Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rapid blood tests to diagnose fungal skin infection in cats
By Santana, Aline Elisa et al.·Published in Medical mycology·2018·Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Development of enzyme immunoassays (ELISA and Western blot) for the serological diagnosis of dermatophytosis in symptomatic and asymptomatic cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with skin issues and some without symptoms were tested for a common fungal infection called dermatophytosis, which can affect both pets and people. Researchers developed two blood tests, ELISA and Western blot, to quickly and accurately diagnose this infection. The ELISA test was found to be very effective, correctly identifying 94% of infected cats, while the Western blot test also showed promising results. These tests can help veterinarians diagnose and manage dermatophytosis more efficiently, leading to better care for affected cats.
People also search for: cat skin infection test · how to diagnose cat dermatophytosis · symptoms of fungal infection in cats
Abstract
Dermatophytosis is the most common fungal infection in cats worldwide and plays an important role in both animal and human health due to their high zoonotic potential. Effective screening is a strong preventive measure and the fungal culture is quite useful but requires full laboratorial experience and it takes a long time to obtain the result. A rapid and accurate screening test for dermatophytosis in cats is crucial for the effective control of disease outbreaks. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of enzyme immunoassays (ELISA and Western blot [WB]) for the rapid and precise diagnosis of dermatophytosis in cats. Seventy cats of various ages were divided into three groups: S (symptomatic, n = 20), AS (asymptomatic, n = 30), and N (negative, n = 20). All animals were submitted to fungal culture and blood samples for carrying out the serological tests. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between IgG-specific levels of sera of Microsporum canis positive and negative animals. There was no statistic difference between groups symptomatic and asymptomatic. The ELISA test showed sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 75%. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis also showed higher diagnostic accuracy (AUC 0.925). The WB technique detected 13 bands, and the 50 kDa protein was considered the most immunogenic protein, observing reactivity in 83.3% in the symptomatic group and 66.6% in the asymptomatic group. The study concluded that ELISA and WB were useful tools to reliably detect cats that have been exposed to M. canis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28340215/