Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fast and accurate tests for diagnosing Giardia in dogs
By Symeonidou, Isaia et al.·Published in Parasites & vectors·2020·School of Veterinary Medicine·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Rapid on-site diagnosis of canine giardiosis: time versus performance.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with diarrhea were tested for a common infection called giardiosis caused by a parasite called Giardia. Researchers compared a quick test called SpeedGiardia with traditional methods like microscopy and other lab tests. The SpeedGiardia test was found to be more effective, correctly identifying 86.2% of positive cases, while the traditional method only identified 58.6%. This quick test can help vets diagnose giardiosis faster and more accurately, which is important for treating affected dogs. If a dog shows symptoms but tests negative, further testing may be needed.
People also search for: dog diarrhea Giardia test · giardiosis treatment for dogs · how to diagnose Giardia in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Infections by protozoans of the genus Giardia are a common cause of diarrhea in dogs. Canine giardiosis constitutes a disease with a zoonotic potential; however, it is often underestimated due to its challenging diagnosis. The objective of the study was to assess the diagnostic performance of an immunochromatographic strip test (SpeedGiardia, Virbac, France) comparing it with microscopy (zinc sulfate flotation) by utilizing the combination of an enzyme immunoassay (ProSpecTGiardia EZ Microplate Assay, Oxoid Ltd., UK) and the PCR as the gold standard. A positive result in both ELISA and PCR was set as the gold standard. METHODS: Initially, fecal samples from dogs with clinical signs compatible with giardiosis were tested with the SpeedGiardia test and separated into two groups of 50 samples each: group A (positive) and group B (negative). Thereafter, all samples were examined by zinc sulfate centrifugal flotation technique and assayed by the ProSpecTGiardia Microplate Assay and PCR. The performance of the SpeedGiardia and zinc sulfate centrifugal flotation tests were calculated estimating sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratio; the chi-square and McNemar tests were used for the comparison of the two methods. RESULTS: Giardia cysts were not detected by microscopy in 16 out of the 50 samples (32%) of group A and in none of group B samples. Eight out of 50 samples in group B (16%) were tested positive both with the ProSpecTGiardia Microplate Assay and PCR. Fecal examination with the SpeedGiardia test was more sensitive (86.2%) than the parasitological method (58.6%, P < 0.001) while the specificity of both methods was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The SpeedGiardia test is an easy-to-perform diagnostic method for the detection of Giardia spp., which can increase laboratory efficiency by reducing time and cost and decrease underdiagnosis of Giardia spp. infections. This immunochromatographic strip test may be routinely exploited when a rapid and reliable diagnosis is required, other diagnostic techniques are unavailable and microscopy expertise is inefficient. In negative dogs with compatible clinical signs of giardiosis, it is recommended either to repeat the exam or proceed with further ELISA and PCR testing.
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/33138850/