Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of canine dermatophytosis caused by Microsporum canis

Abstract In dogs, dermatophytosis should be considered in any case of alopecic, papular or pustular lesion. The aim of this study was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) as an aid in the diagnosis of canine dermatophytosis. The antigen used was a whole fungal extract obtained from an isolate of Microsporum canis cultured on a liquid medium from the parasitized hair of a cat with patches of alopecia. To assess the ELISA performances, sera from 18 dogs with dermatophytosis caused by M. canis (group A, n = 18), 20 dogs with skin diseases other than dermatophytosis and 22 healthy dogs (group B, n = 42) were tested. Four further animals were tested: three with dermatophytosis caused by M. gypseum and one by T. mentagrophytes. A significant difference (P < 0.01, Wilcoxon's test, w = 364) was found between IgG-specific levels of sera of recently M. canis-infected dogs (infection < 15 days) and controls (although three dogs had negative titres at this stage). A highly significant difference (P < 0.001, w = 462) was noted between controls and dogs with infection of longer duration (> 30 days). All dogs had positive titres at this stage. A highly significant correlation (P < 0.001, Spearman's test, rho = 0.86) between duration of infection and IgG concentration was noted. The test has good sensitivity (83.3%) and high specificity (95.2%) but some dogs retained positive titres after elimination of infection. The sensitivity is higher than that of direct microscopic hair examination and similar to that of fungal culture with DTM (dermatophyte test medium).