Comparison of immunochromatographic rapid test with molecular method in diagnosis of canine parvovirus

Authors

1 Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Molecullar Immunology and Vaccine Research Laboratory, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Canine parvovirus (CPV) infection is one of
the most common causes of infectious gastroenteritis in dogs and
is a highly contagious, often fatal disease. The original virus
(CPV type 2) has had some mutations since its emergence and
new variants (CPV-2a, 2b and 2c) have been reported from many
countries all around the world. Early diagnosis and treatment can
profoundly affect the disease outcome. OBJECTIVES:To compare
the ability of Immunochromatographic (IC) test to detect CPV
infection in 50 PCR positive samples (n=50) with regard to virus
strains. METHODS: 50 rectal swabs (n=50) were prepared from
suspicious dogs and subjected to PCR and IC test respectively.
RESULTS: The sensitivity of IC test in PCR positive samples was
84% (42 out of 50 samples) and the positive predictive value of
the test was 100%. Using PCR, CPV strains in our study were 2a
(18/50, 36%) and 2b (32/50, 64%) with the predominance of 2b
strain. IC test was also able to diagnose 15/18 (83.3%) of CPV-
2a and 27/32 (84.3%) CPV-2b strain positive samples, which
means IC test can detect CPV infections caused by both virus
strains (2a and 2b), without significant difference. CONCLUSIONS:
This study shows that IC test results are relatively reliable for
diagnosing CPVinfection in daily veterinary practice and the test
is able to diagnose both CPV-2a and CPV-2b which are prevalent
strains in Iran.

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