Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Test to measure antibodies for Lagenidium giganteum infection in dogs
By Hartfield, J N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2014·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Development and evaluation of an ELISA for the quantitation of anti-Lagenidium giganteum forma caninum antibodies in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs infected with Lagenidium giganteum forma caninum, a fungus that can cause serious skin and systemic issues, were tested to develop a new blood test for this infection. The test showed that it could accurately identify the infection in about 91% of cases, but it also had some trouble distinguishing it from other similar infections, leading to some false positives. This means that while the test is helpful, it may not be completely reliable on its own. If you suspect your dog has a fungal infection, it's important to discuss these testing options with your veterinarian.
People also search for: dog skin infection treatment · Lagenidium giganteum symptoms · dog fungal infection test
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Lagenidium giganteum forma caninum infection causes severe cutaneous and disseminated disease in dogs. Currently, diagnosis requires culture and rRNA gene sequencing. OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate an ELISA for quantitation of anti-L. giganteum f. caninum IgG in canine serum. ANIMALS: Sera were evaluated from 22 dogs infected with L. giganteum f. caninum, 12 dogs infected with Paralagenidium karlingii, 18 dogs infected with Pythium insidiosum, 26 dogs with nonoomycotic fungal infections or other cutaneous or systemic diseases, and 10 healthy dogs. METHODS: Antigen was prepared from a soluble mycelial extract of L. giganteum f. caninum. Optimal antigen and antibody concentrations were determined by checkerboard titration. Results were expressed as percent positivity (PP) relative to a strongly positive control serum. RESULTS: Medians and ranges for PP for each group were: L. giganteum f. caninum (73.9%, 27.9-108.9%), P. karlingii (55.0%, 21.0-90.6%), P. insidiosum (31.3%, 15.8-87.5%), nonoomycotic fungal infection or other cutaneous or systemic diseases (19.2%, 3.2-61.0%), and healthy dogs (9.9%, 7.6-24.6%). Using a PP cutoff value of 40%, sensitivity and specificity (with 95% CI) of the ELISA for detecting L. giganteum f. caninum infection in clinically affected dogs were 90.9% (72.2-97.5%) and 73.2% (60.4-83.0%), respectively. Specificity in dogs infected with P. karlingii was 41.7% (19.3-68.1%) and with P. insidiosum was 66.7% (43.8-83.7%). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Quantitation of anti-L. giganteum f. caninum antibodies for detection of this infection in dogs has moderately high sensitivity but poor specificity, the latter because of substantial cross-reactivity with anti-P. karlingii and anti-P. insidiosum antibodies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25274441/