A new peer-reviewed study published in Parasites & Vectors compared Antech’s KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR panel with IDEXX’s Fecal Dx Antigen Profile with Giardia and centrifugation flotation.
In a blinded assessment of more than 1,000 fecal samples, the KeyScreen test detected parasites in twice as many samples as the Fecal Dx and flotation together. Other clinically relevant findings include:
- Better detection: KeyScreen identified 1.6 times as many positive results as the Fecal Dx Antigen Profile with Giardia when testing for the same six parasite groups.
- More information: KeyScreen included whether Giardia had potentially zoonotic assemblages, providing context for a positive result, whereas Fecal Dx did not.
- More specific guidance: KeyScreen provided species-specific identification of Echinococcus and Taenia tapeworms and detected benzimidazole-resistance markers, which were present in about 20% of hookworm positives.
Dr. Jimmy Barr, Antech’s chief medical officer, pointed out the importance of a test’s specificity, saying, “A screening test is only as good as what it can find.”
Researchers from Antech Diagnostics, Colorado State University, and Universidad Nacional de Colombia conducted the study, and Antech funded it.