COMPARISON OF ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSOR- BENT ASSAY WITH ACID-FAST STAINING TO DETECT CRYPTOSPORIDIUM OF CATTLE FAECES

Abstract

Cryptosporidiosis is a major cause of diarrhoea, weight loss and low productivity in various domestic
animals. The acid-fast staining method used to detect the parasite in cattle may be responsible for the
low prevalence rates recorded in previous studies in Nigeria. A comparison of the efficacy of an en-
zyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and acid-fast staining techniques in detecting Crypto-
sporidium spp. in bovine faeces was carried out in this work. A total of 200 faecal samples were col-
lected from cattle of different age groups by the use of a simple random sampling technique. The sam-
ples were analyzed microscopically using formalin-ethylacetate sedimentation method followed by
modified Kinyoun«¤??s acid-fast staining technique. All the samples were later tested for Cryptosporidium
coproantigens by the use of a commercially available ELISA test kit. Microscopy detected Crypto-
sporidium oocysts in 24.0% while ELISA detected the antigens in 37.5% of the samples. The ELISA,
with a sensitivity and specificity of 72.9% and 73.7% respectively, had a significantly higher (p<0.05)
rate of detection of Cryptosporidium spp. than microscopy with a sensitivity and specificity of 46.7%
and 89.6% respectively. The ELISA is therefore a preferable method than microscopy for detection of
Cryptosporidium in faecal specimens and will be useful in routine diagnosis and screening of large
number of samples in epidemiological surveys.