Development of an immunochromatographic test with recombinant BgSA1 for the diagnosis of Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs

An immunochromatographic test (ICT) using recombinant BgSA1 (rBgSA1) for the detection of antibodies against Babesia gibsoni was developed and evaluated. Only the serum samples collected from dogs infected with B. gibsoni were positive in the ICT, but the serum samples from dogs infected with closely related parasites and from healthy dogs were negative. The specific antibodies could be detected in a dog experimentally infected with B. gibsoni at both the acute and chronic infection stages by the ICT. To evaluate the clinical application of the ICT, a total of 94 serum samples collected from domestic dogs in Japan were tested with the ICT and the previously established enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with rBgSA1. Twenty-one of the tested samples (22.3%) were positive in both the ICT and the ELISA. The concordance between the ELISA and the ICT was found to be 95.8%. These results suggested that the ICT using rBgSA1 is rapid, simple, accurate, and suitable for the diagnosis of B. gibsoni infection of dogs in the field.