Evaluation of a commercial automated assay for rapid serum progesterone determination in cattle, sheep and goats.

The MINI VIDAS ELFA reliably measures serum progesterone in cattle, sheep, and goats as a practical RIA alternative.

This study evaluated the clinical utility of the MINI VIDAS enzyme-linked fluorescence assay (ELFA) by bioMérieux for measuring serum progesterone concentrations in cattle, sheep, and goats. Progesterone monitoring in ruminants is essential for oestrous cycle tracking, pregnancy diagnosis, and identification of endocrine disorders. A total of 391 animals were sampled, and serum progesterone was measured using both the commercial ELFA and an in-house radioimmunoassay (RIA) serving as the reference standard. Statistical analysis using Spearman rank correlation demonstrated strong positive correlations between the two methods across all three species: cattle (rs = 0.9296, p < 0.05), sheep (rs = 0.9017, p < 0.05), and goats (rs = 0.8444, p < 0.05). Notably, the goat cohort showed the weakest correlation, which may warrant further investigation. A limitation acknowledged by the authors is that the majority of samples clustered at low progesterone concentrations, potentially limiting assessment of assay performance across the full physiological range. Additionally, cross-reactivity with progesterone metabolites was not fully characterised, which could affect specificity. Despite these limitations, the ELFA demonstrated sufficient agreement with the reference RIA to be considered a reliable, rapid, and commercially accessible alternative for clinical progesterone determination in ruminants, offering practical advantages in field and clinic settings where radioimmunoassay infrastructure is unavailable.

This summary was distilled by AI and may occasionally misinterpret data. Confirm critical details with the primary literature before clinical application.