Test-it Leptospira

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Life Assay

Test-it™ Leptospira

Test-it™ Leptospira canine lateral flow test

Leptospirosis, a contagious disease affecting both animals and humans and spread by infection with a bacterial pathogen called Leptospira. Leptospira may result in chronic liver and kidney disease and fatality in dogs. During the first 4‐12 days following infection with Leptospira, the dog may experience sudden symptoms of fever (39.4°C – 40.6°C), depression, vomiting, loss of appetite, conjunctivitis, and generalized pain. Within 2 days of the onset of these primary symptoms, body temperature may drop suddenly and there may be a noticeable increase in thirst. A definite change in the colour of the dog’s urine and/or jaundice (icterus) is often noticed and may be the only indication of disease. Colour intensity of the urine may vary from lemon to deep orange. Additionally, frequent urination and subsequent dehydration (uremia) are consistent with invasion of the kidney tubule cells by the Leptospira organism and usually present within a few days of the primary symptoms.

In advanced cases of infection, profound depression, difficulty breathing, muscular tremors, bloody vomitus and faeces are often observed as the infection progresses to include the liver, gastrointestinal system and other organs. Canines react to the disease by producing anti‐Leptospira antibodies. Seroconversion may occur as early as 5‐7 days after the onset of disease. Acute disease is characterized by the presence of specific IgM antibodies. The Test‐it™ Leptospira canine IgM lateral flow assay is a relatively simple and rapid assay that may be used as a point‐of‐care assay in the field, clinic or lab to confirm the clinical diagnosis of severe icteric leptospirosis in dogs (Weil’s disease).

Key features
  • detects acute icteric leptospirosis (Weil’s disease)
  • able to detect sub-clinical acute disease
  • results in as little as 10 -15 minutes
  • uses only 5μl blood or serum
  • sensitivity >98%, specificity 95.3%
  • outperforms MAT, equal to ELISA(Vet. Microbiol. Vol. 150, Issues 1-2, May 2011:211-213)
  • affordable, reliable, on-the-spot diagnosis

Life Assay manufactures the Test‐it™ range of Leptospira IgM lateral flow assays for serodiagnosis of leptospirosis in humans and canines. The Leptospira IgM canine lateral flow assay is designed for the detection of Leptospira‐specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in serum or blood of canines with acute icteric leptospirosis (Weil’s disease).

Standard Assay Procedure
Step 1. Add 5 μl serum or blood to the cassette Step 2. Add 3 drops (120 μl) of running buffer Step 3. Read results at 15 minutes.    Positive Result: One red line at the test zone (T) and a red line at the control zone (C).    Negative Result: One red line at the control zone (C) only.

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