Evaluation of an indirect ELISA for the detection of Salmonella in chicken meat

In this work, an indirect ELISA based on a monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific for an outer membrane protein of Salmonellaenterica serovar Enteritidis was used for detection of Salmonella in 154 samples of chicken meat. Its efficiency was determined through comparison with the results obtained from the conventional method. The prevalence of samples contaminated with Salmonella was 23% with the conventional culture method, and 26% with the ELISA. From thirty-five samples positive for Salmonella by the conventional method, 33 were also positive by ELISA. Seven other samples were only positive in the ELISA. Comparison of the results obtained in the two methods showed an ELISA sensitivity and specificity of 94%, and positive and negative predictive values of 82% and 98% respectively. The serotyping of the isolates revealed 31 Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, 2 Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg, 1 Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis and 1 Salmonella enterica sorovar 6,7:-:-.