Evaluation of an antibody-ELISA using five crude antigen preparations for the diagnosis of Trypanosoma evansi infection in cattle

Attempts were made to improve the accuracy of an antibody-detection ELISA for the detection of Trypanosoma evansi infection in cattle by improving the method of preparation of the crude antigen used. An IgG-ELISA was performed with five different antigen preparations: crude soluble antigen, soluble and insoluble fractions of crude antigen treated with 0.1% formalin and whole formalin-fixed trypanosomes treated with either trypsin or 2-mercaptoethanol. An IgM-ELISA using crude soluble antigen was also performed. Each ELISA was evaluated using serum from 44 Indonesian cattle infected with T. evansi and 262 uninfected cattle from Australia. There was no significant difference between the sensitivity or specificity of the IgG-ELISA using each of the five antigens. The IgM-ELISA using a crude untreated lysate was significantly less sensitive (p