Tularemia PCR test for dogs and cats
dog and cat assay data sheet
Tularemia (Francisella
tularensis)
NOTE: THIS TEST IS NOT PERFORMED
ON SAMPLES TAKEN FROM ANIMALS OWNED OR LOCATED IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA.
Test code:
B0058 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of
Francisella tularensis by real time polymerase chain reaction.
B0058 is included on
P0025 - tickborne disease panel
Francisella tularensis
is a small, Gram-negative, aerobic bacillus with two main serotypes:
Jellison Type A and Type B. Type A is the more virulent form.
Tularemia is frequently spread by direct contact with rabbits, leading
to the term "rabbit fever." The disease, however, can also be spread
by other animals, such as rodents, and by ticks.
F. tularensis
is very resistant to environmental changes and is capable of surviving
for weeks at low temperatures in water, moist soil, hay, straw, or
decaying animal carcasses. Small mammals such as voles, mice, water
rats, squirrels, rabbits and hares are natural reservoirs for
F. tularensis. These animals
become infected by the bacteria through bites from ticks, fleas, and
mosquitoes and contact with contaminated environments. People are
infected through bites from infected arthropods (usually ticks),
contact with infected animal tissues or fluids, direct contact with or
ingestion of contaminated water, food, or soil, or inhalation of
aerosolized bacteria. F.
tularensis is very infectious so that the simple act of examining
an open laboratory culture plate without adequate protective equipment
can lead to infection and disease. For this reason,
F. tularensis is classified
as a bioterrorism agent and culture detection of the bacteria without
suitable laboratory facilities is not recommended.
People infected by F. tularensis can develop symptoms in about
3-5 days, but some people may take as long as two weeks for symptoms
to develop. Symptoms vary based on mode of infection, but generally
include fever, chills, joint and muscle pain, headache, weakness, and
sometimes pneumonia. People who develop pneumonic tularemia experience
chest pain, bloody sputum and difficulty breathing. The disease is
easily cured by antibiotic treatment.
Culture detection of the bacteria is usually not
suitable due to the highly infectious nature of the bacteria, and
because culture detection is not very sensitive (Johansson et al.,
2000). Diagnosis based on serology is not reliable because some
infected people may not develop antibodies (Johansson et al., 2000).
Molecular detection of the bacteria is a rapid, sensitive and specific
method for confirming F. tularensis infection.
Utilities:
-
Help confirm the disease causing agent
-
Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of
Tularemia infection
-
Help ensure that animal populations are free of Tularemia
-
Early prevention of the spread of Tularemia
-
Minimize human exposure to Tularemia
-
Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive
from susceptible animals
References:
Johansson, A., Berglund, L., Eriksson, U., Göransson, I., Wollin, R.,
Forsman, M., Tärnvik, A. and Sjöstedt, A. (2000) Comparative Analysis
of PCR versus Culture for Diagnosis of Ulceroglandular Tularemia. J.
Clin. Microbiol. 38: 22-26.
Specimen requirement: 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA
(purple top) tube, or 0.2 ml synovial fluid, or
tick.
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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