Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the serological diagnosis of Neospora caninum infection in sheep and determination of the apparent prevalence of infection in New Zealand

Neospora caninum has recently been shown to be a cause of abortions of sheep in New Zealand. A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was validated for use in sheep with sera from experimentally infected sheep. A cut-off threshold was established that demonstrated sero-conv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Veterinary parasitology 2008-02, Vol.151 (2), p.323-326
Main Authors: Reichel, M.P., Ross, G.P., McAllister, M.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
abortion (animals)
animal pathogens
Animals
Antibodies, Protozoan - blood
Coccidiosis - diagnosis
Coccidiosis - epidemiology
Coccidiosis - veterinary
Diagnosis
ELISA
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect - veterinary
Male
Neospora - isolation & purification
Neospora caninum
neosporosis
New Zealand
New Zealand - epidemiology
Prevalence
seroconversion
serodiagnosis
seroprevalence
Sheep
Sheep Diseases - diagnosis
Sheep Diseases - epidemiology
Sheep Diseases - parasitology
temporal variation
Time Factors
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Summary:Neospora caninum has recently been shown to be a cause of abortions of sheep in New Zealand. A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was validated for use in sheep with sera from experimentally infected sheep. A cut-off threshold was established that demonstrated sero-conversion between 7 and 14 days post-infection. Higher inocula led to earlier sero-conversion. This ELISA was applied to 640 sera collected from rams across New Zealand and 0.625% (±0.61%) (4/640) were shown to be serologically positive. The four positive sera were also demonstrated to be positive by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). The ELISA evaluated here lends itself more readily to large-scale investigations than IFAT. The low background of N. caninum infection in the New Zealand sheep population suggests that N. caninum abortions could be more easily diagnosed by serological means than in populations with higher background sero-prevalence.
ISSN:0304-4017
1873-2550
DOI:10.1016/j.vetpar.2007.11.002