Serosurvey of Toxoplasma gondii in North Atlantic marine mammals by the use of agglutination test employing whole tachyzoites and dithiothreitol

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 1998 Apr;21(2):107-14. doi: 10.1016/s0147-9571(97)00028-3.

Abstract

Serum samples from North Atlantic populations of harp seal, Phoca groenlandica (n = 316), ringed seal, Phoca hispida (n = 48), hooded seal, Cystophora cristata (n = 78), and minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata (n = 202), were tested for Toxoplasma gondii-specific IgG. The modified agglutination test (MAT) was slightly modified to be more user-friendly by replacing the 0.2 M 2-mercaptoethanol with 10 mM dithiothreitol. No positive samples were found at 1:40 dilution.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agglutination Tests / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Protozoan / blood*
  • Arctic Regions
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Dithiothreitol / chemistry
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood
  • Mercaptoethanol
  • Prevalence
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Seals, Earless / parasitology*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Sulfhydryl Reagents / chemistry
  • Toxoplasma / immunology*
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / diagnosis
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / epidemiology*
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / immunology
  • Whales / parasitology*

Substances

  • Antibodies, Protozoan
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Sulfhydryl Reagents
  • Mercaptoethanol
  • Dithiothreitol