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1 January 1996 SEROPREVALENCE OF PSOROPTES SP. MITES IN FREE-RANGING ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS) AS DETERMINED BY KINETIC ELISA
Michael H. Ziccardi, Walter M. Boyce, Ian A. Gardner
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Abstract

Western blots and a kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to characterize and quantify the prevalence of antibodies to Psoroptes sp. mites in elk (Cervus elaphus) from nine herds in North America. Sera from infested (n =18) and non-infested (n = 22) elk were used to optimize test methodology and to define cut-off values for negative, suspect, and positive samples. Among 357 samples, 35 (9.8%) of the animals were seropositive, 259 (73%) were negative, and 63 (18%) were suspect. Six of nine herds (67%) contained positive animals and two additional herds (22%) had suspect animals. Sex was not associated with prevalence of antibodies, but adults greater than 2 yr old were approximately five times more likely (95% confidence interval = 2.6–15.4) to be seropositive than calves. Based on these results, we propose that exposure to Psoroptes sp. mites may be widespread in free-ranging elk of North America.

Ziccardi, Boyce, and Gardner: SEROPREVALENCE OF PSOROPTES SP. MITES IN FREE-RANGING ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS) AS DETERMINED BY KINETIC ELISA
Michael H. Ziccardi, Walter M. Boyce, and Ian A. Gardner "SEROPREVALENCE OF PSOROPTES SP. MITES IN FREE-RANGING ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS) AS DETERMINED BY KINETIC ELISA," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 32(1), 51-56, (1 January 1996). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-32.1.51
Received: 14 November 1994; Published: 1 January 1996
KEYWORDS
antibodies
Cervus elaphus
ELISA
elk
immunodiagnosis
mites
Psoroptes sp.
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