GOATS

New Microbiol. 1996 Apr;19(2):171-4.

Antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in sheep and goats. Alto Adige-South Tyrol, Italy.

Ciceroni L, Simeoni J, Pacetti AI, Ciarrocchi S, Cacciapuoti B.

Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Department of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

A serologic survey for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi was conducted on sheep and goat serum samples collected in Alto Adige-South Tyrol, Italy, in 1990. Sera were tested by Indirect Immune Fluorescence Assay (IIFA) and Microbial Adherence Immobilization Assay (MAIA). IIFA and/or MAIA anti-B. burgdorferi antibodies were detected in 14.1% of the 269 sheep and 36.8% of the 133 goats examined. IIFA and MAIA were both positive in 4 out of 38 positive sheep sera (10.5%) and 21 out of 49 positive goat sera (42.8%). These discrepancies suggest that MAIA- and IIFA-detected antibodies do differ from each other. The detection by MAIA of antibodies sensitizing B. burgdorferi to the killing effect of complement seems to be a valid parameter to evaluate the acquired immunity of sheep and goats to B. burgdorferi infections.

PMID: 8722314 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Zentralbl Veterinarmed B. 1997 May;44(3):133-7.

Serologic survey for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in sheep, goats and dogs in Cordillera Province, Bolivia.

Ciceroni L, Bartoloni A, Ciarrocchi S, Pinto A, Guglielmetti P, Valdez Vasquez C, Gamboa Barahona H, Roselli M, Paradisi F.

Department of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

A serosurvey for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted on sheep, goat and dog serum samples collected in Cordillera Province, Bolivia, in 1992 Sera from 98 sheep, 218 goats and 43 dogs were tested. The observed seroprevalence in sheep and dogs was 0.0%, whereas the seropositivity rate for goat serum samples was 5.0%. Upon analysing 10 positive sera by Western immunoblotting, five reacted against the specific protein antigens and all of them met the criteria for positivity on the basis of immunoglobulin G (IgG) bands, indicating that goats in Cordillera Province were exposed to B. burgdorferi. These findings, which are further proof of the existence of B. burgdorferi infection in Bolivia, indicate the serologic analysis of goats as a suitable tool for Lyme borreliosis surveillance.

PMID: 9197208 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]