title: Validation of the indirect fluorescent antibody and the complement fixation tests for the diagnosis of Theileria equi.
abstract: The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test for Theileria equi was evaluated to assess test's suitability for the serological diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis, to provide performance parameters for the purpose of test validation, and to compare it with the complement fixation (CF) test. Using a protocol that included Evan's blue, the specificity of the IFA test was estimated at 99.0% for T. equi by the classical method of analysis, and 96.6% by the Bayesian method. The use of Evan's blue in the test protocol increased test specificity and contributed to an excellent test agreement between two collaborating laboratories (kappa = 0.96). Using Bayesian analysis, the sensitivity estimate for the IFA test was 89.2%. The CF test sensitivity and specificity estimates for T. equi were 63.1 and 96.4%, respectively, as determined by Bayesian analysis. The IFA test was more sensitive than the CF test but the specificity estimates were similar.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Food-borne and Animal Parasitology, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Saskatoon Laboratory, 116 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada S7N 2R3. dogunremi@inspection.gc.ca
authors.forename: Oladele
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ogunremi
authors.forename: Marios P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Georgiadis
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Halbert
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lopez-Rebollar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006736:Horses; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016794:Theileria / Q000276:immunology*; D013801:Theileriasis / Q000175:diagnosis*