Assessing the Immunochromatographic Test Strip for Serological Detection of Bovine Babesiosis in Uganda

Abstract

In Uganda, bovine babesiosis continues to cause losses to the livestock industry because of shortages of cheap, quick, and reliable diagnostic tools to guide prescription measures. In this study, the presence of antibodies to Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis in 401 bovine blood samples obtained from eastern and central areas of Uganda were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and immunochromatographic test strips (ICTs). The ELISA and ICT test used targeted the B. bigemina C-terminal rhoptry-associated protein (RAP-1/CT17) and B. bovis spherical body protein-4 (SPB-4). Using ELISA, single-ICT and dual-ICT, positive samples for B. bovis were detected in 25 (6.2%), 17 (4.3%), and 14 (3.7%) samples respectively, and positive samples for B. bigemina were detected in 34 (8.4%), 27 (6.7%), and 25 (6.2%), respectively. Additionally, a total of 13 animals (3.2%) had a mixed infection. The correlation between ELISA and single-ICT strips results revealed slight agreement with kappa values ranging from 0.088 to 0.191 between both methods, while the comparison between dual-ICT and single-ICT results showed very good agreement with kappa values >0.80. This study documented the seroprevalence of bovine babesiosis in central and eastern Uganda, and showed that ICT could, after further optimization, be a useful rapid diagnostic test for the diagnosis of bovine babesiosis in field settings.

Comparative Study of Indirect Fluorescent Antibody, ELISA, and Immunochromatography Tests for Serological Diagnosis of Bovine Babesiosis Caused by Babesia bovis

“…ELISA allows processing of a higher number of samples in a working day, and since it is an automated method, another advantage is the objectivity of the results interpretation [ 12 ]. Among the main disadvantages of ELISA is that the procedure involves several steps for execution, which makes it costly, and like IFAT, it requires special laboratory equipment for sample analysis and result interpretation [ 14 ]. Recently, the development of new and innovative diagnostic methods, such as an immunochromatography test (ICT) based on a lateral flow membrane, have changed the landscape for users, facilitating the detection of antibodies or soluble antigens [ 33 , 34 ].…”

“…The seroprevalence rates in Uganda using ELISA and ICT based on SBP-4 protein were 6.2 and 4.3%, respectively [ 14 ], whereas in Indonesia, Babesia prevalence rates were 69.8 and 65.1%, and other studies reported seroprevalence rates of 28.4% and 25.3%, respectively [ 15 , 17 ]. In Argentina, using only the ICT, the determined seroprevalence of B. bovis was 71.3% [ 16 ].…”

“…However, both serological tests have several limitations, as their implementation requires trained personnel and special laboratory material and equipment [ 12 ]. Recently, rapid immunochromatography tests (ICTs) have been reported to be effective when used for the detection of specific antibodies against B. bovis or B. bigemina in cattle [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. The ICT is a rapid, membrane-based lateral flow immunoassay that does not require any laboratory equipment for result analysis and has been reported to have high diagnostic sensitivity.…”

Assessing HeberFast® Line Gavac, a lateral flow immunochromatographic system for the rapid detection of anti-Bm86 antibodies in Gavac vaccinated cattle

“…In veterinary medicine, lateral flow immunoassays have been developed for various purposes; detection of diseases in companion and farm animals to achieve better results in the care and development of animals, for example, Parvovirus 21 , Newcastle 22 , Avian infectious bronchitis virus 23 , African swine fever 24 and Babesiosis 25 , The rapid detection of these diseases reduces the economic losses. Immunochromatographic methods have also been developed to detect antibiotics and analogs in milk 26 , which is greatly important for food safety.…”

Metformin and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A hidden treasure

“…Galegine was found to reduce blood glucose in humans in 1920, but proved to be very toxic 29 . Later, two derivatives of galegine, phenformin and metformin, were identified and introduced in the clinical use for the management of T2DM in the 1950s 29,31 . Phenformin was withdrawn from the market due to toxic adverse effects, leaving only metformin in use 29,32 .…”