Clavijo Alfonso, Erol Erdal, Sneed Loyd, Sun Feng, Swinford Amy
Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, 1 Sippel Road, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
J Vet Diagn Invest. 2011 Sep;23(5):982-5. doi: 10.1177/1040638711417143.
Bovine trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease in cattle that causes considerable economic loss due to abortions and infertility. In vitro culture of the organisms is the traditional method for diagnosis. However, culture cannot differentiate Tritrichomonas foetus from other, closely related nonpathogenic protozoa. Recently, a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was developed for the differential diagnosis of trichomoniasis. The objective of the current work was to evaluate the effect of different simulated transport conditions on samples containing T. foetus for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis using culture and qPCR. Results indicate that transport temperatures of 4-20°C for 1-3 days before culture will reduce or temporarily inhibit parasite replication but maintain viability. Testing of samples by either culture or qPCR would be expected to give positive results. However, diagnosis of trichomonads by both methods was negatively affected when specimens were maintained at transport temperatures of 42°C for 24 hr or more. The current study stresses the importance of ensuring that clinical samples arrive to the diagnostic laboratory within 24-48 hr and of avoiding temperature transport conditions above 37°C in order to achieve an accurate diagnosis of trichomoniasis in cattle.
牛毛滴虫病是牛的一种性传播疾病，因流产和不育会造成相当大的经济损失。对病原体进行体外培养是传统的诊断方法。然而，培养无法区分胎儿三毛滴虫与其他密切相关的非致病性原生动物。最近，一种定量实时聚合酶链反应（qPCR）被开发用于毛滴虫病的鉴别诊断。当前研究的目的是评估不同模拟运输条件对含有胎儿三毛滴虫的样本的影响，以便使用培养法和qPCR诊断毛滴虫病。结果表明，在培养前于4-20°C运输温度下放置1-3天，会减少或暂时抑制寄生虫的复制，但能保持其活力。通过培养或qPCR对样本进行检测预计会得到阳性结果。然而，当样本在42°C运输温度下保存24小时或更长时间时，两种方法对滴虫的诊断都会受到负面影响。当前研究强调了确保临床样本在24-48小时内送达诊断实验室以及避免高于37°C的温度运输条件对于准确诊断牛毛滴虫病的重要性。
