Presence of infectious agents and co-infections in diarrheic dogs determined with a real-time polymerase chain reaction-based panel

Abstract

BackgroundInfectious diarrhea can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or protozoan organisms, or a combination of these. The identification of co-infections in dogs is important to determine the prognosis and to plan strategies for their treatment and prophylaxis. Although many pathogens have been individually detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a comprehensive panel of agents that cause diarrhea in privately owned dogs has not yet been established. The objective of this study was to use a real-time PCR diarrhea panel to survey the frequencies of pathogens and co-infections in owned dogs attended in a veterinary hospital with and without diarrhea, as well the frequency in different countries. Feces samples were tested for canine distemper virus, canine coronavirus, canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2), Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin (CPA), Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Salmonella spp. using molecular techniques.ResultsIn total, 104 diarrheic and 43 control dogs that were presented consecutively at a major private veterinary hospital were included in the study. Overall, 71/104 (68.3%) dogs with diarrhea were positive for at least one pathogen: a single infection in 39/71 dogs (54.9%) and co-infections in 32/71 dogs (45.1%), including 21/32 dogs (65.6%) with dual, 5/32 (15.6%) with triple, and 6/32 (18.8%) with quadruple infections. In the control group, 13/43 (30.2%) dogs were positive, all with single infections only. The most prevalent pathogens in the diarrheic dogs were CPA (40/104 dogs, 38.5%), CPV-2 (36/104 dogs, 34.6%), and Giardia spp. (14/104 dogs, 13.5%). CPV-2 was the most prevalent pathogen in the dual co-infections, associated with CPA, Cryptosporidium spp., or Giardia spp. No statistical difference (P = 0.8374) was observed in the duration of diarrhea or the number of deaths (P = 0.5722) in the presence or absence of single or co-infections.ConclusionsDiarrheic dogs showed a higher prevalence of pathogen infections than the controls. Whereas the healthy dogs had only single infections, about half the diarrheic dogs had co-infections. Therefore, multiple pathogens should be investigated in dogs presenting with diarrhea. The effects of multiple pathogens on the disease outcomes remain unclear because the rate of death and the duration of diarrhea did not seem to be affected by these factors.

Enteropathogen infections in canine puppies: (Co-)occurrence, clinical relevance and risk factors

“…To our best knowledge this study with 11 putative enteropathogens reports the highest infection rates not only in diarrhoeic puppies (86.5%) but also in asymptomatic puppies (77.8%). Gizzi et al (2014) studied dogs of all ages and report enteropathogens in 68.3% of diarrhoeic dogs and 30.2% of control dogs (Gizzi et al, 2014). Grellet et al (2014) report enteropathogens in 77.1% of puppies regardless of clinical signs (Grellet et al, 2014).…”

“…The role of Cyniclomyces guttulatus in causing chronic diarrhoea in dogs was indecisive (Mandigers et al, 2014). Several studies have reported the simultaneous presence of multiple canine enteropathogens in dogs with diarrhoea, but studies targeting specifically puppies are rare, usually target puppies in kennels and/or are limited with respect to the number of pathogens that was screened for (Cave et al, 2002;Sokolow et al, 2005;Yesilbag et al, 2007;Stavisky et al, 2011;Tupler et al, 2012;Dupont et al, 2013;Gizzi et al, 2014). The clinical relevance of the co-occurrence of multiple pathogens in faecal samples of dogs remains unclear, as this may simply mirror common exposure, but pathogens can also interact with one another in determining or aggravating disease.…”

Subclinical Giardia in dogs: a veterinary conundrum relevant to human infection

“…Given that dogs are exposed to a range of pathogens, regardless of location, their multiple pathogen exposures may provide clues to patterns of exposure in humans. In a survey for multiple pathogens [37], some dogs with only one pathogen were asymptomatic, whereas all dogs with more than one pathogen (including Giardia) had diarrhea.…”

New primers for fast detection of Giardia duodenalis assemblages A and B using realtime PCR

“…Nowadays, many molecular techniques are effective and rapid for the detection of G. duodenalis as well as for the determination of genetic variability of isolates in clinical and environmental samples (Guy et al 2003, Zhang et al 2012, Gotfred-Rasmussen et al 2016. Real-time PCR is a rapid, very sensitive, quantitative technique for detecting many pathogens including G. duodenalis (Verweij et al 2003, McGlade et al 2003, Guy et al 2004, Schuurman et al 2007, Almeida et al 2010, Feng and Xiao 2011, Prasetbun et al 2012, Zhang et al 2013, Alonso et al 2014, Gizzi et al 2014.…”