Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How to quickly test for Giardia in dogs?
By Li, Jie et al.·Published in The Korean journal of parasitology·2013·College of Veterinary Medicine, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sensitive and rapid detection of Giardia lamblia infection in pet dogs using loop-mediated isothermal amplification.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that Giardia lamblia, a common parasite in dogs, can be quickly and accurately detected using a new test called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). This test can identify the parasite in fecal samples within an hour, making it much faster than traditional methods. The LAMP test is highly sensitive, detecting the parasite at lower levels than other tests like PCR. This means that if your dog has symptoms like diarrhea or weight loss, this new test could help your veterinarian diagnose and treat giardiasis (an infection caused by Giardia) more effectively.
People also search for: dog diarrhea Giardia test · how to treat Giardia in dogs · symptoms of Giardia in dogs
Abstract
Giardia lamblia is recognized as one of the most prevalent parasites in dogs. The present study aimed to establish a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid and specific detection of G. lamblia from dogs. The fecal samples were collected and prepared for microscopic analysis, and then the genomic DNA was extracted directly from purified cysts. The concentration of DNA samples of G. lamblia were diluted by 10-fold serially ranging from 10(-1) to 10(-5) ng/µl for LAMP and PCR assays. The LAMP assay allows the amplification to be finished within 60 min under isothermal conditions of 63℃ by employing 6 oligonucleotide primers designed based on G. lamblia elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1α) gene sequence. Our tests showed that the specific amplification products were obtained only with G. lamblia, while no amplification products were detected with DNA of other related protozoans. Sensitivity evaluation indicated that the LAMP assay was sensitive 10 times more than PCR. It is concluded that LAMP is a rapid, highly sensitive and specific DNA amplification technique for detection of G. lamblia, which has implications for effective control and prevention of giardiasis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23710094/