Detection of Intraspinal Spirocerca lupi in Canine Cerebrospinal Fluid by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Journal of Comparative Pathology
M RuggeriMerav H Shamir

Abstract

Aberrant migration of Spirocerca lupi into the spinal cord is an important cause of severe progressive neurological dysfunction in dogs. Although early diagnosis is essential to prevent deterioration, ante-mortem diagnosis of this condition remains challenging. The aim of this study was to evaluate the detection of the 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) S. lupi gene in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of presumptively-affected dogs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dogs with a non-compressive spinal cord lesion, pleocytosis with presence of eosinophils in the CSF and a characteristic clinical presentation were included. CSF samples from eight dogs were available for the study, of which seven were definitively diagnosed with intraspinal spirocercosis by PCR of either the CSF samples (6/7) or tissue samples obtained at necropsy examination (3/7), or both (2/7). Of these seven positive cases, only one dog had a negative CSF PCR, indicating a sensitivity of 86% for detecting nematode DNA in the CSF of infected dogs using this PCR protocol. The nematode DNA sequences obtained from the CSF of six dogs and the spinal cord tissue of three dogs were 98-100% identical to the publicly available sequences of S. lupi, confirming the diagnosis. Thes...Continue Reading

Citations

Mar 9, 2021·Veterinary Parasitology : Regional Studies and Reports·Ivana de AguiarAlicia Rojas
May 29, 2021·Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases·Sina MohtasebiGholamreza Mowlavi

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