• Home
  • Shelter Med 101
    • Shelter Outbreak Consultations
    • Top Five
    • Shelter Standards
    • Textbooks
    • Shelter Education
    • Top Webinars
    • Spay-Neuter Resources
    • Trap, Neuter, Return
    • Medical Protocols
    • Practice Guidelines
    • Position statements
  • Organizations
    • Canadian Sheltering
    • Canadian Vet and Tech
    • U.S. Sheltering
  • Events
    • Event Calendar
    • Event List
  • CE Archives
  • Members
    • Member Login
    • Join or Renew
    • Manage Account
    • Committee Sign-Up
    • Members Directory
    • Membership Map
    • Official Documents
  • About
    • About
    • Partners
    • Leadership
    • Contact Us
Join Today! Member Login

Upcoming Events

  • WEBINAR: All Things Bunny! Part 1: Rabbit Handling, Nutrition, Housing, Enrichment and More with Dr. Teresa Bousquet, DVM
    Tue Sep 26 2023, 01:00pm EDT - 02:00pm EDT
  • Webinar - Student Grand Rounds - ASV
    Wed Sep 27 2023, 07:30pm EDT
  • Webinar - Rabies and Rabies Vaccination: Risk Management in Shelter Medicine
    Thu Sep 28 2023, 7pm EST
Donate

CASCMA Blog

  • Review of ASPCA Position Statement on Veterinary Telemedicine September 19, 2023
  • Nitty Gritty on the Itty Bitties – Feline Congenital Hypothyroidism August 22, 2023
  • Supporting the Community with Pet Food Banks – What You Need to Know About Best Before Dates  July 4, 2023
  • California Shelters Study – Harbinger for Canadian Shelters April 14, 2023
View more posts

Subscribe to Blog

Members’ Facebook Group

Join Today! Member Login

Upcoming Events

  • WEBINAR: All Things Bunny! Part 1: Rabbit Handling, Nutrition, Housing, Enrichment and More with Dr. Teresa Bousquet, DVM
    Tue Sep 26 2023, 01:00pm EDT - 02:00pm EDT
  • Webinar - Student Grand Rounds - ASV
    Wed Sep 27 2023, 07:30pm EDT
  • Webinar - Rabies and Rabies Vaccination: Risk Management in Shelter Medicine
    Thu Sep 28 2023, 7pm EST

CASCMA Blog

  • Review of ASPCA Position Statement on Veterinary Telemedicine September 19, 2023
  • Nitty Gritty on the Itty Bitties – Feline Congenital Hypothyroidism August 22, 2023
  • Supporting the Community with Pet Food Banks – What You Need to Know About Best Before Dates  July 4, 2023
  • California Shelters Study – Harbinger for Canadian Shelters April 14, 2023
Canadian Animal Shelter & Community Medicine Association

PCR for diagnosing ringworm: New study

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Canadian Animal Shelter & Community Medicine AssociationMarch 16, 2018

This new study from the Toronto Humane Society compared fungal culture and PCR results before treatment in 132 cats (28 positive on fungal culture and 92 negative) and during treatment in 17 positive cats. Before treatment, the sensitivity of PCR was 100% and specificity was 88.5%. In other words, a negative result was extremely reliable but there were quite a few false positive results. This is consistent with the nature of PCR, which can detect really tiny amounts of fungus that may not be clinically relevant, or even dead organisms.

During treatment, PCR was unreliable in this study, with results remaining positive in 82% of cats at the first negative culture and 65% at the second negative culture. That means fungal culture still needs to be used to determine cure.

In this study, 61% of cats considered to be at high risk of having dermatophytosis were culture-negative. This is consistent with previous findings. The authors argue that the cost of PCR can justified in terms of reduced length of stay and reduced cost of treatment while waiting for culture results, and that PCR could be a valuable tool to increase life-saving capacity in animal shelters.

 

  1. Jacobson et al, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 2017, online publication ahead of print: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X17695899
GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll Posts
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Membership
  • Directory
  • Events
Association websites powered by MembershipWorks