Evaluation of latex agglutination test for the diagnosis of Fasciola gigantica infection in cattle and buffaloes

Latex agglutination test (LAT) was evaluated for the detection of Fasciola gigantica infection in cattle and buffaloes. The excretory-secretory antigen of F. gigantica adult flukes obtained after in vitro incubation was used to coat the latex particles (0.81m). The test was conducted with 276 sera collected from cattle and buffaloes, which included 22 each from naturally infected cattle and buffaloes and with similar number of samples from healthy cattle and buffaloes. The positive agglutination results within minutes were observed in 17 and 19 of the sera from naturally infected cattle and buffaloes, respectively. Out of 188 serum samples which were negative on faecal examination, 28 and 30 serum samples of cattle and buffaloes, respectively, were found positive by LAT. The sensitivity of the test was 88.0 and 91.0 per cent in cattle and buffaloes, respectively.