DETECTION OF FLAGELLAR ANTIGEN OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI AND CAMPYLOBACTER-COLI IN CANINE FECES WITH AN ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY (ELISA) - NEW PROSPECTS FOR DIAGNOSIS

A new diagnostic procedure was developed to detect the flagellar antig en of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in canine faecal spe cimens and was tested on faecal samples from random-source dogs obtain ed from the local dog pound. Extraction of acid-soluble proteins was p erformed on faecal specimens and the extracted material was evaluated using species-specific monoclonal antibodies in an enzyme-linked immun osorbent assay. The assay detected all C. jejuni or C. coli infected s pecimens compared with direct selective faecal culture. One of 18 faec al specimens culture-negative for C. jejuni was identified as positive by the assay, i.e. a false positive rate of 1 of 18 (5.6%) and a corr esponding specificity of 94.4%. These results suggest that the screeni ng procedure developed to detect flagellar antigens of C. jejuni and C , coli in canine faecal samples should be further investigated as a di agnostic alternative to culture.