Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Best early test for canine distemper virus is conjunctival swab
By Kim, Doo et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2006·School of Veterinary Medicine & Institute of Veterinary Medicine, South Korea·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Comparison of tissue and fluid samples for the early detection of canine distemper virus in experimentally infected dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of seven healthy 17-week-old dogs was infected with canine distemper virus (CDV) to study how to detect the virus early. While the dogs developed mild fever and low white blood cell counts, they did not show the typical signs of distemper during the experiment. The researchers found that taking swabs from the dogs' eyes was the most effective method for detecting the virus early, as it provided results faster and was easier to collect than other types of samples. This suggests that eye swabs could be a practical way for vets to diagnose canine distemper in its early stages.
People also search for: dog distemper symptoms · how to test for canine distemper · early signs of distemper in puppies
Abstract
The clinical utility of various specimens was examined for the early diagnosis of canine distemper (CD). Seven healthy dogs at 17 weeks of age were experimentally infected with a field isolate of canine distemper virus. The RT-PCR was carried out to detect CDV NP gene. Dogs showed mild fever and leukopenia, however, typical clinical signs of CD were not seen through the experimental period. CDV amplicons were detected more, earlier and for longer period in the conjunctival swabs than in the other samples employed. These results suggested that conjunctival swab samples, which are easy to obtain and non-invasive, would be the most suitable and practical specimen for the early antemortem diagnosis of CDV infection.
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/16953092/