Development of enzyme immunoassays (ELISA and Western blot) for the serological diagnosis of dermatophytosis in symptomatic and asymptomatic cats.
Dermatophytosis is the most common fungal infection in cats worldwide and plays an important role in both animal and human health due to their high zoonotic potential. Effective screening is a strong preventive measure and the fungal culture is quite useful but requires full laboratorial experience and it takes a long time to obtain the result. A rapid and accurate screening test for dermatophytosis in cats is crucial for the effective control of disease outbreaks. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of enzyme immunoassays (ELISA and Western blot [WB]) for the rapid and precise diagnosis of dermatophytosis in cats. Seventy cats of various ages were divided into three groups: S (symptomatic, n = 20), AS (asymptomatic, n = 30), and N (negative, n = 20). All animals were submitted to fungal culture and blood samples for carrying out the serological tests. A significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between IgG-specific levels of sera of Microsporum canis positive and negative animals. There was no statistic difference between groups symptomatic and asymptomatic. The ELISA test showed sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 75%. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis also showed higher diagnostic accuracy (AUC 0.925). The WB technique detected 13 bands, and the 50 kDa protein was considered the most immunogenic protein, observing reactivity in 83.3% in the symptomatic group and 66.6% in the asymptomatic group. The study concluded that ELISA and WB were useful tools to reliably detect cats that have been exposed to M. canis.
Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Aline Elisa
AE
Santana
Departament of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.|Laboratory of Medical Mycology IMTSP- LIM53, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Carlos Pelleschi
CP
Taborda
Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Julia So
JS
Severo
Departament of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Glauce Mary Gomes
GMG
Rittner
Departament of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Julian Esteban
JE
Muñoz
Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Carlos Eduardo
CE
Larsson
Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Carlos Eduardo
CE
Larsson
D000818:Animals; D000908:Antibodies, Fungal / Q000097:blood*; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002415:Cats; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008864:Microsporum / Q000276:immunology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014005:Tinea / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*
D000908:Antibodies, Fungal; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
Microsporum canis; Persian; dermatophytosis; zoonosis