Diagnosis of Trypanosoma evansi in Saudi Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius) by the passive haemagglutination test and Ag-ELISA.

The passive haemagglutination test and Ag-ELISA were employed to monitor antibody titres and antigenaemia levels in 4 Najdi camels experimentally infected with Trypanosoma evansi. The two tests were also used to determine the prevalence of trypanosomiasis in a total of 218 Najdi camels in the Gassim region, Central Saudi Arabia, during the period from October 1992 to September 1993. Trypanosoma evansi antibodies in the experimentally infected camels rose after 14-21 days and reached a maximum of between 1:64 and 1:128 by the 12th week post infection. Circulating antigens were detected in the experimentally infected camels one week post infection and antigenaemia levels fluctuated but generally remained above preinfection OD values. The results obtained from the field survey showed that 5.5% of the sampled camels were parasitologically positive for trypanosomes, while 19.7% were serologically positive by the passive haemagglutination test and 13.8% by Ag-ELISA. No significant age difference in seropositivity was observed in the tested camels.