Survey of antibodies against various infectious disease agents in racing camels in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Prevalence of antibodies against some important disease agents in sera from racing camels in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) is reported. Antibodies against Brucella abortus were detected in 1.5% of racing camels, but only 0.76% had titres sufficient for the animals to be considered infected. The complement fixation test revealed antibodies against Coxiella burnetii (causative agent of Q fever) in 7.9% of camels (with a geometrical mean titre of 13) and against parainfluenza virus type 3 in 5.6% of camels (with a geometrical mean titre of 20). Serological evidence did not show the presence of Aspergillus spp., while antibodies against Leptospira interrogans were seen in 4.1% of camels. Antibodies against Echinococcus polymorphus were observed in 2.6% of the animals, while a large number of racing camels (30.9% and 36.4%) possessed antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, as determined by direct agglutination and indirect haemagglutination, respectively.