Designing and evaluation of Dot-ELISA for diagnosis of Fasciola infection in cattle

Abstract

Fasciolosis is a disease caused by liver fluck of the genus of <em>fasciola</em>. Diagnosis of fasciolosis has been challenging for a long period due to low sensitivity of the coprological diagnostic method. In this study, an in-house Dot-ELISA method; using excretion–secretory (ES Ag) and Crude (Cr Ag) antigens of <em>fasciola </em>was described for diagnosis of fasciolosis in cattle. For this purpose, the sera specimens of slaughtered cattle were taken and examined for <em>fasciola </em>infection. Sera from two groups of cattle, one infected with fasciola (n = 60) and the other non-infected with fasciola (n = 60), were used in the Dot- ELISA test. All sera were tested and evaluated. Except specificity, other parameters such as, sensitivity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values of Dot- ELISA with ES Ag were better than those of Dot- ELISA with Cr Ag. In conclusion, excretory–secretory antigen dependent Dot-ELISA can be used as a reliable sero-diagnostic test for <em>fasciola </em>infection in cattle.