Moving reptiles?  Use our snake and lizard quarantine PCR panel to avoid spreading contagious agents.

Ruminating about hoofstock issues?  Try our ruminant fecal screening PCR panel - tests for most common GI pathogens in wild & domestic ruminants.

Our Rodent Infestation PCR Panel tests for 5 common pathogens found in rodent-contaminated facilities.

In over your head? Try our waterborne pathogens PCR panel - detection of 7 different environmental pathogens by real time PCR.

Something fishy going on in your tanks? Try our Zebrafish screening PCR panel - tests for 6 different pathogen categories from one easy-to-collect sample.

* * *

Zoologix performs environmental, zoo, wildlife and aquatic PCR tests for...

Aeromonas hydrophila

African swine fever

Aleutian disease

Amphibian panel

Anisakis worms

Aspergillus

Babesia

Bacillus species

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Baylisascaris procyonis

Borna virus

Borrelia burgdorferi

Camelpox

Campylobacter

Canine circovirus

Canine distemper

Canine parvovirus

Capillaria xenopodis

Chlamydia/
Chlamydophila

Chlamydophila pneumoniae

Chytrid fungus

Citrobacter freundii

Classical swine fever

Clostridium

Coccidia

Coccidioides

Coronaviruses

Coxiella burnetii

Cryptococcosis

Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium serpentis

Cryptosporidium varanii (formerly saurophilum)

Delftia acidovorans

E. coli O157:H7

E. coli panel

Edwardsiella

Encephalomyocarditis

Enterobacter cloacae

Enterovirus

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)

Feline panleukopenia

Ferret respiratory enteric coronavirus

Francisella tularensis

Giardia

Hantavirus

Helicobacter

Hepatitis E

Herring worms

Histoplasma

Inclusion Body Disease (IBD)

Influenza type A

Influenza type B

Japanese encephalitis

Johne's disease

Kangaroo herpesviruses

Klebsiella

Lawsonia intracellularis

Legionella

Leishmania

Leptospira

Listeria monocytogenes

Lizard quarantine panel

Lyme disease

Macropodid (kangaroo) herpesviruses

Malaria

Mink enteritis virus

Monkeypox

Mycobacteria in mammals, amphibians and fish

Mycoplasma mustelae

Mycoplasma species

Neospora caninum

Nipah virus

Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola

Pasteurella multocida

Pentastomid worms

Plasmodium species

Porcine cytomegalovirus

Porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus

Porcine parvovirus

Pseudocapillaria tomentosa

Pseudocapillaroides xenopi

Pseudoloma neurophilia

Pseudorabies

Pseudoterranova worms

Q fever

Rabies

Raillietiella orientalis

Ranavirus

Reovirus screen

Reptarenavirus

Rickettsia

Rift Valley fever

Rotavirus

Salmonella

Sarcocystis neurona

Snake fungal disease

Snake quarantine panel

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

St. Louis encephalitis

Strep pneumoniae

Streptococcus pyogenes

Swine vesicular disease

Tongue worms

Toxoplasma gondii

Treponema pallidum

Trichomonas/
Tritrichomonas

Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma evansi

Tularemia

Turtle fraservirus

Vaccinia

Valley Fever

Vesicular stomatitis

Vibrio

West Nile virus

White nose syndrome

Yersinia enterocolitica

Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis


wildlife and zoo assay data sheet

Capillaria xenopodis / Pseudocapillaroides xenopi

Test code:
X0037 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Pseudocapillaroides xenopi / Capillaria xenopodis by real time PCR.

 

Pseudocapillaroides xenopi is a capillarid nematode first described in a group of African clawed frogs in the 1970s. In 1982, the parasite was named Pseudocapillaroides xenopi by Moravec and Cosgrove. However, in another report by Wade in the same year, the same parasite was also described and was named by Wade as Capillaria xenopodis. Ever since then, the two names have been used interchangeably.

Capillaria xenopodis/Pseudocapillaroides xenopi infection of frogs is characterized by profound epidermal hyperplasia along with the presence of the nematodes and eggs in tunnels within the epidermis. Epidermal hyperplasia leads to significant impairment of normal epidermal functions, such as respiratory and metabolic functions (including gas exchange, waste removal, and osmotic balance) of the skin; and physical barrier of the skin to prevent localized secondary skin infections and septicemia (including infection by gram-negative bacteria such as Aeromonas hydrophila, the cause of red leg). Untreated infection can lead to overall debilitation and death of the animal.

Capillaria xenopodis/Pseudocapillaroides xenopi is an aphasmid nematode; key histologic characteristics of aphasmid nematodes include a thin smooth external cuticle with hypodermal bacillary bands, unapparent musculature, an esophagus encased by a stichosome, and presence of a single uterus in females. Specific characteristics of Capillaria xenopodis/Pseudocapillaroides xenopi include sexual dimorphism (females are 4 times longer and 2 times wider than males), and the presence of unembryonated and embryonated eggs within the uterus (as opposed to presence of only unembryonated eggs in other aphasmid nematodes). This parasite completes all stages of its lifecycle within the epidermis of the host. Because of the direct lifecycle, autoinfection is possible. Transmission of the parasite can be through ingestion of the parasite’s eggs in desquamated skin, or through autoinfection.

Diagnosis of this parasitic infection by microscopic examination is not very sensitive. However, molecular detection by polymerase chain reaction is a rapid, specific and sensitive method for identifying these parasites (Feldman and Ramirez, 2014).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of the infection
  • Help ensure parasite-free frog colonies
  • Early prevention of spread of this parasite between animals
  • Minimize human exposure to this parasite
  • Safety monitoring of biological products that derive from frogs

References:
Feldman, S.H. and Ramirez, M.P. (2014) Molecular phylogeny of Pseudocapillaroides xenopi (Moravec et Cosgrov 1982) and development of a quantitative PCR Assay for its detection in aquarium sediment. J. Am. Assoc. Lab. Anim. Sci. 53: 668–674.

Specimen requirement: Skin swab, or lesion swab, or environmental swab, or 0.2 ml fresh, frozen or fixed skin 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

Capillaria / Pseudocapillaroides PCR test

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