Immuno-chromatography based rapid detection of canine distemper in dogs and its comparison with RT-PCR

The present study was planned to confirm the clinical diagnosis of canine distemper in dogs with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and its comparison with lateral flow assay based immuno-chromatographic (IC) technique. Fifty clients owned dogs having clinical signs suggestive of respiratory, skin or nervous form of canine distemper were included in the study. An immuno-chromatography-based test was applied using serum to screen each of the suspected dog. In addition to serum, nasal discharges of 15 cases and ocular discharges of 10 samples were used to diagnose canine distemper. Screening with IC kit revealed 72.00% serum samples positive, 66.66% ocular and 50.00% nasal samples were found positive for antigen. The RT-PCR targeting N gene of canine distemper virus was used for the molecular diagnosis of canine distemper. Out of 50 blood samples tested with RT-PCR assay, 38 (76.00%) samples were positive showing characteristics band of 287bp. Statistical comparison of IC Kit (serum samples) results with RT-PCR results comparison showed that IC kit was 52.00% accurate with 36.84% sensitivity, 100% specificity, positive predictive value of 93.33% and negative predictive value of 31.43%. In the current study it was observed that the IC test was rapid, quick and specific but was found to be less sensitive compared to RT-PCR.