Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Easy dog test for visceral leishmaniasis at point of care
By Castellanos-Gonzalez, Alejandro et al.·Published in The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene·2015·Department of Internal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: A Novel Molecular Test to Diagnose Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis at the Point of Care.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was tested for a serious disease called visceral leishmaniasis, which can be hard to detect because many dogs show no symptoms. Researchers developed a new, easy-to-use test that can quickly identify the disease using a simple method that doesn't require expensive equipment. This test was able to find more cases of the disease compared to the standard test, detecting infections in 50% of the dogs that were actually infected. This new testing method could help veterinarians diagnose and control leishmaniasis more effectively in dogs.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · how to test for leishmaniasis in dogs · treatment for dog leishmaniasis
Abstract
Dogs are the principal reservoir hosts of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (VL) but current serological methods are not sensitive enough to detect all subclinically infected animals, which is crucial to VL control programs. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods have greater sensitivity but require expensive equipment and trained personnel, impairing its implementation in endemic areas. We developed a diagnostic test that uses isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) to detect Leishmania infantum. This method was coupled with lateral flow (LF) reading with the naked eye to be adapted as a point-of-care test. The L. infantum RPA-LF had an analytical sensitivity similar to real time-PCR, detecting DNA of 0.1 parasites spiked in dog blood, which was equivalent to 40 parasites/mL. There was no cross amplification with dog or human DNA or with Leishmania braziliensis, Leishmania amazonensis, or Trypanosoma cruzi. The test also amplified Leishmania donovani strains (N = 7). In a group of clinically normal dogs (N = 30), RPA-LF detected more subclinical infections than rK39 strip test, a standard serological method (50% versus 13.3% positivity, respectively; P = 0.005). Also, RPA-LF detected L. infantum in noninvasive mucosal samples of dogs with a sensitivity comparable to blood samples. This novel molecular test may have a positive impact in leishmaniasis control programs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26240156/