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.

            * * *           

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


Demodex gatoi mite PCR test for cats

dog and cat assay data sheet

Demodex gatoi mites (mange) in cats

Test code:
X0035 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Demodex gatoi mites in cats by real time polymerase chain reaction

 Demodectic mange (demodicosis) is an inflammatory skin condition caused by Demodex mites that cannot be easily detected by naked eye. Two different species of Demodex mite (Demodex gatoi and Demodex cati) can cause mange in cats. (Recently, a third species of feline Demodex mite has been identified, but it is unclear whether this third species also causes mange.) These feline Demodex species have distinct genotypes and do not cluster in one genetic clade.

D. gatoi differs from D. cati in several respects. D. cati is a long, thin mite that lives inside hair follicles, while D. gatoi has a distinctive stubby appearance and instead dwells in the keratin layer of the epidermis. D. cati is considered a normal resident of feline skin; localized D. cati infection is usually self-limiting and does not necessarily indicate an underlying cause. If a D. cati infection becomes more generalized, it may indicate underlying immunosuppression that is allowing the mite to multiply uncontrolled. Therefore when generalized D. cati infection is seen, testing for feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, or other immunosuppressive conditions should be considered. Generalized D. cati infection may also be associated with medications that suppress the immune system.

D. gatoi however is not a normal commensal on domestic cats, and specific treatment is often required to eliminate D. gatoi infection and avoid spreading it to other cats. Cats infected with D. gatoi will develop symptoms such as extreme itchiness; hair loss around the eyes, head, neck and flank; and in some cases, skin lesions. D. gatoi is easily spread between cats in a household or at cat shows.

Many cats infected with D. gatoi develop symptoms that are clinically indistinguishable from allergic skin disease; thus D. gatoi should be considered in the differential diagnosis when cats are suspected of having allergic skin disease. Some cats infected with D. gatoi can be asymptomatic carriers, spreading the infection to other cats. Therefore all cats that have had contact with an affected cat should also be tested.

Microscopic morphological examination of hair samples, skin scrapings or feces is sometimes attempted for diagnosis of Demodex mites. However, morphological differentiation between D. gatoi and D. cati is not easy and misdiagnosis frequently happens. On the other hand, detection and differentiation of these mite species by polymerase chain reaction is fast, specific and sensitive (Frank et al., 2013).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of Demodex gatoi mange in cats
  • Help ensure that households and catteries are free of this mite
  • Help prevent the spread of Demodex gatoi mites between cats at shows
  • Minimize human exposure to this mite
  • Inform the design of an appropriate treatment regimen for affected cats

Specimen requirements: Swab or sterile toothbrush run deeply through hair and against skin for at least 30 seconds, or environmental surface swab, or skin scraping, or skin lesion swab.

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

©2003-2024 Zoologix, Inc. • Email Zoologix • Phone (818) 717-8880