Protein A/G dependent ELISA a promising diagnostic tool in Lyme disease seroprevalence in game animals and hunting dogs

One of the major problems in serodiagnosis in wild animals is unavailability of specific antiglobulin conjugate. Our study focuses on validation of Protein A/G dependent ELISA in game animals like deer and mouflons as well as in hunting dogs. Binding ability of Protein A/G-conjugate to antibodies was the highest in dogs followed by fallow deer and mouflons. Three different whole cell Borrelia antigens were used to evaluate antigen dependent variation. In new Protein A/G-ELISA the highest sensitivities (90.50%, deer; 85.37%, mouflon & 94.29%, dog) were obtained by B. garinii antigen, with no statistically significant variation (chi(2), P > 0.05) among all other antigens used. Average seroprevalences observed in deer, mouflons and dogs were 44.90%, 29.41 % and 30.43%, respectively. Marked influence of age on seroprevalence was noticed. Protein A/G - ELISA proved to be sensitive and promising diagnostic tool in serodiagnosis of Lyme disease in game ungulates and it can be used effectively for serosurvey in different wild mammals. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.