How do you test a dog for infection?
Ludwig Batz
2025-06-29 07:26:55
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No, routine blood tests cannot diagnose leptospirosis definitively, but they can provide valuable clues and should be considered the starting point of any investigation. Routine tests include complete blood count (CBC), serum biochemistry, and urinalysis. The most common abnormalities found on routine testing in dogs with leptospirosis include the following: CBC: Increased numbers of white blood cells, decreased numbers of platelets, and sometimes, decreased numbers of red blood cells. Serum biochemistry: High liver and/or kidney values and abnormal values for sodium, chloride, phosphorous, and potassium. Urinalysis: Dilute urine, the presence of protein, and evidence of inflammation. There are several tests for diagnosing leptospirosis, but the two most common ones are the DNA-PCR test and the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The MAT or microscopic agglutination test detects the presence of antibodies against Leptospira in a dog's blood. The DNA-PCR is a rapid test that detects the DNA of Leptospira in whole blood or urine. Testing blood and urine is recommended.
Brianne Becker
2025-06-21 13:57:12
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The team used kits optimised for common bacterial species to allow them extract all the DNA from a sample without prior knowledge of which species are present - so-called metagenomic DNA extraction.
They combined this with an existing technology that generates DNA code from samples, known as nanopore sequencing, and a data analysis tool that identifies bacteria according to their DNA fingerprint.
This approach allows identification of bacteria in real time, enabling results in a few hours.
The genes identified in the sample also give valuable insight on how the bacteria present are likely to respond to antibiotic treatment, enabling clinicians to prescribe the drug best suited to the infection.
The team tested their system with skin and urinary bacterial infections in dogs, and were able to detect bacteria within 5 hours.
Our method offers a swift way to diagnose bacterial infections and prescribe appropriate antibiotics within hours of patient testing.
Following our work with skin and urinary infections in dogs, we are confident that this approach has potential for use across many animal species, and in humans, and has applications in other infection types.
The technology will significantly reduce the time taken to receive testing results, from several days to a matter of hours.
This will allow for much quicker treatment of the canine patient and consequently a potential reduction in recovery time.
America Walker
2025-06-09 14:22:13
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When doctors suspect a bacterial infection, they often take a sample of the patient’s blood, urine, or mucus and send it to a lab. There, the bacteria in the sample are allowed reproduce until there are enough of them to identify. Goluch builds sensors to identify bacteria by the specific chemicals they produce. This can be done in minutes, and doesn’t require a sample be sent to the lab. The company’s first product, a sensor that is capable of identifying the bacteria in urinary tract infections in dogs and cats, will likely be on the market in 2019. Bacteria use these molecules, called quorum-sensing molecules, to signal to each other, they help the bacterial species coordinate their activities, they basically use this chemical language to communicate with each other. Each type of bacteria speaks its own unique language, it’s a molecule that is produced in high quantities and it’s very unique, it seems like the perfect biomarker for a diagnostic test. The sensor is going to work the same way, a fair number of the bacteria that cause infections in humans cause infections in animals, they go back and forth, if you can detect it in animals, it will work well in humans as well.
Cameron Tromp
2025-06-09 13:14:58
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Your vet will ask you some questions about your dog and feel your dog’s bladder. They might ask you for a fresh urine sample. If your dog keeps getting symptoms of cystitis, your vet might want to carry out further tests such as blood tests, X-rays, or an ultrasound of the bladder. They might also recommend sending away some urine for further testing. If your vet asks you for a urine sample, check out our page on how to take a urine sample from your dog.
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