Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Accuracy of cryptococcosis antigen tests in dogs and cats
By Wong, Samantha A et al.·Published in American journal of veterinary research·2026·Department of Internal Medicine, Australia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Diagnostic performance of lateral flow antigen tests versus latex agglutination for cryptococcosis in dogs and cats.
Plain-English summary
A study tested two different quick tests for cryptococcosis, a fungal infection, in dogs and cats. The IMMY test was found to be very accurate, correctly identifying 95% of infected animals and not giving false positives. In contrast, the Dynamiker test was less reliable, with a high chance of false positives, making it unsuitable for screening pets for this infection. This means that if your pet is suspected of having cryptococcosis, the IMMY test is the better option for accurate diagnosis.
People also search for: dog cryptococcosis test · cat fungal infection symptoms · best test for cryptococcosis in pets
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the diagnostic utility of 2 point-of-care cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) lateral flow assays (LFAs; Dynamiker Biotechnology Co Ltd and IMMY) for the diagnosis of cryptococcosis in dogs and cats using a latex CrAg agglutination test (Cryptococcal Antigen Latex Agglutination System; Meridian Bioscience) as the reference standard. METHODS: Serum samples from 21 dogs and cats considered to be infected with cryptococcus and 30 animals considered unlikely to be infected were assayed using both point-of-care LFAs from January 2024 through April 2025, and sensitivity and specificity estimates were calculated. RESULTS: The CrAg LFA (IMMY) had an estimated sensitivity of 95% (95% CI, 76.0% to 100%) and an estimated specificity of 100% (95% CI, 88.0% to 100%). The CrAg LFA (Dynamiker Biotechnology Co Ltd) had an estimated sensitivity of 100% (95% CI, 83.0% to 100%) and specificity of 20% (95% CI, 8.00% to 39.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The CrAg LFA (IMMY) is unequivocally superior to the CrAg LFA (Dynamiker Biotechnology Co Ltd) for the screening of cryptococcosis in dogs and cats due to its vastly superior specificity. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The CrAg LFA (Dynamiker Biotechnology Co Ltd) in its present form should not be considered as a useful test to screen cats and dogs for cryptococcosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41061725/