Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting Cryptosporidium and Giardia in asymptomatic dogs with ELISA
By Rimhanen-Finne, R et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2007·Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of immunofluorescence microscopy and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in detection of Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in asymptomatic dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 150 healthy dogs in Finland were tested for two types of parasites, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, which can sometimes cause illness. The tests showed that about 5% of the dogs had Cryptosporidium and 5% had Giardia, with higher rates in younger dogs under a year old. The Giardia test was particularly effective, accurately identifying all cases. Fortunately, the study indicated that the specific types found in these dogs are less likely to spread to humans.
People also search for: dog diarrhea causes · Giardia treatment for dogs · Cryptosporidium in dogs symptoms
Abstract
The performance of immunofluorescence microscopy (IF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in canine feces was evaluated. IF and Cryptosporidium ELISA detected 10(5)oocysts/g, while the detection limit for Giardia ELISA was 10(4)cysts/g. The Cryptosporidium ELISA showed 94% specificity but only 71% sensitivity. The Giardia ELISA correlated well with IF (sensitivity 100%, specificity 96%) and was capable of detecting animal specific Giardia duodenalis genotypes. Visual interpretation appeared appropriate for assessment of ELISA results. The proportion of positive samples and possible zoonotic character of Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in 150 asymptomatic Finnish dogs from the Helsinki area were studied. The overall proportion of dogs positive for Cryptosporidium was 5% (7/150) and that for Giardia 5% (8/150). In dogs < or =12 months old, the corresponding proportions were 17% and 19% (n=36). Sequence analyses of the 18S rDNA gene identified the isolates as Cryptosporidium canis and animal specific genotypes of G. duodenalis (assemblages C-E), indicating restricted risk of zoonotic transmission.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17320291/