Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparing two blood tests for diagnosing canine visceral leishmaniasis
By de Lima, Valéria Marçal Félix et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2010·Departamento de Clí, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison between ELISA using total antigen and immunochromatography with antigen rK39 in the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs showing symptoms of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), such as weight loss and skin lesions, were tested using two different blood tests to see which was better at diagnosing the disease. One test, called CTA-ELISA, was found to be very accurate, correctly identifying all infected dogs, while the other test, immunochromatography with antigen rK39, also performed well but was slightly less sensitive. Both tests are reliable, but the rK39 test is quicker and easier to use in the field. This means that if your dog shows signs of CVL, either test can help your vet confirm the diagnosis effectively.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · canine visceral leishmaniasis test · rK39 test for dogs
Abstract
In this study, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using crude total antigen (CTA-ELISA) and immunochromatography with antigen rK39 were compared in the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). Fifty-two total blood samples from symptomatic dogs obtained from a location endemic for leishmaniasis and 52 blood samples from healthy dogs from a nonendemic region were tested. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect DNA from Leishmania spp. in both groups. Symptomatic dogs with positive PCR were considered infected by Leishmania spp. and the PCR technique was chosen as a gold standard test. The sensitivity determined for CTA-ELISA was 100%, with specificity of 91.2%, while the immunochromatographic assay with the antigen rK39 showed sensitivity of 91.5%, with specificity of 94.7%. A strong correlation was verified between CTA-ELISA and immunochromatography with antigen rK39, with a kappa coefficient of agreement of 0.88. Analysis of the results suggested that both assays presented good sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing CVL; however, immunochromatography with the antigen rK39 may be more advantageous when a fast field test is required.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20810216/