2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

The overall prevalence of at least one vector-borne pathogen detected in dogs, ticks and fleas were 32.7% (18/55), 40% (8/20) and 66.7% (6/9), respectively. All ticks and fleas were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides felis. The most prevalent pathogen in dogs was E. canis (20%), followed by The Anigen Rapid CaniV-4 Test Kit is a chromatographic immunoassay for the qualitative detection of Dirofilaria immitis antigen, antibody against A. phagocytophilum / A. platys, antibody against B. burgdorferi and antibody against E. canis in canine serum, plasma or whole blood. In this report, we compared the performance of the Anigen CaniV-4 test for detection of heartworm antigen in sera from dogs having necropsy-confirmed infections and for detection of antibodies to A. phagocytophilum, A. platys, B. burgdorferi and E. canis with indirect immunoflourescence assay-characterized canine samples. In all a total of 220 characterized samples were evaluated. In summary, the Anigen CaniV-4 test had very poor sensitivity for B. burgdorferi detecting only 3 of 32 IFA positive samples. The diagnostic sensitivity for other three tick-borne diseases ranged from 73 to 80%. Specificity was >90% for all four assays. In addition, the test protocol for Anigen CaniV-4 was complicated by two different sample volume requirements; two drops for heartworm analyte and 10 lL for the tick borne disease markers. Diarrhea is commonly found in shelter cats and can be caused by different factors such as stress, dietary changes and enteric parasites. Protozoans are commonly detected and most often include Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Tritrichomonas foetus (blagburni). Cyclospora cayetanensis is another enteric protozoan that can infect people but little is known about the potential for zoonotic transfer. Thus, the objectives of this study were to optimize a C. cayetanensis PCR assay and apply it to feces of cats with diarrhea in a shelter in Colorado, USA.