KeyScreen Microsite

KeyScreen® GI Parasite PCR

The new standard in parasite diagnostics.

Parasites are adapting — O&P is not.

Screening for GI parasites hasn’t really changed much in decades.
Even recent efforts to evolve parasite diagnostics still prove time-consuming and suffer from inaccuracies, sample limitations, and incomprehensive testing.

This test changed GI parasite testing, forever.


Better pet health, in one test.

KeyScreen® GI Parasite PCR brings the power of PCR to routine parasite screening. For veterinarians seeking to ensure positive health outcomes for pets, their families, and the broader pet community, you can find more GI parasites and treat them with precision, speed, and confidence.

  • Screens for 20 intestinal parasites
  • Detects 2x more infections1 when compared to in-clinic fecal flotations (O&P)
  • Detects benzimidazole resistance in hookworms
  • Determines the zoonotic potential of Giardia

Eliminate the burden that GI parasites have on your patients, their families, and your practice.

Your colleagues, their patients, and pet owners are experiencing better health outcomes with KeyScreen today.

Cat and Dog

“KeyScreen has completely changed our practice’s approach to parasite diagnostics. I didn’t realize the burdens and shortcomings of our former GI parasite testing process until we started using KeyScreen. The impact of this test’s accuracy, precision, and speed stretches far beyond the initial screening diagnosis. KeyScreen has allowed us to confidently arrive at treatment options for pet owners, faster, and the workflow alone has freed up a significant amount of time for my staff.”

— Rhonda Daniels, DVM, Animal Doctors of North Texas

“The Antech KeyScreen test has completely changed how we think about parasites and treatment. With this test, we are detecting more parasite positives than ever before — especially when compared to the limitations of running a fecal float. Now, we can better help clients understand personal health risks by differentiating Baylisascaris procyonis and the different strains of Giardia. The innovation of this test has changed the profile of parasites we are seeing — we now have a better ability to diagnose them. We now know that we do, in fact, have zoonotic Giardia in our population. We have also been finding parasites that we have never seen in a clinic before, like trichuris vulpis and cryptosporidium. KeyScreen has significantly improved our ability to service clients by providing a better solution to parasite testing and the subsequent treatment.”

— Robert Burns, DVM, Darlington Veterinary Hospital

KeyScreen® GI Parasite PCR: Unlocking the key to wellness fecal screening with Jennifer Lauren Lopez, DVM, MBA

With the rise in pet ownership, making annual parasite screening as comprehensive and efficient as possible for your practice is essential while making it accessible and affordable for pet owners. Antech’s new KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR helps address these needs and more. Join us for a one-hour webinar to learn how.

You deserve the best tools.  Your patients deserve the best care.

KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR Algorithm

Your go-to guide for interpreting GI PCR panel results.

KeyScreen GI Parasite Giardia Algorithm

Download the KeyScreen Giardia Algorithm to guide you through:
  • Fecal testing
  • Management/treatment
  • Persistent Giardia cases
  • Risk assessment for zoonotic potential

KeyScreen keeps you vigilant with evolving preventative treatment.

Paxton was treated successfully for his steroid-responsive meningitis, but now he is re-presenting white as a ghost. Follow the laboratory diagnostics to understand what has happened, who and what is to blame, and why Paxton is not off the hook.

Evolving Detection with KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR

Because we know that parasites are constantly mutating, we remain agile.  

We’ve added an additional marker to KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR that will detect a new mutation for multiple drug resistant (MDR) hookworms — keeping you vigilant and allowing for more precise, effective treatment.

The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)2 recommends testing for gastrointestinal parasites at least four times in the first year of life for puppies and kittens and at least two times per year in adult dogs and cats, depending on patient health and lifestyle factors.

These parasites are in your backyard.

Advancing the Standard for Screening Intestinal Parasites

The Most Comprehensive Screening Test for GI Parasites

KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR enhances your ability to identify and protect pets and pet owners from disease. All you need is a single 0.15-gram sample, which can be stored for 10 days with refrigeration. This innovative PCR screening solution advances your ability to treat parasites faster and sooner, with confidence — once again elevating the standard of care for pets.

Accurate, Fast Diagnosis and Treatment — with Greater Certainty

Using KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR, you can make treatment decisions with confidence — knowing that the molecular diagnostic capabilities of KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR will allow you to arrive at the right diagnosis faster, while upholding your commitment to One Health priorities and antimicrobial stewardship.

KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR is affordable and offers next-day results for most North American practices, making it practical for routine screening and annual wellness exams.

