Dear Animal and Plant Health Agency,

I would like to request the following:
1. The published methodology (including how the result is derived and converted into a reportable result) for each of the following Brucella canis tests that you offer:
a. TC1542 Brucella canis RSA
b. TC1032 Brucella canis SAT
c. TC0867 Brucella canis ELISA

2. For each of the individual tests above, I would like to know:
a) The specificity
b) The sensitivity
2. The prevalence of the disease within the sample used to generate these values.
3. The test that was used to validate these against.

4. As veterinary professionals are expected to practice evidence-based medicine, it is expected that a clinician should be able to assess the validity of the test(s) and then use this to determine the value of the test in determining care for the individual patient in front of them. Therefore, I would be grateful if you would also publish (for each of these tests) a normogram that reports the likelihood ratio across a range of prevalances from 0.01% - 100%.

5. I would also like a copy of the mathematical calculations used to to determine the combined sensitivity and specificity values when testing a dog for Brucella canis using your recommended combined approach (i.e. Elisa and SAT). Please also confirm the sensitivity and specificity values that you are currently (as of 0.04.2023) providing veterinary professionals with, and indicate if this has changed in the last 12 months.

6. For (5) I would also like a copy of the assumptions that must hold in order for using the combined values to be valid.

Yours faithfully,

Ms Buckley