Development and validation of a new dot blot test for the detection of Paramoeba pemaquidensis (Page) in fish

In this study, the development of a dot blot assay to assess amoebic gill disease (AGD) using non-lethal gill mucus samples is described and its performance validated by comparing the assay with the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), the 'gold standard' test. The agreement between the two tests was high, with a positive predictive value of 95% and negative predictive value of 93%, with a corrected κ value of 0.88. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were 97 and 91%, respectively. The dot blot is both sensitive and specific for Paramoeba pemaquidensis and is formatted so that large numbers of samples can be conveniently analysed.