Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rapid test accuracy for detecting Leishmania infantum in dogs
By Mohebali, M et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2004·School of Public Health·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Rapid detection of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs: comparative study using an immunochromatographic dipstick rk39 test and direct agglutination.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs suspected of having Leishmania infantum infection (which causes a serious disease called visceral leishmaniosis) were tested using a new quick test called the rk39 dipstick, compared to a standard test. The rk39 test was found to be fairly accurate, detecting about 71% of actual cases and correctly identifying 85% of healthy dogs. This rapid test is easy to use and doesn't require special equipment, making it a good option for diagnosing this disease in areas where it is common.
People also search for: dog leishmaniasis symptoms · rapid test for dog leishmania · canine visceral leishmaniosis diagnosis
Abstract
A rapid, sensitive and specific tool for detection of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs, would be highly desirable, because it would allow control interventions in endemic areas of Zoonotic visceral leishmaniosis (ZVL). In this study, we compared an immunochromatographic dipstick test with direct agglutination test (DAT) for detecting L. infantum infections in dogs from areas of ZVL endemic in Iran. The validity of the dipstick rk39 (Cypress Diagnostic Company, Belgium) for canine visceral leishmaniosis (CVL) was compared with a standard direct agglutination test on 116 clinically suspected dogs and 152 healthy controls from endemic areas of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan provinces, north-western of Iran for 1 year. A sensitivity of 70.9% and specificity of 84.9% were found at a 1:320 cut off titer when DAT confirmed cases were compared with healthy control. As the dipstick rk39 test is rapid, noninvasive and does not require much expertise or elaborate equipment, it can be used for screening and diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniosis in remote endemic areas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15135863/