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


Babesia PCR test for dogs and cats

dog and cat assay data sheet

Babesia species NOTE: THIS TEST IS NOT PERFORMED ON SAMPLES TAKEN FROM CATTLE OWNED OR LOCATED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Test code:
X0020 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection but not differentiation of most reported species of Babesia, such as Entopolypoides (Babesia) macaci and B. microti, by real time polymerase chain reaction

X0020 is included on P0025 - tickborne disease panel and on P0039 canine anemia panel

 

Babesiosis is an illness caused by the parasite Babesia which is an intra-erythrocytic protozoan. This parasite can infect a wide range of mammals including primates, dogs, cats and various livestock. The parasite can also be transmitted to humans by ticks.  Infected animals and humans may develop fever, chills, sweating, myalgias (muscle aches), fatigue, hepatosplenomegaly (enlargement of the liver and spleen) and hemolytic anemia.

Currently, more than 100 species of Babesia have been reported but only a few have been identified as causing human infection. Babesia microti and Babesia divergens have been identified in most human cases, but variants (considered different species) have also been identified recently. There is only scanty knowledge about the occurrence of Babesia species in malarial areas where Babesia can easily be misdiagnosed as Plasmodium, the agent of malaria.

Babesia-like parasites of the genus Entopolypoides macaci have been reported to infect nonhuman primates. Analyses of the small-subunit rRNA (SSUrRNA) sequences of E. macaci and serological and epidemiological data suggest that the genus Entopolypoides is synonymous with that of Babesia.  In various primate centers, natural infections with this parasite have been reported in baboons (Papio cynocephalus), cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis), and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).  Sub-clinical infections with this parasite may exist in various primate centers and breeding farms; the use of these infected animals could pose a significant problem to research studies and occupational hazard to workers who handle these animals.

Infections with this parasite are common in livestock. For example, bovine babesiosis is an important tick-borne disease caused by B. bovis, B. bigemina and B. divergens. Currently, control methods such as chemotherapy, premunition and vaccination with attenuated parasites are used to avoid economic losses caused by Babesia infection.

Blood smear examination is considered to be the “gold standard” for diagnosis of babesiosis.  However, parasite visualization in blood smears may be difficult in cases where small numbers of parasites are present in the peripheral blood (Böse et al., 1995), and Babesia can be difficult to differentiate visually from Plasmodium species. Serological detection is of limited value because of the existence of multiple species of Babesia.  Many animals have been previously exposed to this parasite and have developed antibody responses, so that a positive serological result may not reflect a recent infection.  Currently, molecular detection is considered to be the most sensitive and specific method to identify animals infected with this parasite (Costa-Júnior et al., 2006).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Help ensure that animal populations are free of Babesia species
  • Early prevention of spread of these parasites among a group of animals
  • Minimize human exposure to these parasites
  • Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive from susceptible animals

References:
Böse, R., Jorgensen, W.K.,  Dalgliesh, R.J., Friedhoff, K.T. and De Vos, A.J. (1995) Current state and future trends in the diagnosis of babesiosis, Vet. Parasitol. 57 61–74.

Costa-Júnior, L.M., Rabelo, E.M.L., Filho, O.A.M. and Ribeiro, M.F.B.(2006) Comparison of different direct diagnostic methods to identify Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina in animals vaccinated with live attenuated parasites. Vet. Parasitol. 139:231-  

Specimen requirements:  0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube, or 0.2 ml synovial fluid, or tick.

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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