EVALUATION OF A RAPID IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC DIPSTICK TEST FOR DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES TO TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI IN DOGS EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH ISOLATES OBTAINED FROM OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA), ARMADILLOS (DASYPUS NOVEMCINCTUS), AND DOGS (CANIS FAMILIARIS) FROM THE UNITED STATES

Dogs are reservoir hosts for Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of American trypanosomiasis. A rapid immunochromatographic dipstick test (ICT) is available commercially for canine serological testing. The ICT was developed with the use of sera from South American dogs, but it is not routinely used in the United States. We evaluated the utility of the ICT in detecting anti T. cruzi antibodies in dogs from the United States. Dogs (N = 64) were experimentally infected with United States' isolates of T. cruzi from an opossum (Didelphis virginiana), an armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), and a domestic dog ((Canis familiaris), and were tested after experimental infection. Sera from uninfected United States dogs (n = 79; hemaculture negative) were used as negative controls. In a blind study, sera were tested by the ICT and compared to the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test with the use of Brazil-strain epimastigotes as antigen. The sensitivity of the ICT was 91% and the specificity was 98% in dogs experimentally infected with United States isolates. Our study indicates that the ICT could be a useful screening tool for serological surveillance of canine T cruzi exposure in the United States.