Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs

In the last two decades, reports of canine heartworm (HW) infection have increased even in non-endemic areas, with a large variability in prevalence data due to the diagnostic strategy employed. This study evaluated the relative performance of two microtiter plate ELISA methods for the detection of...

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Main Authors: Rossella Panarese, Roberta Iatta, Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan, Donald Szlosek, Jennifer Braff, Joe Liu, Frédéric Beugnet, Filipe Dantas-Torres, Melissa J. Beall, Domenico Otranto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
Series:Pathogens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/499
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spelling doaj-7563958a254c45b19ca69696e86ebfc42020-11-25T03:03:59ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172020-06-01949949910.3390/pathogens9060499Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in DogsRossella Panarese0Roberta Iatta1Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan2Donald Szlosek3Jennifer Braff4Joe Liu5Frédéric Beugnet6Filipe Dantas-Torres7Melissa J. Beall8Domenico Otranto9Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, ItalyDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, ItalyIDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME 04092, USAIDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME 04092, USAIDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME 04092, USABoehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, 69007 Lyon, FranceAggeu Magalhães Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Recife 50740-465, BrazilIDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME 04092, USADepartment of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010 Valenzano, Bari, ItalyIn the last two decades, reports of canine heartworm (HW) infection have increased even in non-endemic areas, with a large variability in prevalence data due to the diagnostic strategy employed. This study evaluated the relative performance of two microtiter plate ELISA methods for the detection of HW antigen in determining the occurrence of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>in a dog population previously tested by the modified Knott’s test and SNAP 4Dx Plus test. The prevalence of this infection in the sheltered dog population (n = 363) from a high-risk area for HW infection was 44.4% according to the modified Knott’s test and 58.1% according to a point-of-care antigen ELISA. All serum samples were then evaluated by a microtiter plate ELISA test performed with and without immune complex dissociation (ICD). The prevalence increased from 56.5% to 79.6% following ICD, indicating a high proportion of samples with immune complexing. Comparing these results to that of the modified Knott’s test, the samples negative for microfilariae (mfs) and those positive only for <i>D. repens</i> mfs demonstrated the greatest increase in the proportion of positive results for <i>D. immitis</i> by ELISA following ICD. While the ICD method is not recommended for routine screening, it may be a valuable secondary strategy for identifying HW infections in dogs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/499<b><i>Keywords:</i></b> <i>Dirofilaria immitis</i>modified Knott’s testELISAimmune complex dissociationserological assays
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Rossella Panarese
Roberta Iatta
Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan
Donald Szlosek
Jennifer Braff
Joe Liu
Frédéric Beugnet
Filipe Dantas-Torres
Melissa J. Beall
Domenico Otranto
spellingShingle Rossella Panarese
Roberta Iatta
Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan
Donald Szlosek
Jennifer Braff
Joe Liu
Frédéric Beugnet
Filipe Dantas-Torres
Melissa J. Beall
Domenico Otranto
Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
Pathogens
<b><i>Keywords:</i></b> <i>Dirofilaria immitis</i>
modified Knott’s test
ELISA
immune complex dissociation
serological assays
author_facet Rossella Panarese
Roberta Iatta
Jairo Alfonso Mendoza-Roldan
Donald Szlosek
Jennifer Braff
Joe Liu
Frédéric Beugnet
Filipe Dantas-Torres
Melissa J. Beall
Domenico Otranto
author_sort Rossella Panarese
title Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
title_short Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
title_full Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
title_fullStr Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of Diagnostic Tools for the Detection of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>Infection in Dogs
title_sort comparison of diagnostic tools for the detection of <i>dirofilaria immitis </i>infection in dogs
publisher MDPI AG
series Pathogens
issn 2076-0817
publishDate 2020-06-01
description In the last two decades, reports of canine heartworm (HW) infection have increased even in non-endemic areas, with a large variability in prevalence data due to the diagnostic strategy employed. This study evaluated the relative performance of two microtiter plate ELISA methods for the detection of HW antigen in determining the occurrence of <i>Dirofilaria immitis </i>in a dog population previously tested by the modified Knott’s test and SNAP 4Dx Plus test. The prevalence of this infection in the sheltered dog population (n = 363) from a high-risk area for HW infection was 44.4% according to the modified Knott’s test and 58.1% according to a point-of-care antigen ELISA. All serum samples were then evaluated by a microtiter plate ELISA test performed with and without immune complex dissociation (ICD). The prevalence increased from 56.5% to 79.6% following ICD, indicating a high proportion of samples with immune complexing. Comparing these results to that of the modified Knott’s test, the samples negative for microfilariae (mfs) and those positive only for <i>D. repens</i> mfs demonstrated the greatest increase in the proportion of positive results for <i>D. immitis</i> by ELISA following ICD. While the ICD method is not recommended for routine screening, it may be a valuable secondary strategy for identifying HW infections in dogs.
topic <b><i>Keywords:</i></b> <i>Dirofilaria immitis</i>
modified Knott’s test
ELISA
immune complex dissociation
serological assays
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/499
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