dog and cat assay data sheet

Group G Strep - "Fading kitten syndrome" and "Fading puppy syndrome"

Test code: B0106 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of disease-causing Group G Streptococcus in cats and dogs by real time PCR. This test detects Streptococcus canis, the most common pathogenic cause of fading kitten or puppy syndrome.

Streptococcus canis is one species in a group of beta-hemolytic Streptococcus species that are collectively known as "Group G Strep" bacteria. Streptococcus canis is so named because it was first isolated from dogs. These bacteria differ from another group G Streptococcus, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, which is a human-specific group G species that has a different phenotypic chemical composition. S. canis is a commensal bacteria commonly found in cats and dogs, and is important to their skin and mucosal health. It is considered part of the natural flora of the respiratory tract of cats and dogs. S. canis can infect a variety of mammal species besides cats and dogs, such as mink, mice, rabbits, foxes, cattle, and even humans.

However, Streptococcus canis can cause opportunistic infections under certain circumstances, such as in young kittens or pups when their immune systems are still weak. Occasional outbreaks of necrotizing S. canis infections have also occurred in adult shelter cats because these cats often have poor immune systems due to stress and other infections. In confirmed outbreaks of S. canis infection, infected cats develop upper respiratory infection that can eventually result in severe sinusitis and/or abscesses. Timely treatment with suitable antibiotics usually can result in speedy recovery.

While there are various other causes of fading puppy and kitten syndrome, such as environmental factors and genetic factors, pathogenic infection still represents the major cause of the failure of puppies or kittens to thrive. S. canis infection is often identified in these cases.

There are a number of environmental Group G Strep strains which are not pathogenic in dogs and cats and could give false positive results if not excluded from diagnostic tests. The Zoologix B0106 test described here excludes most group G Strep strains not known to be pathogenic in dogs and cats.

The identification of S. canis traditionally relied on determination of biochemical properties and on serological grouping using Lancefield antisera. However, these procedures usually take a long time, and clinical specimens collected from these animals are often admixed with other species of Streptococcus bacteria, which may interfere with the culture and biochemical identification of S. canis. However, molecular detection of S. canis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a widely-accepted alternative to culture and biochemical identification methods, and is highly sensitive and rapid (Hassan et al., 2003).

Utilities:

• Help confirm the disease causing agent
• Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of the bacterial infection
• Early prevention of spread of Streptococcus canis among cats and dogs
• Minimize human exposure to Streptococcus canis

References:
Hassan, A.A., Khan, I.U., Abdulmawjood, A. and Lämmler, C. (2003) Development of PCR assays for detection of Streptococcus canis. FEMS Microbiol. Letts. 219: 209-214.

Specimen requirement: Vaginal swab (queens and bitches), or prepuce swab (toms and sire dogs), or nasopharyngeal swab (kittens and pups), 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