Identification of Tritrichomonas foetus in sections of bovine placental tissue with monoclonal antibodies.

Sections of bovine placenta from cases of bovine trichomoniasis were examined for the presence of Tritrichomonas foetus by standard histological methods using phase-contrast microscopy and by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) employing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for T. foetus. Parasites were identified readily in deparaffinized tissue up to 4 yr old by IFA with 2 mAbs previously shown to bind to the surface of living T. foetus. These results indicated that the IFA provided a rapid and specific method of identifying T. foetus in tissue sections as compared to standard histological methods.