Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
New PCR test detects Anaplasma platys infection in dogs
By da Silva, Claudia B et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2016·Department of Animal Parasitology (Silva, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A new quantitative PCR method for the detection of Anaplasma platys in dogs based on the citrate synthase gene.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that a new testing method can detect a bacteria called Anaplasma platys in dogs, which can cause health issues. Researchers tested blood samples from dogs in Brazil and discovered that 17.2% of them were positive for this bacteria using a new quantitative PCR method, which was more accurate than older testing methods. This new test can help veterinarians better diagnose and treat dogs infected with Anaplasma platys, especially when other tests come back negative but the dog still shows symptoms.
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Abstract
Anaplasma platys is an obligate intracellular bacterium that primarily affects dogs, but it can also infect humans. Our study aimed to standardize a quantitative real-time (q)PCR method using the citrate synthase gene (gltA) as a specific target for A. platys detection in naturally infected dogs. Primers (gltA84F and gltA84R) and probe (PLATYSp) were designed to amplify an 84-bp fragment based on the gltA gene sequences of A. platys available in GenBank. A total of 186 dog blood samples originating from the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro were tested by qPCR. Additionally, the same samples were tested by cytology and a nested (n)PCR that targeted the 16S ribosomal DNA to determine the performance of our qPCR method compared to these existing techniques. Among the samples tested with qPCR, 17.2% were considered positive, significantly more than detected by nPCR (14.0%). Under optical microscopy, inclusions were observed in platelets of 25.3% of the samples, and among these samples, only 33.9% were identified as positive for A. platys using qPCR. The qPCR technique proved to be more specific than cytology and to have superior sensitivity to nPCR for detecting A. platys in dogs. The development of this new qPCR method contributes to the advancement of research involving A. platys Furthermore, it can be used to quantify the presence of this bacterium to evaluate the treatment of infected animals, or even as a more sensitive and specific tool for situations indicating possible clinical disease but with negative cytology.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27423737/