Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How PCR tests diagnose visceral leishmaniasis in dogs using
By Almeida, Arleana B P F et al.·Published in Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease·2013·Programa de pó, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine visceral leishmaniasis: diagnostic approaches based on polymerase chain reaction employing different biological samples.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at how to diagnose canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL), a serious disease caused by a parasite, in dogs. Researchers tested different samples from 430 dogs, including blood, skin, and lymph nodes, to see which worked best for detecting the parasite's DNA. They found that 14.6% of the dogs tested positive, with lymph node samples being particularly effective. This method can help veterinarians identify the disease more easily, especially in dogs showing symptoms.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · how to test for leishmaniasis in dogs · lymph node biopsy in dogs
Abstract
The accurate diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL) is essential for visceral leishmaniasis control. To this end, DNA detection on different biological samples has been employed. In this study, we report the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay on samples such as buffy coat, bone marrow, intact skin and cutaneous ulcers fragments, and lymph node aspirate collected from 430 dogs to determine the suitable biological sample for use in CanL diagnosis. The PCR results were correlated with clinical status and other tests previously performed. Leishmania chagasi DNA was detected in 14.6% (n = 63) of the dogs investigated, regardless of the sample analyzed. Our results showed that symptomatic cases were easily diagnosed when compared to asymptomatic animals; however, the PCR proved to be very useful for Leishmania DNA detection, mainly in lymph node aspirate (41; 9.6%), irrespective of the clinical status of the dog. The finding that the lymph node aspirate produced high positivity rates and the fact that this specimen was obtained by noninvasive methods highlight its use in epidemiological survey by PCR for CanL diagnosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23619344/