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.

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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


Feline infectious peritonitis and feline enteric coronavirus PCR tests

dog and cat assay data sheet

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) virus and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV, aka FCoV)

Test codes:

S0096 - Qualitative detection of FIP virus by reverse transcription coupled real time polymerase chain reaction.
S0096 is included on P0021 - feline bloodborne panel and on P0037 - feline neurological panel

S0108 - Qualitative detection of FECV by reverse transcription coupled real time polymerase chain reaction.
S0108 is included on P0028 - feline diarrhea panel

 

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is caused by a coronavirus that can infect any cat, but especially young cats and very old cats (14 yr and up). The FIP virus (FIPV) is genetically very similar to another coronavirus, feline enteric corona virus (FECV), which causes a transient, usually mild, self-limiting diarrhea. FECV infection often persists in apparently healthy animals,which shed the virus in their feces. Natural infection occurs via the faecal-oral route. FECV infection appears to be mainly restricted to the intestinal tract (Chang, 2010; Vogel, 2010), where the virus replicates in villous epithelial cells (Vogel, 2010).

Unlike FECV, FIPV does not spread readily among cats. Instead, it originates de novo from FECV in individual animals (Vogel, 2010). Clinical development of FIP is quite complex and, depending on the status of the animal’s immune system, symptoms can vary significantly. In some instances, the immune system’s response to infection may actually worsen clinical signs. Two major forms of the disease can be recognized. In the effusive form of FIP there is accumulation of substantial quantities of fluid in body cavities (abdomen and chest). Some of these animals appear profoundly "pot-bellied". In the dry form of FIP there is little fluid buildup. In both forms, clinical signs can be quite variable; virtually any organ or soft tissue system can become affected, thus mimicking many diseases. The most common clinical signs are non-specific and include fluctuating fever, inappetance, lethargy and weight loss. Sometimes, if the central nervous system is affected, neurological abnormalities are apparent.

Many apparently healthy cats carry the FECV virus, shedding it intermittently in feces. Mortality from environmental exposure to FECV virus (ie from other animals shedding virus) is sporadic, even in a population of cats where FIP virus carriers are known to be present. Additionally, most cats with FIP no longer have detectable intestinal feline coronaviruses (Chang, 2010).

In the past, diagnosis of active FIP was based on a high level of antibody to the FIP virus along with signs of the disease which may or may not be specific. However, serology testing can yield many false negative and false positive results (Addie, 2004). There are several reasons for this. First, FIPV and FECV are extremely similar and hence exhibit strong serologic cross reactivity; in fact cats exposed to other feline coronaviruses may test "positive" or even "strongly positive” for FIPV by serology. Second, FIPV vaccination may cause uninfected cats to test positive by serology. Third, some FIPV-infected cats simply may not develop an immune response. Immune system components may actually be involved in the progression of the disease and be "consumed" in the disease process. Or, the disease may be in the early stages so that there has not yet been enough time to develop the antibodies. Also, some animals are immune-suppressed from concurrent diseases such as feline AIDS, so that the immune response machinery is impaired. Finally, antibody levels fluctuate up and down, seemingly in random fashion, in both FIPV and FECV infected cats. No specific pattern has been discernable in this fluctuation, so a change in antibody titer does not imply an active infection.

In live cats, detection of FIPV by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction is regarded as a relatively specific and sensitive technique for detecting FIPV (Kennedy, 2003). Recent research indicates that reverse transcription PCR detection of FIPV in mesenteric lymph node fine needle aspirate samples or thoracic effusion samples is predictive of active infection. Since this technique directly detects the viral nucleic acid, a positive result provides a strong indication of the presence of the systemic (FIP) virus. In view of the low rate of false positive results, reverse transription coupled real time PCR can be a valuable addition to the diagnostic arsenal for FIP (Simons, 2005).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of FIP infection
  • Help ensure that feline populations are free of FeCV and FIP
  • Early prevention of spread of these viruses among a population
  • Minimize human exposure to these viruses

References:
Addie, D.D., McLachlan, S.A., Golder, M., Ramsey, I., Jarrett, O. (2004) Evaluation of an in-practice test for feline coronavirus antibodies. J Feline Med Surg. Apr 6(2):63-7.
Chang, H.W. et al (2010) Feline infectious peritonitis: insights into feline coronavirus pathobiogenesis and epidemiology based on genetic analysis of the viral 3c gene. Journal of General Virology. 91, 415–420.
Kennedy, M., Kania, S., Stylianides, E., Bertschinger, H., Keet, D., van Vuuren, M. (2003) Detection of feline corona virus infection in southern African non domestic felids. J Wildlife Dis. Jul 39(3):529-35.
Simons, F.A et al (2005) A mRNA PCR for the diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis. J Virol Methods 124(1-2):111-6.
Vogel, L. et al (2010) Pathogenic characteristics of persistent feline enteric coronavirus infection in cats. Vet. Res. 41:71.

Specimen requirements:
FIP:
0.1 ml mesenteric lymph node fine needle aspirate, or 0.2 ml thoracic effusion
FECV: 0.2 ml feces, or rectal swab

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 reverse transcription coupled real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

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