2016 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The POCKIT Ã’ iiPCR system was quick to learn, portable, and had a short run time of approximately 1 hour. There were few false-positive results, indicating that positive results are likely to represent true infections when tested in high-risk animals. Approximately 10-15% of infected dogs would be missed by the POCKIT Ã’ iiPCR system. However, the portability and speed with which results can be obtained may result in more infected dogs being diagnosed than in the current situation in which testing is rarely performed in dog-fighting cases due to cost and logistics of sending samples to outside laboratories. This system may also be used for B. gibsoni treatment monitoring using a hybrid approach. For example, following initial diagnosis with either the POCKIT Ã’ system or a commercial laboratory, the POCKIT Ã’ system could be used for testing during treatment. Once a negative result was obtained, a sample could be submitted to a commercial laboratory to confirm treatment efficacy. Although this study focused on mass screening for B. gibsoni, the portable iiPCR platform has potential to aid in rapid detection of a variety of infections under field conditions. The efficacy of sarolaner (Simparica TM , Zoetis) to prevent transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum from infected wild-caught Ixodes scapularis to dogs was evaluated in a well-controlled laboratory study. Twenty-four purpose-bred laboratory Beagle dogs seronegative for B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum antibody were allocated randomly to one of three oral treatment groups: placebo administered on Days 0 and 7, sarolaner administered on Day 0 (28 days prior to tick infestation), or sarolaner administered on Day 7 (21 days prior to tick infestation). Sarolaner tablets were shaved and/or sanded based on each dog's individual bodyweight to provide a dosage of 2 mg/kg. On Day 28 each dog was infested with approximately 25 female and 25 male wild caught adult I. scapularis that were determined by random sampling to have infection rates of 57% for B. burgdorferi and 6.7% for A. phagocytophilum by PCR. In situ tick counts were conducted on Days 29 and 30. On Day 33, all ticks were counted and removed. Blood samples collected from each dog on Days 27, 49, 63, 77, 91 and 104 were tested for the presence of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum antibodies using the SNAP Ã’ 4Dx Ã’ Plus Test, and quantitatively assayed for B. burgdorferi antibodies using an ELISA test. Skin biopsies collected on Day 104 were tested for the presence of B. burgdorferi by bacterial culture and PCR. Acaricidal efficacy was calculated based on the reduction of geometric mean live tick counts in the sarolaner-treated groups compared to the placebo-treated group for each tick count.