, Brittany E. Harlow, Laurie M. Lawrence, Susan H. Hayes, Andrea Crum, Michael D. Flythe

Animal and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Starch from corn is less susceptible to equine small intestinal digestion than starch from oats, and starch that reaches the hindgut can be utilized by the microbiota. The objective of the current study was to examine the effects of starch source on equine fecal microbiota. Thirty horses were assigned to treatments: control (hay only), HC (high corn), HO (high oats), LC (low corn), LO (low oats), and LW (low pelleted wheat middlings). Horses received an all-forage diet (2 wk; d -14 to d -1) before the treatment diets (2 wk; d 1 to 14). Starch was introduced gradually so that …

Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis: An Updated Consensus Statement With A Focus On Parasite Biology, Diagnosis, Treatment, And Prevention, S. M. Reed, M. Furr, Daniel K. Howe, A. L. Johnson, R. J. Mackay, J. K. Morrow, N. Pusterla, S. Witonsky

Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) remains an important neurologic disease of horses. There are no pathognomonic clinical signs for the disease. Affected horses can have focal or multifocal central nervous system (CNS) disease. EPM can be difficult to diagnose antemortem. It is caused by either of 2 parasites, Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi, with much less known about N. hughesi. Although risk factors such as transport stress and breed and age correlations have been identified, biologic factors such as genetic predispositions of individual animals, and parasite-specific factors such as strain differences in virulence, remain largely undetermined. This consensus statement …

Comparison Of The Equine Reference Sequence With Its Sanger Source Data And New Illumina Reads, Jovan Rebolledo-Mendez, Matthew S. Hestand, Stephen J. Coleman, Zheng Zeng, Ludovic Orlando, James N. Macleod, Ted Kalbfleisch

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

The reference assembly for the domestic horse, EquCab2, published in 2009, was built using approximately 30 million Sanger reads from a Thoroughbred mare named Twilight. Contiguity in the assembly was facilitated using nearly 315 thousand BAC end sequences from Twilight's half brother Bravo. Since then, it has served as the foundation for many genome-wide analyses that include not only the modern horse, but ancient horses and other equid species as well. As data mapped to this reference has accumulated, consistent variation between mapped datasets and the reference, in terms of regions with no read coverage, single nucleotide variants, and small …

Protective Efficacy Of Centralized And Polyvalent Envelope Immunogens In An Attenuated Equine Lentivirus Vaccine, Jodi K. Craigo, Corin Ezzelarab, Sheila J. Cook, Chong Liu, David Horohov, Charles J. Issel, Ronald C. Montelaro

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Lentiviral Envelope (Env) antigenic variation and related immune evasion present major hurdles to effective vaccine development. Centralized Env immunogens that minimize the genetic distance between vaccine proteins and circulating viral isolates are an area of increasing study in HIV vaccinology. To date, the efficacy of centralized immunogens has not been evaluated in the context of an animal model that could provide both immunogenicity and protective efficacy data. We previously reported on a live-attenuated (attenuated) equine infectious anemia (EIAV) virus vaccine, which provides 100% protection from disease after virulent, homologous, virus challenge. Further, protective efficacy demonstrated a significant, inverse, linear relationship …

Copy Number Variation In The Horse Genome, Sharmila Ghosh, Zhipeng Qu, Pranab J. Das, Erica Fang, Rytis Juras, E. Gus Cothran, Sue Mcdonell, Daniel G. Kenney, Teri L. Lear, David L. Adelson, Bhanu P. Chowdhary, Terje Raudsepp

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

We constructed a 400K WG tiling oligoarray for the horse and applied it for the discovery of copy number variations (CNVs) in 38 normal horses of 16 diverse breeds, and the Przewalski horse. Probes on the array represented 18,763 autosomal and X-linked genes, and intergenic, sub-telomeric and chrY sequences. We identified 258 CNV regions (CNVRs) across all autosomes, chrX and chrUn, but not in chrY. CNVs comprised 1.3% of the horse genome with chr12 being most enriched. American Miniature horses had the highest and American Quarter Horses the lowest number of CNVs in relation to Thoroughbred reference. The Przewalski horse …

Clones Of Streptococcus Zooepidemicus From Outbreaks Of Hemorrhagic Canine Pneumonia And Associated Immune Responses, Sridhar Velineni, John F. Timoney, Kim Russell, Heidi J. Hamlen, Patricia Pesavento, William D. Fortney, P. Cynda Crawford

