Diagnosis of psoroptic sheep scab with an improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of specific antibodies against crude Psoroptes antigen. The diagnostic sensitivity was 93.7% in 191 sheep with clinical signs associated with mange. These animals originated from 29 flocks in which psoroptic mites were detected. All of 59 sheep infested with Psoroptes ovis were seropositive. Additionally, in 49% of 70 clinically unaffected sheep originating from P. ovis-infested flocks, specific antibodies could be detected, suggesting that asymptomatic infestations can be diagnosed by serology. The specificity of the ELISA was 96.5% as determined with 254 sheep originating from 44 flocks without clinical mange. Cross-reactivity in a low range was detected with selected sera of sheep with clinical chorioptic or forage mite infestations. Four sheep seroconverted 2 weeks after experimental P. ovis infestation, i.e. 2 weeks before clinical signs became obvious. After successful doramectin treatment of 14 sheep with naturally acquired P. ovis infestation, the ELISA values declined slowly but remained positive in seven cases beyond 17 weeks.