Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CANITEST (CANITEST: Proof-Of-Concept of a PCR test designed to identify the dogs carrying the more virulent strains of Capnocytophaga canimorsus)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2017-12-01 al 2019-05-31
The proposal taken to proof of concept was to market a PCR test designed to identify the dogs carrying the more dangerous strains (capsular serovars) of C. canimorsus. The rationale is that the detection of potentially dangerous dogs could save human lives. Indeed, the persons in contact with a dog harbouring a virulent serovar could be secured by rigorous hygiene, by an immediate antibiotic treatment in case of bite or scratch and by a fast medical support when diffuse flu-like symptoms occur.
Before the test can be brought to the market, the prevalence of the dangerous serovars in strains isolated from human infections and from dog mouths had to be strengthened on a higher number of strains. With this POC, we could contact the University hospital of Helsinki who just published an excellent retrospective study of C. canimorsus human infections. In collaboration, we typed a great number of strains isolated from patients that were admitted in the intensive care unit, during a period of 10 years. The results showed that indeed all the pathogenic strains belong to the capsular serovars we had identified before.
To determine the sensitivity and the specificity of our proposed test, we analyzed the salivas of 285 different dogs by PCR and by classical bacteriology. The PCR test proposed initially failed because of a lack of specificity but we designed a new PCR test and we re-tested the 285 dogs salivas as well as 199 strains isolated from patients. The new test turned out to be specific and relatively sensitive. It will now be adapted for the machines generally used in clinical laboratories, with the help of a company.