Development and validation of a new dot blot test for the detection of Paramoeba pemaquidensis (Page) in fish

In this study, the development of a dot blot assay to assess amoebic gill d isease (AGD) using non-lethal gill mucus samples is described and its perfo rmance validated by comparing the assay with the indirect fluorescent antib ody rest (IFAT), the 'gold standard' test. The agreement between the two te sts was high, with a positive predictive value of 95% and negative predicti ve value of 93%, with a corrected kappa value of 0.88. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 97 and 91%, respectively. The dot blot is both sensitive and specific for Paramoeba pemaquidensis and is formatted so tha t large numbers of samples can be conveniently analysed.