Serological Detection of Caseous Lymphadenitis in Sheep and Goats Using a Commercial ELISA in Grenada, West Indies

Caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in small ruminants has been diagnosed by culture several times in the state of Grenada. In order to understand the prevalence of CLA, serum samples from 541 sheep and 338 goats from Grenada and Carriacou islands were tested for antibodies against the phospholipase antigen of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, the causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) using a commercial ELISA kit: “ELITEST CLA”. The percentage of positive samples among sheep was 7.9, and for goats it was 31.3%, with a significant difference between these two species of animals. Of the six parishes of Grenada, and one parish of Carriacou, significantly more positive samples originated from St. George parish. There were no significant differences between age groups. The results of this study show that CLA is endemic and widely distributed throughout the islands of Grenada and Carriacou.