Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rapid test for diagnosing Leishmania infantum infection in dogs
By Ferroglio, E et al.·Published in Clinical and vaccine immunology : CVI·2013·Dipartimento di Produzioni Animali, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of a rapid device for serological diagnosis of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs as an alternative to immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was tested for Leishmania infantum infection, which can cause serious health issues. Researchers compared a new rapid test called Speed Leish K with traditional methods to see how well it detected the infection. The Speed Leish K test showed a very high accuracy, identifying nearly all positive cases correctly and having no false positives. This quick test could be a great option for veterinarians to diagnose this infection in dogs more easily and efficiently.
People also search for: dog Leishmania symptoms · rapid test for dog infections · how to test for Leishmania in dogs
Abstract
In this study, we compared a rapid immunochromatographic test (Speed Leish K; BVT Groupe Virbac, La Seyne sur Mer, France) with an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFAT) and Western blotting (WB) for the detection of Leishmania infantum antibodies in dogs. A total of 250 serum samples were collected from 125 L. infantum-positive and 125 L. infantum-negative dogs. Among the positive samples, 81 were strongly positive at low IFAT dilutions, while 44 were low-reactivity sera (IFAT titers, 1:40 to 1:80). The sensitivity and specificity of the Speed Leish K were 96.3% and 100%, respectively, compared with those of the IFAT. When IFAT low-reactivity sera (titers, 1:40 or 1:80) were tested with the Speed Leish K, using WB results as a reference, the sensitivities were 93.75% for sera with a 1:80 titer and 73.33% for sera with a 1:40 titer, and the specificity was 100%. The Speed Leish K is easy to use and performs well, so it can be considered a quick and reliable tool for the diagnosis of L. infantum infection in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23446218/