A new multi-host species indirect ELISA using protein A/G conjugate for detection of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies with comparison to ELISA-IgG, agglutination assay and Western blot

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan parasite which can cause significant disease and losses in livestock and wild animals. It is increasingly recognized as an important foodborne pathogen in a broad range of food animals and products. Effective control strategies require rapid, reliable and cost-effective detection methods for large scale surveys and diagnostic applications in a broad range of warm-blooded animals. To overcome one or more of these shortcomings in the currently available detection methods for T. gondii infection a non-species-specific protein A/G conjugate was used in the development of an indirect ELISA (ELISA-A/G) for the detection of IgG antibodies in serum samples obtained from experimentally infected pigs. The performance of the assay was evaluated using serum samples from pigs, cats, mice and seals with known positive or negative status for T. gondii infection. Results of the ELISA-A/G obtained with pig serum samples were compared with those generated by traditional ELISA using host specific IgG conjugate (ELISA-IgG), modified agglutination test (MAT) and Western blot analysis (WB). Using protein A/G conjugate, comparative analysis of results from 77 samples obtained from T. gondii infected pigs showed excellent agreement between the ELISA-A/G and in-house ELISA-IgG (0.917κ). Similar agreements were also observed when these samples were tested by a commercial ELISA kit (0.816κ), MAT (0.816κ) and WB (0.79κ). A total of 86 serum samples obtained from cats, mice and seals experimentally infected with T. gondii and tested by the ELISA-A/G as well as MAT for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies yielded Kappa value of 1.0 for cats and mice and 0.79 for seals. These results show that the ELISA-A/G is a suitable method for serological detection of T. gondii infection in multiple host species and has the potential for testing samples from a broad range of domestic, wild, and aquatic mammalian host species. Simultaneous testing of samples from multiple host species on the same ELISA plate, and the use of multiple plates in a single run for large scale screening will enhance the cost effectiveness and speed of the test in the control and management of toxoplasmosis. This study also shows the effectiveness of the protein A/G conjugate in a modified WB assay for confirmation of T. gondii infection in mammalian hosts. Appropriate validation studies using field samples from various host species to validate the performance of ELISA-A/G is recommended prior to its application for diagnostic and surveillance programs.