ABSTRACT
The prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis was studied in 320 Zebu cattle randomly selected from three regions of Uganda: (Central; Southwestern and Northwestern) using dot-ELISA; Western immunoblotting; rapid card agglutination test (RCAT); capillary tube agglutination test (CAT); complement fixation test (CFT); and parasitological techniques. Dried blood on Whatman filter paper No. 1 was eluted in PBS 0.05pc Tween 20 prior to testing at an initial dilution of 1:25. The prevalences of parasitaemia were 25pc in the central region; 28pc in the southwestern region; and 35pc in the northwestern region; and the serological prevalence was lowest in the central region and highest in the northwest. Overall; prevalence rates obtained by dot-ELISA (61.9pc) and Western immunoblotting (62.5pc) were 1.5 times those obtained by RCAT (41pc) and three times those obtained by CAT (22.5pc). The overall prevalence rates obtained by dot-ELISA and Western immunoblotting compared favourably with the CFT data. The present data utilizing dried blood on filter papers indicate that there is a high prevalence of anaplasmosis in those regions of Uganda surveyed; and confirm our observations and those of others that collecting blood on filter papers is a suitable technique for large scale screening and for seroepidemiological studies