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


MRSA PCR testing in animals

dog and cat assay data sheet

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) PCR testing

Test code: B0095 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by real time PCR. This test alone does not differentiate methicillin-resistant from non-methicillin-resistant strains of Staph aureus.

Test code: B0069 - Ultrasensitive qualitative differentiation of methicillin-resistant bacteria by real time PCR. This test differentiates methicillin-resistant from non-methicillin-resistant strains of bacteria by detecting the presence of the resistance-conferring mec A gene. This assay, when performed in combination with assay B0095 (above), detects and differentiates MRSA (methicillin resistant Staph aureus) from non-methicillin resistant strains of Staph aureus, and also differentiates MRSA from non-Staph bacteria carrying the mecA gene.

IMPORTANT: Studies have shown that resistance to the antibiotic methicillin in Staph aureus bacteria is almost always due to the presence of the mec A gene. However, this gene has also been reported in some other coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative, non-aureus Staphylococcus bacteria, and also in some non-Staph bacteria. PCR detection of the mec A gene (eg using assay B0069) is a rapid way of confirming methicillin resistance and thus can help guide treatment regimens. Additional testing (eg using assay B0095) is necessary if differentiation of Staph aureus from other bacterial species is necessary in addition to the detection of methicillin resistance.


In recent years Staphylococcus aureus, a common inhabitant of human skin, has become a serious public health concern because some strains of this bacterium have acquired methicillin resistance. Methicillin resistant Staph aureus, often referred to as a “superbug,” is resistant to the entire beta-lactam class of antibiotics, which includes penicillin, amoxicillin, oxacillin, methicillin and other penicillin-like drugs, and which are widely used to treat bacterial infections.

About one-third of the world’s population carries non-methicillin-resistant Staph aureus bacteria, primarily in the nose and on the skin. The bacteria are often present without causing active infection. Of people carrying Staph aureus, about 1 percent have MRSA strains, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Pets are a potential reservoir of MRSA infection and can spread MRSA-related dermatitis to humans. Recent studies have shown that transmission of MRSA infections between pets and humans is increasing, most commonly in the form of skin infections.  Additionally, systemic human MRSA infections can occur through dog or cat bites or scratches. Because these bacteria are so resistant to antibiotic treatment, these infections can be very serious, particularly in people with compromised immune systems.

Detection of MRSA by culture is time-consuming. However, detection of MRSA using the combined PCR assays described above is rapid, sensitive and specific (French, 2009).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of infection
  • Help ensure that animal facilities are free of MRSA
  • Early prevention of spread of MRSA among a facility
  • Minimize human exposure to MRSA
  • Safety monitoring of biological products that derive from susceptible animals

References:
AVMA Group Health and Life Insurance Trust (2009) Education is key to combating rise in MRSA. Veterinary clinics, pet owners can help prevent transmission among species. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 234: 187, 190.
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Examples/mrsa/
French, G.L. (2009) Methods for screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. S7:10-6.
Gortel K, Campbell KL, Kakoma I, Whittem T, Schaeffer DJ, Weisiger RM. Methicillin resistance among staphylococci isolated from dogs. Am J Vet Res. 1999;60:1526–1530.
Pak SI, Han HR, Shimizu A. Characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dogs in Korea. J Vet Med Sci. 1999;61:1013–1018.
Tomlin J, Pead MJ, Lloyd DH, Howell S, Hartmann F, Jackson HA, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in 11 dogs. Vet Rec. 1999;144:60–644.

Specimen requirements: Nasal swab, or oral swab, or environmental swab, or 0.2 ml fresh, frozen or fixed 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

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