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Comparison of serological tests for the detection of natural heartworm infection in cats
Paul Berdoulay1, Julie K Levy, Patti S Snyder
1Department of Small Animal, Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA.
Insights
Commercial heartworm tests for cats show varying accuracy. Combining antigen and antibody tests improves detection rates for feline heartworm disease.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Parasitology
- Diagnostic Immunology
Background:
- Feline heartworm disease diagnosis presents challenges due to non-specific clinical signs.
- Accurate serological testing is crucial for effective feline heartworm disease management.
- Evaluating commercial diagnostic tests in endemic areas is essential for veterinary practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the diagnostic performance of commercial laboratory and point-of-care heartworm serological tests in cats.
- To assess the sensitivity and specificity of antigen and antibody tests for feline heartworm infection.
- To determine if combining antigen and antibody test results improves diagnostic accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Serological testing was conducted on 380 cats with necropsy-confirmed heartworm disease.
- Performance metrics (sensitivity, specificity) were evaluated for available commercial antigen and antibody tests.
- Diagnostic accuracy was compared between individual tests and a combined approach.
Main Results:
- Antigen tests demonstrated high specificity (98.0%–99.7%) and detected 79.3%–86.2% of infections.
- Antibody tests detected 62.1%–72.4% of infections with a higher false-positive rate (1.4%–19.1%) compared to antigen tests (0.3%–2.0%).
- Combining antigen and antibody tests significantly increased sensitivity over individual test use.
Conclusions:
- Current serological tests for feline heartworm infection exhibit variable diagnostic performance.
- Antigen tests are highly specific, while antibody tests show a wider range of false positives.
- A combination of antigen and antibody testing offers improved sensitivity for diagnosing heartworm in cats.
Abstract:
Serological tests were performed on 380 cats with necropsy-confirmed heartworm disease to compare the performance of currently available commercial laboratory and point-of-care heart-worm serological tests in a heartworm-endemic area. Overall, antigen tests detected 79.3% to 86.2% of heartworm infections and were highly specific. Most cats with false-negative antigen tests had a single male worm. Antibody tests detected 62.1% to 72.4% of heartworm infections and had a wider range of false-positive results (1.4% to 19.1%) than antigen tests (0.3% to 2.0%). Serological tests for feline heartworm infection varied in diagnostic performance. Combining results from antigen and antibody tests achieved greater sensitivity than using either test alone.
