Taking dogs to Australia, E.Canis Test

[Auslady]

First up full disclosure; I'm not in the UK, I'm in Thailand and I'm also from Australia not the UK. 

I have noticed people discussing the E.Canis blood test for dogs entering Australia from abroad on this forum which is why I've joined as there's not much about it anywhere else. 

I am in Thailand and plan returning to Australia with my 2 dogs and 1 cat.

They have had their rabies titre tests and the waiting period is up July 18.

We will be going to Kuala Lumpur to complete the confirmation RNAT and other tests including the E.Canis test and then they will be exported from there to Melbourne.

My problem is that one of my dogs tests positive for E.Canis on a SNAP test. We've done 4 tests now, 1 each month since January and I've had her on doxycycline. 

I guess I will have to order the expensive IFAT test to see how high her antibodies are...I suppose I'm wondering if anyone has a reassuring story where they've managed to sort out this problem or the SNAP gave a false positive.   

My dog is a toy poodle, rescued from near a dam in 2015 which is probably where she picked up the E.Canis. She is 4kg. 

Thanks for any information at all.

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Welcome to the forum. Can I ask did your vet take a titer at different intervals and if so did the levels drop?

[Auslady]

Hi Pom Queen, 

 

We haven't done the IFAT yet. We just did a SNAP test which gives either a negative or positive result within about 20 minutes. 

I will order an IFAT for her so we can see where we are in detail.

The thing is until we are in an approved country for export (which will be Malaysia in our case) the test results will give me information but can't be used for our application so I have to be mindful of costs. The SNAP tests just seemed like a cheap way to find out if we were going to have a problem  down the road and it seems we might.

I think I will do an IFAT next week so I have something to compare when we do the test in KL in June. It's such a pity AQIS don't accept PCRs but I might try and get one later anyway for evidence to support our case. 

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

SNAP tests can provide false positives so please don't worry too much. Wait until you are settled and then let's see what the titer results show. I am sure we will be looking at a drop.

[Auslady]

Thanks Pom Queen, 

I'm still in Phuket and plan to head off to KL next month, where we do all the testing and then export. 

She still tests positive on the SNAP test but as you say those are not all that reliable so at this moment a blood sample is on the way to the UK lab for an IFAT test and we'll see

At least this way we'll have 2 tests 6 weeks apart to give us a good idea of what's happening.

Thank you for the support

 

 

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

8 hours ago, Auslady said:

Thanks Pom Queen, 

I'm still in Phuket and plan to head off to KL next month, where we do all the testing and then export. 

She still tests positive on the SNAP test but as you say those are not all that reliable so at this moment a blood sample is on the way to the UK lab for an IFAT test and we'll see

At least this way we'll have 2 tests 6 weeks apart to give us a good idea of what's happening.

Thank you for the support

 

 

 

Good luck Hun, please let me know how you go. I'm sure it will be fine.

[Auslady]

Well I just got Frankie's IFAT test result and her titer is 1/640

The sample was collected here in Phuket on May 4 and was received by the lab in Surrey May 10.

We are going to Kuala Lumpur next month and the kids will do all their tests there around mid June so I need to get her back on antibiotics I suppose.

I'm hoping getting out of Phuket might help, maybe this environment is keeping her antibodies high.

Both dogs are on Bravecto and I always use Frontline Plus. 

We might be looking at longer than I thought in KL.