Abstract
Abstract The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA), indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA), complement fixation (CF), capillary agglutination (CA) and immundodiffusion (ID) serological tests using Theileria parva piroplasma antigen were compared over a wide range of immune serum samples form cattle exposed to T. parva experimentally or naturally. The ID test showed a lack of sensitivity with most sera, whilst difficulties in interpretation were found with the CA test when using the necessarily high serum concentrations. The CF, IFA, and IHA tests on experimentally infected cattle sera showed good correlation up to 50 days post infectio whereafter the CF titres dropped below base-line values. With field serum samples the IHA test was the most sensitive of all serological assays used. It is suggested that the difference in the sensitivity may be related to varying levels fo specific IgG2. The CF, IHA and CA tests utilize anitens contaiminated with soluble erythrocyte components, which could be false positives in sera before use with normal bovine erythro-cytes is therefore recomended. In conlusion, for experimental work the CF, IFA and IHA tests are recomemded: for field work both the IFA and IHA test should be used.
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