Evaluation of buffered Trypanosoma evansi antigen and rapid serum agglutination test (BA/Te) for the detection of anti-T. evansi antibodies in horses in Brazil

Surra is an infectious disease caused by Trypanosoma evansi, which affects a large number of domestic and wild animal species. Infection control is based on rapid diagnosis followed by treatment of sick animals. This study aimed to evaluate a buffered T. evansi antigen and rapid serum agglutination test (BA/Te) for the detection of anti-T. evansi antibodies in serum samples of horses. For this purpose, 445 serum samples from horses were evaluated and the results compared with the diagnosis by CATT/T. evansi. Our data show a sensitivity of 92%, specificity of 91% and a degree of agreement kappa (κ) of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.771–0.877, P < 0.01) between BA/Te and CATT/T. evansi. Antigen specificity was also evaluated against reactive serum for other infectious agents circulating in equine herds. In conclusion, our findings show that BA/Te has the potential to be a practical and quick screening method for the detection of anti-T. evansi antibodies in horses.