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Clinical evaluation of the serodiagnostic value of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Rhodococcus equi infection in foals.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of serum IgG antibodies against Tween 20-extracted antigen of strain ATCC 6939 was applied in Hidaka, Japan to a total of 752 sick foals showing a variety of signs of infectious disease. An optical density (OD) value of more than 0.3 was tentatively fixed to be positive on the basis of readings made of healthy horse sera in previous studies. During a 2 year study, 138 of the 752 sick foals showed an OD value of 0.3 or higher and were designated as 'suspected of R. equi infection'. Age distribution during the initial medical examination of the 138 seropositive foals was significant in that most (64%) foals were age 31-60 days, with a sharp decrease in subjects beyond that age. Of the 138 foals suspected of having R. equi infection, 34 foals (25%) showed OD values of over 0.9 at the initial medical examination, in addition to high blood leucocyte counts and serum fibrinogen and alpha-globulin values. The infectious foals had been treated with antibiotics just before and after serodiagnosis and 126 foals (91%) recovered from the disease. However, no clinical improvement was observed in 12 foals (9%). At necropsy, these foals revealed suppurative pneumonia and lymphadenitis of gut associated lymph nodes accompanied by abdominal abscesses. All isolates from the pulmonary and abdominal abscesses revealed R. equi. These results suggest that OD readings in the high range are associated with severe disseminated infection with R. equi.