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Bioguard Babesia spp. Ab test vs. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test

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"Bioguard Babesia spp. Ab Test shows 95% sensitivity and 92% specificity."



A study was conducted comparing the Bioguard test to PCR

for a better understanding of the performance of the Bioguard Babesia spp. Ab Test

Introduction

Canine babesiosis is a tick-borne, protozoal, haemoparasitic disease that can cause varying degrees of haemolytic anaemia, splenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, and fever. It is endemic to different parts of the world and presents variable clinical, hematological, and pathological manifestations depending on the species and subspecies involved. There are two hosts for transmitting Babesia spp., viz. invertebrate (tick) and vertebrate host. Dogs are among the many targets of Babesia spp., causing canine babesiosis, and there is clinical evidence of possible vertical transmission too. Babesia spp. can affect dogs of all ages, but young puppies are more vulnerable. Dogs with the parasite or infected by the Babesia spp.can even lead to death if left untreated. The most sensitive test for Babesia spp. is "the PCR test," which is a process that delays results and adds costs. In that regard, Bioguard, to provide the most convenient, accurate, and reliable solution for the animal care industry, has developed the Babesia spp. Ab Test to facilitate mass screening of high‐risk dogs and monitoring response to treatment of infected dogs.

Methodology

A clinical evaluation was conducted at Bioguard reference Laboratory (Taiwan), comparing the results obtained using the Babesia spp. Ab Test to PCR method. PCR is used as the reference method for Babesia spp. Ab Test. The positive and negative samples were obtained from Bioguard Diagnostic Center (Wugu District, New Taipei City, Taiwan), Bruce Animal Hospital (Luzhou District, New Taipei City, Taiwan), and Chung Shan Animal Hospital (Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan). Samples were considered positive if the PCR method indicated a positive result. Samples were considered negative if the PCR method indicated a negative result. Sensitivity is the proportion of all positive samples defined by the PCR method that have a positive test result by Babesia spp.Ab Test. Specificity is the proportion of all negative samples defined by the PCR method that indeed has a negative test result by Babesia spp. Ab Test. The detection limit test was performed by serial dilution of the antibody sample.

Results

The result of the study are shown in the following table (Sample Correlation)

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  • Relative Sensitivity: 95.05%
  • Relative Specificity: 92.24%
  • Accuracy: 93.55%

Conclusion

According to the study, the Bioguard Babesia spp. Ab Test is a convenient, accurate, and reliable test with 95.05% sensitivity and 92.24% specificity. Bioguard is dedicated to supporting veterinarians worldwide with the most convenient and highest quality service in the veterinary rapid diagnostic and is ready to launch its new and exclusive Babesia spp. Ab Test soon.

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Professor Bi-Ling Su, Dean of the National Taiwan University Veterinary Hospital, visited Bioguard Corporation

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On July 15, 2022, Professor Bi-Ling Su, Dean of the National Taiwan University Veterinary Hospital, visited Bioguard Corporation. Our chairman and team members exchanged experiences on animal disease detection with Dean Su. Thank you very much, Dean Su, for your advice and suggestions. We believe both gatherings can have more exchanges in the future.

A case report of fatal feline babesiosis caused by Babesia canis

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A six-month-old female European shorthair cat from north-western Spain died after being hospitalized for two days. This pregnant animal showed anorexia, lethargy, weakness, jaundice, and fever with increased respiratory and heart rates. Haematological analysis revealed haemolytic regenerative anaemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukocytosis.

The presence of piroplasms was assessed using a PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp.; the sample resulted positive and B. canis was identified by DNA sequence analysis. The possible existence of co-infections with other vector-borne pathogens such as Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Cytauxzoon spp., Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon canis, Mycoplasma spp. or Rickettsia spp. was excluded by qPCR.

The results from this study, together with previous reports on Babesia infections in cats from Europe, suggest that feline babesiosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of animals with anaemia, thrombocytopenia, anorexia and lethargy, especially in young or immunocompromised animals from endemic areas for canine babesiosis.

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Importance of canine babesiosis disease testing

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Canine babesiosis is a disease caused by the infection of parasites belonging to the genus Babesia. These protozoa can either be large (Babesia canis) or small (Babesia gibsoni). The recent review [Teodorowski, Oliwier et al. "Babesia gibsoni Infection in Dogs-A European Perspective." Animals: an open-access journal from MDPI vol. 12,6 730. March 14 2022, doi:10.3390/ani12060730] suggests that although the percentage of infected dogs by B. gibsoni is around 1% in Europe, it should not be considered a random and imported pathogen but rather a possible emerging parasite. This can have significant implications for veterinary practitioners. In the future, B. gibsoni infections may appear in other non-endemic regions in Europe, which may cause major challenges for veterinary practice.

The first-step diagnostic tool should be the blood smear observations. However, in the case of suspected babesiosis with a negative finding in the blood smear, techniques such as ELISA or PCR should be used to analyze a blood sample.

Bioguard has developed and manufactured the "Canine Babesia gibsoni Ab Rapid Test," a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay kit for the fast, accurate, and qualitative detection of B. gibsoni infections in dogs.

Learn more

Good News, Coming Soon!

Bioguard Corporation is delighted to introduce our new future product, the "Babesia spp. Ab Rapid Test"kit, in the market. The Babesia spp test kit has excellent features that will fit all veterinarians. Our product can detect the species of Babesia in the world, including Babesia canis, Babesia vogeli, Babesia rossi, and Babesia gibsoni.



For more information, please send us a message at: [email protected]

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About Bioguard Corporation

The Bioguard is a company focusing on animal

disease diagnostic services and products.
Our animal health diagnostic center is

the first and only ISO/ IEC 17025 accredited animal disease testing laboratory

in Taiwan and China.

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