Top dogs can catch things too!  Our NEW dog show panel checks for 8 pathogens potentially transmissible at dog shows.

 Neuro symptoms getting on your nerves? Try our canine neurological panel - 6 neurological pathogens from 1 CSF sample; or our feline neurological panel - 5 neurological pathogens from 1 CSF sample.

Oh baby! Try our canine breeding PCR panel - 3 canine sexually transmitted diseases tested from swabs or semen samples.

Respiratory symptoms got you breathless? Try our canine respiratory PCR panel - we test for 8 canine respiratory pathogens from throat, nasal and eye swabs.

...or maybe you need our feline respiratory PCR panel -- 6 feline respiratory pathogens from throat, nasal and eye swabs.

Diarrhea got you on the run? Try our canine diarrhea PCR panel -- 8 major diarrheagenic agents from 1 fecal specimen...
...OR our 9-pathogen feline diarrhea PCR panel.

Not feeling sanguine about bloodborne pathogens in cats? Try our feline bloodborne PCR panel -- 4 major bloodborne pathogens from 1 blood sample.

Ticks bugging you? Try our tickborne disease PCR panel -- 7 major tickborne pathogens from 1 blood sample.

Just plain sick and tired? Try our canine anemia PCR panel or our feline anemia PCR panel -- detect and differentiate multiple anemia pathogens from 1 blood sample.

            * * *           

Zoologix performs canine and feline PCR tests for...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Anaplasma platys

Aspergillus species

Aspergillus fumigatus

Babesia

Bartonella

Baylisascaris procyonis

Bordetella bronchiseptica

Borrelia burgdorferi

Brucella canis

Campylobacter

Canine adenovirus type 1

Canine adenovirus type 2

Canine circovirus

Canine enteric coronavirus (CCV1)

Canine distemper

Canine herpesvirus

Canine papillomavirus

Canine parainfluenza virus

Canine parvovirus

Canine pneumovirus

Canine respiratory coronavirus (CCV2)

Chagas disease

Chikungunya virus

Chlamydophila psittaci

Clostridium species

Coccidia

Cryptococcus

Cryptosporidium

Cytauxzoon felis

Demodex gatoi mites

E. coli

Ehrlichia

Entamoeba

Fading kitten syndrome

Feline calicivirus

Feline distemper

Feline enteric coronavirus

Feline foamy virus

Feline herpesvirus type 1

Feline immunodeficiency virus

Feline infectious anemia

Feline infectious peritonitis

Feline leukemia

Feline panleukopenia

Feline papillomavirus

Feline pneunomitis

Feline rhinotracheitis virus

Feline sarcoma virus

Feline syncytial virus

Francisella tularensis

Giardia

Group G strep

Haemobartonella canis

Haemobartonella felis

Helicobacter

Influenza type A

Lawsonia intracellularis

Leishmania

Leptospira

Lyme disease

Mange in cats

Microsporum

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus)

Mycoplasma canis

Mycoplasma cynos

Mycoplasma felis

Mycoplasma haemocanis

Mycoplasma haemofelis

Neorickettsia helmintheca

Neospora caninum

Pasteurella multocida

Pneumocystis carinii

Rabies

RD114

Reovirus screen

Rickettsia screen

Ringworm

Salmonella

Salmon poisoning disease

Sarcocystis neurona

Streptococcus, Group G

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pyogenes

Streptococcus zooepidemicus

Toxoplasma gondii

Trichomonas/
Tritrichomonas

Trichophyton

Trypanosoma cruzi

Tularemia

West Nile virus

Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis


Baylisascaris procyonis PCR test for dogs and cats

dog and cat assay data sheet

Baylisascaris procyonis

Test code:
X0019 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Baylisascaris procyonis by real time PCR

 

Baylisascaris procyonis infection has recently been recognized as an important and widespread emerging helminthic infection of both animals and humans. Raccoons are thought to be the most favorable host for this roundworm; reported infection rates are as high as 70% in adult raccoons and can exceed 90% in juvenile raccoons. Due to the close interaction of raccoons with human populations and pets, this parasite has increasingly been recognized as a cause of severe human disease.

When raccoons ingest the eggs of this parasite the larvae hatch, enter the wall of the small intestine and subsequently develop into adult worms in the small bowel. These adult worms shed eggs into the raccoon’s bowel. Although raccoons are not significantly affected by these parasites, ingestion of the eggs by other suboptimal host mammals (including rodents, birds, dogs and other domestic mammals) results in extraintestinal migration of larvae, and notably invasion of the brain. The migration of helminth larvae through tissue in suboptimal hosts is termed larva migrans and may affect the viscera (visceral larva migrans [VLM]), the eye (ocular larva migrans [OLM]), or the nervous system (neural larva migrans [NLM].

B. procyonis larvae have been found in more than 90 species of wild and domestic mammals and birds, including dogs, chickens, pheasants, quail, guinea pigs, domestic rabbits, rodents, porcupines, chinchillas, prairie dogs, woodchucks, emus, foxes, weasels and primates. Outbreaks of B. procyonis infestation have been reported on farms, in zoos, among pets and in research animal colonies.

The risk of human infestation by this parasite has risen alarmingly due to pets’ contact with raccoon feces. Studies have shown that a single adult female worm can produce hundreds of thousands of eggs per day, and an infected raccoon may shed as many as 45 million eggs daily (Jacobson et al., 1982; Kazacos and Boyce, 1989). These eggs can remain viable in the environment for years. Accidental ingestion of the eggs by humans via contact with infected domestic animals can lead to severe human infection and death.

In the past, B. procyonis infection was diagnosed by morphologic identification of larvae in tissue sections. However, morphologic identification is often difficult and unreliable because a number of possible larval nematodes share very similar morphology, including Toxocara canis, T. cati, Ascaris lumbricoides, and species of Gnathastoma, Angiostrongylus and Ancylostoma, as well as larval cestode infections such as cysticercosis and echinococcosis. While serologic testing has been used in some cases as supportive diagnostic evidence, commercial serologic tests are not available. Presumptive diagnosis has often been made on the basis of clinical data (meningoencephalitis, diffuse unilateral subacute neuroretinitis [DUSN], pseudotumor), epidemiologic data (raccoon exposure), radiologic data (white matter disease), and blood and CNS eosinophilia.

However, molecular detection techniques are now available to rapidly, sensitively and specifically detect B. procyonis.  With this more advanced approach, preventive screening and environmental surveys are possible, enabling identification of animal carriers and even contaminated soils.

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of Baylisascaris infection
  • Help ensure that animal groups are free of Baylisascaris
  • Early prevention of spread of Baylisascaris between animals
  • Minimize human exposure to Baylisascaris

References:
Jacobson, J.E., Kazacos, K.R., and Montague, F.H. (1982) Prevalence of eggs of Baylisascaris procyonis (Nematoda:Ascaroidea) in raccoon scats from an urban and a rural community. J Wildl. Dis. 18:461-464.
Kazacos, K.R. and Boyce, W.M. (1989) Baylisascaris larva migrans. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 195:894-903.

Specimen requirement: 0.2 ml feces, or rectal swab, or 0.2 ml soil, or 0.2 ml tissue.

Contact Zoologix if advice is needed to determine an appropriate specimen type for a specific diagnostic application. For specimen types not listed here, please contact Zoologix to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.

For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 2 business days

Methodology: Qualitative real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

Baylisascaris procyonis PCR test for dogs and cats

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