African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (16), pp. 1898-1904, 20 August 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Evaluation of post-vaccination immunity to canine distemper and parvoviruses in Benin City, Nigeria

Eghafona, N. O., Jacob, J. and Yah, S. C.

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. Email: johvet2003@yahoo.com. Phone: +2348037240874 or +2348053910615

Accepted 18 June, 2007

A study was conducted to determine the immune status of dogs vaccinated against Canine Parvovirus (CPV) and Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) by a clinic-based immunoblot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a commercially available 120 sample immunocomb® test kit for canine parvo and distemper IgG  in Benin City, Nigeria. Out of 120 dogs sampled, 63 (52.5%) were females while 57 (47.5%) were males. 84 (70%) dogs were exotic breeds while 36 (30%) were mongrels. Majority of the dogs (35, 29.17%) were less than one year old and the age range of all dogs sampled was between 9 weeks and 10 years. Analysis of data showed that there was no significant difference (P < 0.05) between sex, breed, age and level of immunity. A non-parametric chi-square contingency analysis of antigens (CPV and CDV) and level of immunity revealed that there was a high significant association (p < 0.001) between CPV and CDV antigens and level of immunity of the vaccinated dogs sampled.

Key words: Immunoblot ELISA, post-vaccination immunity, canine distemper, parvoviruses.