Screening your mice? Try our Mouse Essentials PCR Panel. All the most important mouse colony screening tests, all by expert real time PCR...

...or how about our new Mouse PCR Minipanel - PCR tests for only the most common mouse pathogens - for economical colony screening...

...and don't forget our Mouse Fecal PCR Panel - includes 9 important fecal pathogens.

And... just for rabbits: our new Rabbit Fecal PCR Panel tests for 3 common causes of GI problems in rabbits.

For wild rodent infestations, remediation and environmental monitoring, use our Rodent Infestation PCR Panel

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Zoologix also performs rodent and rabbit PCR tests for...

Aspiculuris tetraptera

Bordetella

BXV-1 virus

Campylobacter

Chapparvovirus

Clostridium piliforme

Coccidia

E. coli (enteroinvasive)

Ectromelia

EDIM

Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Encephalomyocarditis

Francisella tularensis

Fur mites

Hantavirus

Helicobacter

Human adenoviruses

Klebsiella pneumoniae

K virus

Lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus

Leptospira

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)

Mites

Mouse adenoviruses

Mouse cytomegaloviruses

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV)

Mouse kidney parvovirus (MKV or MKPV)

Mouse minute virus (MMV)

Mouse norovirus (MNV)

Mouse parvovirus (MPV)

Mouse polyoma virus (POLY)

Mousepox virus (aka ectromelia virus, EV or ECTRO)

Mouse rotavirus

Mycoplasma pulmonis

Mycoplasma screen

Pasteurella

Pinworms

Pneumocystis carinii

Pneumonia virus of mice (PVM)

Rabbit coronavirus

Rabbit fibroma virus

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus

Rat bite fever

Rat coronavirus

Reovirus screen

Reovirus type 3 (REO3)

Rotavirus

Salmonella

Sendai virus (SEND)

Seoul virus

Shigella

Sialodacryoadenitis virus (SDAV)

Streptobacillus moniliformis

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Syphacia muris

Syphacia obvelata

Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV)

Tickborne encephalitis virus

Treponema cuniculi/ paraluiscuniculi

Tularemia

Tyzzer's disease

Whitewater Arroyo virus

Yersinia enterocolitica

Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis


Pinworms PCR test

rodent and rabbit assay data sheet

Pinworms (Syphacia obvelata, Syphacia muris and Aspiculuris tetraptera)

Test code: X0022 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection but not differentiation of common rodent pinworm species Syphacia obvelata, Syphacia muris and Aspiculuris tetraptera by real time PCR

 

Pinworms are nematode parasites belonging to the family Oxyuridae.  They have simple, direct life cycles and are frequent contaminants of both specific pathogen free (SPF) and conventional colonies of laboratory mice and rats. They are transmitted by ingestion of embryonated eggs. Syphacia obvelata, Aspiculuris tetraptera and Syphacia muris infect both mice and rats, with the latter being the main pinworm of rats. S. obvelata mainly infects mice but can also infect rats, hamsters, gerbils and wild rodents. A. tetraptera can infect mice, rats (rarely) and wild rodents.

Animals may be infected with >1 pinworm species concurrently. The prevalence of pinworms in an infected rodent population depends on many factors, such as age, strain and immune status. Athymic mice have an increased susceptibility to infection because of reduced immunity.

Syphacia parasites usually reside in the cecum or colon. They feed on bacteria present in the lumen. When the Syphacia females migrate to the anus, they lay their adhesive-coated eggs directly on the perianal skin. The eggs become infective 5-20 hours after release. S. obvelata has a prepatent period (time from ingestion of infective larvae to production of eggs by mature worms) of 11-15 days. Syphacia parasites may embryonate on the host and re-infect the animal by migrating back into the body.

Unlike Syphacia parasites, Aspiculuris tetraptera larvae live in the proximal colon, after hatching in the cecum. A. tetraptera migrate from the proximal to distal colon to deposit eggs. The eggs are then excreted in the feces and are not infective until 5-8 days later. A. tetraptera has a 21-25 day prepatent period.

Infected mice or rats can carry light to medium loads of pinworms with no signs of disease; however, if the level of pinworms is high, animals may suffer from rectal prolapse, enteritis, intestinal impaction, sticky stools, and pruritus (itchy skin).

Pinworm infection has been diagnosed by finding ova using the perianal tape test (Syphacia species only), anal swabbing, or fecal floatation and/or centrifugation. However, the sensitivity of these methods is low. Examination of the cecal and colonic contents is more sensitive, but this method is not suitable for routine screening of rodent colonies or populations. PCR detection of these parasites has been found to be just slightly less sensitive than direct examination of cecal and colonic contents, but more sensitive than the other methods (Dole et al., 2011). Pinworm tissue and eggs are shed intermittently in feces, so testing feces at multiple time points or from multiple individuals at a single time point can be helpful when screening colonies. Because PCR can be performed on fecal samples, it is often more convenient than other techniques for screening rodent colonies

Utilities:

  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of pinworm infestation
  • Help ensure that animal populations and facilities are free of pinworms
  • Early prevention of the spread of pinworms
  • Minimize human exposure to pinworms

References:
Dole, V.S., Zaias, J.,  Kyricopoulos-Cleasby, D.M.,  Banu, L.A., Waterman, L.L., Sanders, K. and Henderson, K.S. (2011) Comparison of traditional and PCR methods during screening for and confirmation of Aspiculuris tetraptera in a mouse facility. JAALAS 50: 904-909.

Specimen requirement: Fecal pellet or perianal cellophane tape impression

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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