SEROPREVALENCE OF BABESIA-OVIS IN SPANISH IBEX (CAPRA-PYRENAICA) IN CATALONIA, NORTHEASTERN SPAIN

A serologic survey was carried out in ol del to detect antibodies agai nst Babesia ovis in a large population of Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaic a) from a hunting reserve in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. For this p urpose, an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was developed usi ng a B. ovis isolate of ovine origin as antigen. Of the total 475 sera tested, 155 (32.6%) showed titres between 1:160 and 1:1280 and were c onsidered positive. These results reveal that exposure of Spanish ibex to B. ovis is common in the studied area. No significant differences could be detected when comparing season or year of capture and age or sex of the animals in positive and negative samples. A high proportion of low titres was found in comparison to those reported by other rese archers in sheep in Spain; this could be a consequence of the existenc e of some minor antigenic differences between B. ovis of domestic shee p and that found in Spanish ibex. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.