Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heat treatment improves heartworm antigen tests in Romanian stray dogs
By Ciucă, L et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2016·University of AgriculturalSciences and Veterinary Medicine Iasi·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Heat treatment of serum samples from stray dogs naturally exposed to Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens in Romania.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of stray dogs in Romania were tested for heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) and skin worm (Dirofilaria repens) infections. Initially, only a small number of dogs tested positive for heartworm, but after heating their blood samples, more dogs showed signs of infection. This suggests that heating the serum can help detect heartworm in dogs that might otherwise test negative. The findings indicate that some dogs infected with skin worms may also have hidden heartworm infections that can be revealed through this heat treatment method.
People also search for: dog heartworm symptoms · stray dog skin worm infection · heartworm test false negative · Dirofilaria treatment for dogs
Abstract
Pre-heating of serum samples has been shown to reverse false negative antigen tests for Dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs. Here the authors report the results of serum sampling in a population of dogs naturally exposed to D. immitis and Dirofilaria repens infection by testing in ELISA before and after heat treatment. Of 194 dogs sampled from four cities in Romania, D. immitis circulating antigens were found in 16 (8.2%) non heated samples and in 52 (26.8%) heated samples. Of the 108 dogs examined by Knott test, 24 dogs (22.2%) were positive for circulating mf. Subsequent PCR identification showed six dogs had D. immitis mf only, 12 dogs, had only D. repens mf, and 5 were positive for both. Fifty% of dogs with circulating D. immitis mf had positive antigen tests before and after heating, while the other 50% reverted to positive only after heat treatment. Sixty% of dogs with mixed D. immitis/D. repens infection were antigen positive before and after heating, while the other 40% converted to positive after heating. Antigen testing for D. immitis in the 12 dogs with only D. repens mf gave conflicting results. Only two dogs (16%) were antigen negative both before and after heat treatment. Six dogs (50%) became antigen positive after heating and four dogs (30%) were antigen positive both before and after heat treatment. Results would suggest that: false negative result for antigen testing can be reverted by heating of the serum sample; dogs infected with D. repens may have also an occult infection with D. immitis; heat treatment of serum from D. repens-infected dogs can reveal an occult infection with D. immitis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27369579/