The feasibility of developing immunological and molecular diagnostic tools for routine diagnosis of brucellosis under conditions of a less economically and scientifically advanced country in general and Mongolia in particular was analysed. Brucellosis is a major healthcare issue in Mongolia for both, humans as well as lifestock farming, leading to enormous economic losses every year. Diagnosis of the disease is demanding and insufficiently specific with the available tests. Using genomic sequences of the most important Brucella strains, new diagnostic procedures have been developed by means of molecular biotechnology. They include the production of several recombinant proteins as antigens in immunological assays such as ELISA. Combining of several of these antigens in a single recombinant fusion protein led to an unattained highly specific test for infections caused by Brucella. The genus Brucella includes different species (or biovars) carried by different primary animal hosts and being transmitted by different routes to humans. Furthermore, the severity of clinical manifestations differs among the species necessitating specific modalities of treatment and making differential diagnosis on the species level an important issue. Thus, another part of the study was focused on this topic. By means of multiplex nested PCR, a highly sensitive and specific differentiation between the major Brucella strains occurring in Mongolia was obtained. The immunological as well as the molecular diagnostic principles have been designed to be applicable in laboratory practice under limited economical conditions, including simple and inexpensive procedures for antigen production and DNA purification.
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