Specific IgG antibody responses in Oestrus ovis L. (Diptera: Oestridae) infected sheep: associations with intensity of infection and larval development

Vet Parasitol. 2008 Aug 17;155(3-4):257-63. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2008.05.015. Epub 2008 May 22.

Abstract

Larvae of Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae) are ubiquitous parasites of nasal and sinusal cavities of sheep and goats. According to the chronobiology of O. ovis infections in Sardinia and the seasonal pattern of the IgG response, the optimal period to investigate the relationships between O. ovis larval populations and intensity of local and systemic IgG antibody responses was mid-July in the summer season. Sarda x Lacaune ewes (n=186), divided into three ram-families were used in the study. Systemic and local IgG responses were measured by ELISA tests using second stage larval crude extracts (L2CE) and L2 (L2SGC) and L3 (L3SGC) salivary gland contents as coating antigens. The number of larval instars, larval length of L1, L2 and L3 larvae, and larval weight of L2 and L3 larvae were individually recorded after ewe necropsy. Negative correlations among larval establishment and/or larval development on the one hand and intensity of local or systemic IgG responses on the other hand were found in two out of three studied ram-families.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Diptera / growth & development*
  • Diptera / immunology*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood*
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Larva / growth & development
  • Larva / immunology
  • Male
  • Parasitic Diseases, Animal / diagnosis
  • Parasitic Diseases, Animal / epidemiology
  • Parasitic Diseases, Animal / immunology*
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Prevalence
  • Sheep
  • Sheep Diseases / diagnosis
  • Sheep Diseases / epidemiology
  • Sheep Diseases / immunology*
  • Sheep Diseases / parasitology

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin G