ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY (ELISA) FOR THE DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES TO ANOPLOCEPHALA-PERFOLIATA IN HORSE SERA

A scolex antigen of the horse tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata contai ning at least 14 different proteins was employed in an enzyme-linked i mmunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to A. perfoliat a in equine sera. The assay was applied to sera from 426 slaughtered h orses with different numbers of worms and with varying degrees of inte stinal lesions. As measured by the ELISA, there was a very strong effe ct on the antibody levels both from the number of tapeworms present an d from the intestinal lesion score. However, considerable individual v ariation was observed between horses with similar worm counts. The ELI SA values of horses that were either negative for strongyles and tapew orms or positive only for strongyles were similar, whereas both of the se groups differed significantly from animals that harboured only A. p erfoliata. Thus it seemed that cross-reactivity with concurrent nemato de infections did not occur. Furthermore, a significant seasonal patte rn in antibody levels was observed which reflected the establishment o f newly acquired infections. No observations were made of confounding effects owing to age and previous anthelmintic treatment of the horses . It is concluded that the ELISA presented here has a potential for mo nitoring A. perfoliata infection on a herd level and can be used as a complementary diagnostic tool in epidemiological studies. The present study indicates that transmission of A. perfoliata in Central Sweden o ccurred during a short period in spring and more consistently in late autumn.