Abstract :
Due to the absence of previous reports, the goal of this work was to detect caseous lymphadenitis
(CLA) in goat flocks from Venezuela using an indirect immunoenzymatic assay
(ELISA). Eighteen farms were randomly selected in Falcon State, North-Western Venezuela.
Blood samples were taken from 259 goats, 65 of them with abscesses. Experimental inoculations
weremadeto healthy kids with 0.5mLinocula containing 4.7×105 of Corynebacterium
pseudotuberculosis to observe the kinetics of antibody response. Immunoenzymatic assays
were carried out using exotoxin of C. pseudotuberculosis as antigen. Antibody response in
experimentally inoculated animals was detected 2 weeks after infection. Of 259 field goat
sera, 55.98% were positive by ELISA. Of 65 goats with abscesses, 67.69% had CLA demonstrated
by bacteriological methods; from these, 72.73% showed antibodies by ELISA. Of the
remaining goats negative to CLA, 47.62% had antibodies by ELISA. Sensitivity was calculated
in 72.73% and specificity in 67.74%. The immunoenzymatic assay applied in this research
could be useful to detect CLA in naturally infected goat flocks from Venezuela.