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Acute hemorrhagic pneumonia caused by Streptococcus zooepidemicus has emerged as a major disease of shelter dogs and greyhounds. S. zooepidemicus strains differing in multilocus sequence typing (MLST), protective protein (SzP), and M-like protein (SzM) sequences were identified from 9 outbreaks in Texas, Kansas, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. Clonality based on 2 or more isolates was evident for 7 of these outbreaks. The Pennsylvania and Nevada outbreaks also involved cats. Goat antisera against acutely infected lung tissue as well as convalescent-phase sera reacted with a mucinase (Sz115), hyaluronidase (HylC), InlA domain-containing cell surface-anchored protein (INLA), membrane-anchored protein (MAP), SzP, …

Bovine Immune Response To Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia Coli O157:H7., Mark A Hoffman, Christian Menge, Thomas A Casey, William Laegreid, Brad T Bosworth, Evelyn A Dean-Nystrom

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

Although cattle develop humoral immune responses to Shiga-toxigenic (Stx+) Escherichia coli O157:H7, infections often result in long-term shedding of these human pathogenic bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare humoral and cellular immune responses to Stx+ and Stx- E. coli O157:H7. Three groups of calves were inoculated intrarumenally, twice in a 3-week interval, with different strains of E. coli: a Stx2-producing E. coli O157:H7 strain (Stx2+ O157), a Shiga toxin-negative E. coli O157:H7 strain (Stx- O157), or a nonpathogenic E. coli strain (control). Fecal shedding of Stx2+ O157 was significantly higher than that of Stx- O157 or the …

The Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome And The Eastern Tent Caterpillar: A Toxicokinetic/Statistical Analysis With Clinical, Epidemiologic, And Mechanistic Implications, Manu Sebastian, Marie G. Gantz, Thomas Tobin, J. Daniel Harkins, Jeffrey M. Bosken, Charlie Hughes, Lenn R. Harrison, William V. Bernard, Dana L. Richter, Terrence D. Fitzgerald

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

During 2001, central Kentucky experienced acute transient epidemics of early and late fetal losses, pericarditis, and unilateral endophthalmitis, collectively referred to as mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). A toxicokinetic/statistical analysis of experimental and field MRLS data was conducted using accelerated failure time (AFT) analysis of abortions following administration of Eastern tent caterpillars (ETCs; 100 or 50 g/day or 100 g of irradiated caterpillars/day) to late-term pregnant mares. In addition, 2001 late-term fetal loss field data were used in the analysis. Experimental data were fitted by AFT analysis at a high (P < .0001) significance. Times to first abortion (“lag time”) and abortion rates were dose dependent. Lag times decreased and abortion rates increased exponentially with dose. Calculated dose × response data curves allow interpretation of abortion data in terms of “intubated ETC equivalents.” Analysis suggested that field exposure to ETCs in 2001 in central Kentucky commenced on approximately April 27, was initially equivalent to approximately 5 g of intubated ETCs/day, and increased to approximately 30 g/day at the outbreak peak. This analysis accounts for many aspects of the epidemiology, clinical presentations, and manifestations of MRLS. It allows quantitative interpretation of experimental and field MRLS data and has implications for the basic mechanisms underlying MRLS. The results support suggestions that MRLS is caused by exposure to or ingestion of ETCs. The results also show that high levels of ETC exposure produce intense, focused outbreaks of MRLS, closely linked in time and place to dispersing ETCs, as occurred in central Kentucky in 2001. With less intense exposure, lag time is longer and abortions tend to spread out over time and may occur out of phase with ETC exposure, obscuring both diagnosis of this syndrome and the role of the caterpillars.

Development Of A Blocking Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay For Detection Of Serum Antibodies To O157 Antigen Of Escherichia Coli., W Laegreid, M Hoffman, J Keen, R Elder, J Kwang

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

The O157 antigen of Escherichia coli shares structural elements with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigens of other bacterial species, notably Brucella abortus and Yersinia enterocolitica 09, a fact that confounds the interpretation of assays for anti-O157 antibodies. To address this problem, a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) was designed with E. coli O157:H7 LPS as the antigen and a monoclonal antibody specific for E. coli O157, designated 13B3, as the competing antibody. The bELISA had equivalent sensitivity to, and significantly higher specificity than, the indirect ELISA (iELISA), detecting anti-O157 antibodies in sera from cattle experimentally inoculated with O157:H7. Only 13% of sera …