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Bulletin No. 17 - Winter 2003
Parasitology- No Category
THOMPSON RCA
Advances in the diagnosis and systematics of parasites of veterinary importance - new and exciting prospects.
Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, New Orleans, Louisiana, August 10-14, 2003, page 189.
The control of parasitic diseases of veterinary importance depends upon the rapid and accurate detection of the aetiological agents. Conventional diagnostic techniques involving microscopy remain the mainstay of diagnostic laboratories but they are being rapidly complemented by a variety of molecular 'tools' that provide additional information about the causative agents. This includes the discrimination of morphologically identical strains/genotypes within a species. This may be important if such intra-specific variants differ in their host specificity, drug sensitivity, public health significance in the case of zoonotic agents, virulence or other factors of epidemiological importance. The value of such tools is greatest if they can be applied directly to faecal or tissue specimens, as well as environmental samples and food, and if there is the potential to automate such procedures. In this respect, PCR-based techniques have provided veterinary parasitologists with very powerful epidemiological tools. In addition to the diagnostic laboratory, they have a growing application to wildlife parasitology since data can be obtained from parasite stages obtained using non-invasive techniques on living animals. Similarly, molecular techniques have a major role to play as tools for surveillance, particularly with waterborne diseases and in the area of biosecurity. These advances will be described with reference to a range of parasites including Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Toxoplasma, Trypanosoma, Echinococcus and Ancylostoma. The future promises more exciting developments with the advent of proteomics, and the prospect of adapting Cr based diagnostics for use in remote sensors.
