PREVALENCE OF NEOSPORA-CANINUM AND TOXOPLASMA-GONDII ANTIBODIES IN SERA FROM CAMELS FROM EGYPT

Sera from camels from Egypt were examined by the direct agglutination tests incorporating mercaptoethanol for antibodies to Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 6 of 16 1 camels in titers of 1:40 (2 camels) and 1:80, 1:160, 1:640, and 1:12 80 in 1 camel each, using N. caninum formalin preserved whole tachyzoi tes as antigen. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 17.4% of 166 cam els in titers of 1:25 (3 camels), 1:50 (18 camels), and greater than o r equal to 1:500 (8 camels) using T. gondii tachyzoites. All 6 camels with M. caninum antibodies had no T. gondii antibodies in 1:4 dilution of serum, indicating specificity of the reaction. This is the first r eport of N. caninum prevalence in Egypt. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.