Neospora caninum antibodies detected in Midwestern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by Western blot and ELISA.
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve to maintain the Neospora caninum life cycle in the wild. Sera from white-tailed deer from south central Wisconsin and southeastern Missouri, USA were tested for antibodies to N. caninum by Western blot analyses and two indirect ELISAs. Seroreactivity against N. caninum surface antigens was observed in 30 of 147 (20%) of WI deer and 11 of 23 (48%) of MO deer using Western blot analysis. Compared to Western blot, the two indirect ELISAs were found to be uninformative due to degradation of the field-collected samples. The results indicate the existence of N. caninum antibodies in MO and WI deer, and that Western blot is superior to ELISA for serologic testing when using degraded blood samples collected from deer carcasses.
Anderson
Todd
T
Department of Biology and Microbiology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
DeJardin
Amanda
A
Howe
Daniel K
DK
Dubey
J P
JP
Michalski
Michelle L
ML
D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003670:Deer / Q000097:blood / Q000469:parasitology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary*; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D018688:Neospora / Q000276:immunology*
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan