Journal Article

Field evaluation of the enhanced MM3-COPRO ELISA test for the diagnosis of Fasciola hepatica infection in sheep

Martínez-Sernández, Victoria, Ubeira, Florencio M., Castro-Hermida, José Antonio, González-Warleta, Marta, Mezo, Mercedes

2022

Overview

Fasciolosis is a severe zoonosis responsible for major economic losses in livestock. The enhanced MM3-COPRO test (eMM3-COPRO) and the commercial version BIO K 201 (Bio-X Diagnostics, Rochefort, Belgium) are widely used as immunodiagnostic tools for the specific detection of coproantigens released by Fasciola during the late prepatent and patent stages of infection. However, performance of the eMM3-COPRO has never been evaluated under field conditions. To address this gap, a large number of ovine faecal samples, collected in a region where fasciolosis is endemic (Galicia, NW Spain), were analyzed. Two groups of sheep flocks were selected according to the Fasciola infection status: ‘ Fasciola -free’ and ‘ Fasciola -infected’ flocks. ‘ Fasciola -free’ flocks were seronegative flocks with no history of fasciolosis detected by either coproscopy or necropsy in the last 5 years. Faecal samples from these sheep were used to calculate a cut-off value for infection (OD = 0.021). The cut-off was calculated using a bootstrap resampling method that enables estimation of the sampling distribution of the statistical parameters without making assumptions about the underlying data distribution. ‘ Fasciola -infected’ flocks were characterized by high seroprevalence, a history of fasciolosis and periodical treatment with flukicides. Samples from these flocks were used to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the eMM3-COPRO relative to coproscopy, which although limited by poor sensitivity is the only reference test available for diagnosing fasciolosis in vivo . To overcome this limitation, all animals classified positive by eMM3-COPRO were treated with triclabendazole and then retested. The eMM3-COPRO displayed higher sensitivity than coproscopy, as it detected coproantigens in all samples with positive coproscopy and in 12% of samples with negative coproscopy. The test also proved highly specific as coproantigens disappeared after the treatment. The eMM3-COPRO was less time consuming than coproscopy, particularly when the procedure involved numerous samples, and showed promise as a tool for monitoring flukicide efficacy.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Animals / Antibodies / Antigens / Biology and Life Sciences / Economic impact / Eggs / Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay / Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - methods / Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - veterinary / Fasciola / Fasciola hepatica / Fascioliasis - diagnosis / Fascioliasis - epidemiology / Fascioliasis - veterinary / Feces / Health aspects / In vivo methods and tests / Infections / Laboratory animals / Liver / Livestock / Mathematical analysis / Medical diagnosis / Medicine and Health Sciences / Metabolism / Necropsy / Parasites / Physical Sciences / Resampling / Research and Analysis Methods / Sedimentation & deposition / Sensitivity / Seroepidemiologic Studies / Serology / Sheep / Sheep Diseases - diagnosis / Statistical methods