Veterinaria

Research paper

Comparison between Haemaglutination Test and Polymerase Chain Reaction for Diagnosis of Canine Parvovirus Infection

Akbar Ali a, Asif Ali a, Sajid Umar b,*, Hajra Qadir b, Abdul Sattar Saqib b, Salman Ahmed Abid a, Tamoor Azeem a, Aqsa Mushtaq c, Kiran Aqil c, Habib Ullah d, Muhammad Ali Shah b

a Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary & Animals Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

b Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary & Animals Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

c Veterinary Research Institute (VRI), Lahore, Pakistan

d College of Veterinary Sciences, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two most commonly used diagnostic tests for canine parvovirus (CPV) diagnosis: haemagglutination test (HA), and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 50 fecal samples from dogs showing clinical signs suggestive of parvovirus enteritis were collected aseptically from different pet clinics of Lahore. Fecal samples were processed for cCPV antigen, required for HA and PCR. The HA was able to detect CPV antigen in 35 samples, 32 samples tested highly positive with titers >128, 3 tested weakly positive with titers ranging from 32 to 64 and 15 were negative (titers <16). Using PCR, 39 samples were found positive including 6 HA-negative samples. Chi square analysis showed that there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the results of HA test and PCR. Thirty percent of dogs presenting bloody diarrhea did not show infection by HA. It is concluded here that specificity and sensitivity of PCR detection is non-significantly higher (P>0.05) than HA. These findings have confirmed that HA test could be employed for the preliminary screening of the agent in field because of its less cost and rapid results but negative results from HA tests of suspected cases should be confirmed through molecular methods.

Keywords: Canine parvovirus, Dogs, HA, PCR.

Received 12 Aug. 2015; Revised 15 Oct. 2015; Accepted 17 Oct. 2015

*Corresponding author: Sajid Umar; Email: S.umar@envt.fr