Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Tests to detect Neospora caninum antibodies in dogs using blood
By Pinheiro, A M et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2005·Institute of Health Sciences, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serologic immunoreactivity to Neospora caninum antigens in dogs determined by indirect immunofluorescence, western blotting and dot-ELISA.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study tested a new blood test for Neospora caninum, a parasite that can cause neurological issues in dogs. Researchers looked at serum samples from 65 dogs, some of which had antibodies to the parasite. They developed a dot-ELISA test that showed a high sensitivity (94%) and good specificity (73%) for detecting these antibodies. This test could help veterinarians quickly identify dogs that may be affected by Neospora caninum, allowing for timely treatment and management.
Abstract
Neospora caninum, is a coccidian protozoan known as a major cause of bovine abortion and canine neuropathies. The aim of the present study was to develop a reliable and quick test to detect antibodies to N. caninum in dog sera. Sixty-five serum samples from dogs, including 35 positive and 30 negative for N. caninum antibodies were used for standardization of the test. In parallel, immunoreactivity of the sera to Toxoplasma gondii antigens was investigated using a passive agglutination test. A dot-ELISA test, using soluble extract of N. caninum tachyzoites on nitrocellulose ester membranes, was developed and standardized. SDS-PAGE and complementary analysis of reactivity by Western blotting were used for the characterization of the immunoreactive fractions of all tested sera. The sensitivity and specificity of the dot-ELISA were 94 and 73%, respectively, compared to IFAT at a cut-off of 1:50, and 87 and 100% compared to IFAT at a cut-off of 1:25. Among the sera that tested positively for both IFAT and dot-ELISA, only 8.6% were reactive to T. gondii. The most immunoreactive fractions in Western blots were the 14-, 33-, 42- and 55 kDa bands, with percentages of 42, 60, 42 and 37%, respectively. The 60 kDa band showed a non-specific reaction in 43% of neosporosis-negative animals by both dot-ELISA and IFAT. These results indicate that the dot-ELISA using N. caninum antigen present good sensitivity and specificity, and might be used as a screening test to detect antibodies to N. caninum in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15893072/