Detection of Anaplasma antibodies in wildlife and domestic species in wildlife-livestock interface areas of Kenya by major surface protein 5 competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

The seroprevalence of Anaplasma antibodies in wildlife (eland, blue wildebeest, kongoni, impala, Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, giraffe and plains zebra) and domestic animal (cattle, sheep and goat) populations was studied in wildlife/livestock interface areas of Kenya. Serum samples were analyzed by competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI-ELISA), using a recombinant antigen (MSP-5) from Anaplasma marginale surface membrane. A monoclonal antibody, FC-16, was used as the primary antibody, while anti-mouse conjugated to horseradish peroxidase was used as the secondary antibody. The results indicate a high seroprevalence in both wildlife and livestock populations, in contrast to earlier reports from Kenya, which indicated a low seroprevalence. The differences are attributed to the accurate analytical method used (CI-ELISA), as compared with agglutination techniques, clinical signs and microscopy employed by the earlier workers.