Development of an ELISA technique for the detection of Babesia ovis and serological survey of the parasite in Khouzestan province, southern Iran

To develop an ELISA technique for the detection of antibodies against Babesia ovis, the infectederythrocytes were lysed and the supernatant soluble antigen, after sonication and ultracentrifugation of thelysate was used as antigen. Optimal dilution of the antigen was determined by checkerboard titrations, usingpositive and negative control sera. A correlation of 85% was observed between the results of the developedELISA and IFA techniques. To study the seroprevalence of Babesia ovis in Khouzestan province, south ofIran, a total of 1000 sheep sera were collected from different areas of the province and tested against Babesia ovis using the ELISA technique developed. The results showed an average seroprevalence of 47.5% in the province. Our results indicated a significant increase of the seroprevalence by advancement of age of the animals. There was no significant difference between the seroprevalence of female and male sheep.