scholarly journals A Modified Agglutination Test for Neospora caninum: Development, Optimization, and Comparison to the Indirect Fluorescent-Antibody Test and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea E. Packham ◽  
Karen W. Sverlow ◽  
Patricia A. Conrad ◽  
Emily F. Loomis ◽  
Joan D. Rowe ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Current serologic tests used to detect antibodies to Neospora caninum require species-specific secondary antibodies, limiting the number of species that can be tested. In order to examine a wide variety of animal species that may be infected with N. caninum, a modified direct agglutination test (N-MAT) similar to the Toxoplasma gondii modified direct agglutination test (T-MAT) was developed. This test measures the direct agglutination of parasites by N. caninum-specific antibodies in serum, thus eliminating the need for secondary host-specific anti-isotype sera. The N-MAT was compared to the indirect fluorescent-antibody test (IFAT) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a “gold standard” serum panel from species for which secondary antibodies were available (n = 547). All positive samples tested were from animals with histologically confirmed infections. Up to 16 different species were tested. The N-MAT gave a higher sensitivity (100%) and specificity (97%) than the ELISA (74 and 94%, respectively) and had a higher sensitivity but a lower specificity than the IFAT (98 and 99%, respectively). The reduced specificity of the N-MAT was due to false-positive reactions in testing fetal fluids with particulate matter or severely hemolyzed serum. Overall, the N-MAT proved to be highly sensitive and specific for both naturally and experimentally infected animals, highly reproducible between and within readers, easy to use on large sample sizes without requiring special equipment, and useful in testing serum from any species without modification.

1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl L. Seefeldt ◽  
Clyde A. Kirkbride ◽  
Jitender P. Dubey

Results obtained in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA), and a modified direct agglutination test (MAT) for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies from examination of fetal fluids from 377 aborted ovine fetuses were compared. Sixty-seven samples were positive by MAT (titers 1:16 to > 1:65,536), 58 were positive by ELISA, and 62 were positive by immunoglobulin G-IFA. The MAT was preferred because it required less time, labor, and special equipment. It was simple to run, could be done on serum from any species without modification, and it was more effective than the IFA for detecting toxoplasma antibodies in severely autolyzed fetuses. No advantage was found in determining immunoglobulin M antibodies in ovine fetal sera.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Maria Gennari ◽  
Hilda Fátima de Jesus Pena ◽  
David Scott Lindsay ◽  
Marcos Gomes Lopes ◽  
Herbert Sousa Soares ◽  
...  

Abstract Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are coccidian protozoa that can cause neurological illness in horses in America. In this study we report seroprevalence of Neospora spp. andS. neurona in sera of 333 donkeys from the northeastern region of Brazil. Antibodies to Neospora spp. were detected in 2% (7 donkeys) of 333 sera tested by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) with a cut-off dilution of 1:40. Antibodies to S. neurona were found in 3% (10 donkeys) of the samples tested by IFAT (cut-off ≥50) and 21% (69 donkeys) by the direct agglutination test (SAT ≥50). The SAT and IFAT results for S. neurona showed a poor concordance (value of Kappa=0.051). This is the first report ofNeospora spp. antibodies in Brazilian donkeys and the first detection of antibodies against S. neurona in this animal species.


1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 224-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin R Bell ◽  
Harold B Specht ◽  
B Ann Coombs

Twenty-fourIxodes damminiticks (23 adults and one nymph) have been recovered in Nova Scotia since 1984. There has not been a systematic search for larvae and none has been identified. The recovery of the nymph from a road-killed yellow throat bird,Geothypis trichas,in late May 1990 supports the contention that migrating birds are bringing deer ticks into the province every spring. In March and April 1991, four adult deer ticks were identified, suggesting that these ticks had overwintered. These deer tick specimens indicate that it is possible thatI damminiis becoming established in Nova Scotia, if it is not already established. There has been no evidence for the existence ofBorrelia burgdorferiin the province. The spirochete was not cultured from 650Dermacentor variabilisticks, nor were antibodies detected in a small sample of feral rodents using an indirect fluorescent antibody test. A survey of 137 dog sera samples, analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, also proved negative. There has been no confirmed indigenous case of Lyme disease in Nova Scotia to date.


2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolle Fridlund-Plugge ◽  
Fabiano Montiani-Ferreira ◽  
Rosária R. T. B. Richartz ◽  
Juliano Dal Pizzol ◽  
Pedro C. Machado Jr ◽  
...  

Antibodies to Neospora caninum were analyzed by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), in stray and domiciled dogs from urban, periurban and rural areas from Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. Of the total of 556 dogs, 18.17% (101) were positive for N. caninum (titer 50). Frequency of antibody was 12.71 in urban, 15.73 in periurban, and 25.38% in rural dogs. Rural dogs had a significantly higher frequency of antibodies than urban dogs (P< 0.05). There were no significant differences between the frequencies of antibodies in urban and periurban dogs (P>0.05), and between dogs from periurban and rural areas (P>0.05). Antibodies to N. caninum were detected in 34 of 233 domiciled dogs (14.59%) and in 17 of 126 stray dogs (13.49%). No statistical differences were observed considering life-style and geographic location of origin (P>0.05). Neospora caninum is widespread among dogs from urban, periurban and rural areas of the municipal district of Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.


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