Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Comparison of serological tests for the detection of natural heartworm infection in cats.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association
- Year:
- 2004
- Authors:
- Berdoulay, Paul et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Small Animal · United States
- Species:
- cat
Abstract
Serological tests were performed on 380 cats with necropsy-confirmed heartworm disease to compare the performance of currently available commercial laboratory and point-of-care heart-worm serological tests in a heartworm-endemic area. Overall, antigen tests detected 79.3% to 86.2% of heartworm infections and were highly specific. Most cats with false-negative antigen tests had a single male worm. Antibody tests detected 62.1% to 72.4% of heartworm infections and had a wider range of false-positive results (1.4% to 19.1%) than antigen tests (0.3% to 2.0%). Serological tests for feline heartworm infection varied in diagnostic performance. Combining results from antigen and antibody tests achieved greater sensitivity than using either test alone.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15347617/