Browsing by Author "Erol, N"

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    Detection of Leishmania major and Leishmania tropica in domestic cats in the Ege Region of Turkey
    Pasa, S; Vardarli, AT; Erol, N; Karakus, M; Töz, S; Atasoy, A; Balcioglu, IC; Tuna, GE; Ermis, ÖV; Ertabaklar, H; Özbel, Y
    Leishmaniosis is a group of diseases caused by different species of Leishmania parasites in mammalian species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of Leishmania spp. DNA in cats using real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays targeting internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) and heat-shock protein 70 gene (Hsp70) regions with Leishmania species-specific primers and probes. Blood samples were collected from 147 cats (73 female; 74 male) in the endemic regions for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the western provinces of Turkey and analyzed using two RT-PCR assays. Additionally, Hsp70 RT-PCR products were sequenced. ELISA assays for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) were also carried out for 145 of the 147 samples. Overall, 13/147(8.84%) cats were positive for Leishmania by RT-PCR (4 L. major and 9 L. tropica). FIV and FeLV antibody and/or antigen was detected in 4 and 5 cats among Leishmania DNA positives, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate and report the presence of L. major and L. tropica infections in a large group of domestic cats in Turkey. The results obtained indicate that species identification of Leishmania is essential for epidemiological understanding and that clinical signs alone are not indicative for leishmaniosis in cats, as it is in dogs. This study suggests that extensive research should be carried out in cat populations in order to fully understand the role of cats in the epidemiology of the disease. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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    Comparison of Three Different Rotavirus Antigen Tests for Rotavirus Detection in Fecal Samples: A Retrospective Analysis
    Kirdar, S; Erol, N; Kahyaoglu, F; Yazici, V; Örün, H; Altindis, M
    Objective: Direct antigen tests are the most commonly used methods in most laboratories to detect rotavirus rapidly in stool samples. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of three commercially available test methods for detecting rotaviruses in fecal specimens and compare the results with those of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), which is considered a gold standard test.Materials and Methods: The presence of rotavirus antigens in stool samples was investigated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), an immunochromatographic test (ICT), and a latex agglutination test (LAT), which were commercially available. The results of these tests were compared with those of a multiplex RT-PCR as a reference test. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated, and agreement with RT-PCR was evaluated by Cohen's kappa test.Results: A total of 85 patients (51.8% male and 48.2% female, aged 0-32 years) were included in this study. The sensitivities of the ICT, LAT, and ELISA tests were 78.6%, 78.6%, and 96.4%, respectively; the specificities of the tests were 69.0%, 72.4%, and 69.0%, respectively. According to kappa tests, moderate agreement was found between RT-PCR and ICT (Kappa=0.464, p<0.001); moderate agreement was found between RT-PCR and LAT (Kappa=0.493, p<0.001); substantial agreement was found between RT-PCR and ELISA (Kappa=0.694, p<0.001). The ELISA test showed the highest sensitivity and a high level of agreement with RT-PCR.Conclusion: ICT and LAT are quick and practical tests for rotavirus detection. However, in this study, it was seen that they were not superior to the ELISA test in terms of accuracy of diagnosis.