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


Trypanosoma cruzi PCR test

dog and cat assay data sheet

Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas' disease)

Test code:
X0010 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Trypanosoma cruzi by real time polymerase chain reaction

 

Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite, causes Chagas' disease (“American trypanosomiasis”). It is transmitted through parasitic blood-feeding arthropod vectors of the family Reduviidae, particularly Triatoma spp. (assassin bugs or  "kissing bugs"), which occur naturally in Central and South America. These insects normally transmit the infectious stages of the protozoa to mammals through contamination of the insect's bite by its feces, although vertical transmission of T. cruzi has also been shown to occur (Azogue et al., 1985; Miles, 1972). The disease can also be transmitted when an animal ingests the insect vector. Various mammals, including human beings and dogs, are the natural hosts of Triatoma spp. as well as T. cruzi.

Infected animals may remain subclinical for years or may infrequently produce a variety of clinical effects such as anorexia, dyspnea, fever, leukocytosis, lymphadenopathy and myocarditis. During remission, the parasite may remain undetectable in the blood for long periods, then return to detectable levels periodically, often triggered by stress or immune system challenge. In humans, reactivation of Chagas' disease in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been reported since the early 1990s. The clinical manifestations of reactivated Chagas' disease are severe central nervous system (CNS) alterations and cardiomyopathy. Trypomastigotes of T. cruzi, observed by direct microscopic examination of blood smears, characterize the acute phase of infection and confirm Chagas' disease reactivation.

Traditional laboratory diagnosis of T. cruzi relies on blood smear observation or serological detection. Unfortunately, these methods lack sensitivity and specificity. PCR detection of this parasite offers significant advantages over traditional methods in terms of both specificity and sensitivity (Ndao et al., 2000; Gutierrez et al., 2004).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of T. cruzi infection.
  • Help ensure that animal groups and populations are free of T. cruzi
  • Early prevention of spread of this parasite among a population
  • Minimize human exposure to this parasite

References:
Azogue, E., La Fuente, C. and Darras, C. (1985) Congenital Chagas' disease in Bolivia: epidemiological aspects and pathological findings. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 79:176-180.
Gutierrez, R., Angulo, V.M., Tarazona, Z., Britto, C. and Fernandes, O. (2004) Comparison of four serological tests for the diagnosis of Chagas disease in a Colombian endemic area. Parasitology. 129:439-444.
Miles, M.A. (1972) Trypanosoma cruzi-milk transmission of infection and immunity from mother to young. Parasitology 65:1-9.
Ndao, M., Kelly, N., Normandin, D., Maclean, J.D., Whiteman, A., Kokoskin, E., Arevalo, I. and Ward, B.J. (2000) Trypanosoma cruzi infection of squirrel monkeys: comparison of blood smear examination, commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and polymerase chain reaction analysis as screening tests for evaluation of monkey-related injuries. Comp. Med. 50:658-665.

Specimen requirement: 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube, or 0.2 ml plasma, serum or CSF.

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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