More Reliable than O&P Testing

We have used fecal ova and parasite (O&P) testing for decades. This tried-and-true method has its strengths — but it also has its weaknesses. O&P relies heavily on visual identification, and ELISA testing has known inherent limitations. Additionally, even when you have an adequately sized sample, there is no guarantee that the parasites (or its eggs) will be present in that portion of the sample.

As a molecular diagnostic test, KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR rapidly and accurately identifies the genetic material of a wide range of parasites from a small fecal sample. We have found that KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR detects 2x more infections1 when compared to in-clinic fecal flotations (O&P) — even when O&P is done at a commercial veterinary reference lab.

One Health Priorities and Antimicrobial Stewardship

According to the CDC, Giardia can be found in every region of the US and around the world. It’s the most common intestinal parasitic disease in the US, and it affects more than 1 million people per year. Additionally, children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals are at much higher risk for Giardia infection and have higher infection rates — infection rates also tend to rise in late summer in the US.3
By using KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR, the most sensitive intestinal parasite screening panel in veterinary medicine, veterinarians can make treatment decisions with confidence by determining the zoonotic potential of the Giardia strain dogs and cats — helping protect pet owners, their pets, and their family from these parasites.

Antech’s molecular diagnostics allow veterinarians to strengthen their commitment to One Health priorities — specifically, pharmacological stewardship and the responsible use of anthelmintic drugs, by delivering precise information about the type of infection present.

Leave the Fecals to Us and Focus on What You Love Most — More Time Caring for Patients

Performing fecals in-clinic is often a primary element of job dissatisfaction among technicians. 94% of the clinicians surveyed in a study4 agreed that sending fecals to a reference laboratory produces more accurate results. Technicians also reported that in-house fecal flotations are their least favorite task.

Fecals can also take away valuable time. Leave the fecals to Antech and our network of 70+ North American laboratories so you have more time to focus on what you love most — caring for your patients.

All you need is a single 0.15-gram sample, which can be stored for 10 days with refrigeration. This allows you and your technicians to spend valuable time engaging with patients and their families, resulting in higher job satisfaction among your employees and an enhanced experience for your clients.

Better pet health, better people health, and better practice health.

For 2024: Publications peer-reviewed:

  1. Hook before you treat! Drug-resistant Hookworms in North America, January 2024, Leutenegger, Evason. TVP-NAVC. https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/parasitology/drug-resistant-hookworms-in-north-america/
  2. Leutenegger CM, et al. Screening for the Ancylostoma caninum Benzimidazole resistance marker F167Y reveals widespread, geographic, seasonal, age and breed distribution in North America. February 2024, available online. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211320724000010
  3. Evason M, DeBess E, Culwell N, Ogeer J, Culwell N, Leutenegger CM. Hookworm anthelmintic resistance: Novel fecal PCR Ancylostoma caninum benzimidazole resistance marker detection in a dog. JAAHA. March/April 2024. https://meridian.allenpress.com/jaaha/article-abstract/60/2/87/499140/Hookworm-Anthelmintic-Resistance-Novel-Fecal?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Publications 2023 (peer-reviewed):

  1. Leutenegger CM, et al. Comparative Study of a Broad qPCR Panel and Centrifugal Flotation for Detection of Gastrointestinal Parasites in Fecal Samples from Dogs and Cats in the United States. Parasites & Vectors. 2023
    https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-023-05904-z
  2. Leutenegger CM, et al. Emergence of Ancylostoma caninum parasites with the benzimidazole resistance F167Y polymorphism in the US dog population. Int. J. Parasitol. Drugs Drug Resist.2023;14:131-140. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211320723000015?via%3Dihub
  3. Evason, MD, et al. Emergence of canine hookworm treatment resistance: Novel detection of Ancylostoma caninum anthelmintic resistance markers by fecal PCR in 11 dogs from Canada, Am J Vet Res (published online ahead of print 2023): https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.23.05.0116
  4. Evason MD, et al. Novel molecular diagnostic (PCR) diagnosis and outcome of intestinal Echinococcus multilocularis in a dog from western Canada. JAVMA May 2023:1-3. https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/aop/javma.23.03.0179/javma.23.03.0179.xml

Abstracts- peer-reviewed:

  1. Evason MD. Updates on emerging and evolving gastrointestinal parasites in dogs and cats, Evason. UK Companion Vet, November 2023. https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/coan.2023.0034
  2. Leutenegger CM, et al. Frequency of intestinal parasites in dogs and cats identified by molecular diagnostics. ACVIM abstract, Philadelphia, June 2023.
  3. Leutenegger CM, et al. Association of the novel benzimidazole resistance marker Q134H with F167Y in dogs with Ancylostoma caninum. ACVIM abstract, Philadelphia June 2023.
  4. Leutenegger CM, Evason MD. ‘Hooking back’: Updates on GI parasite findings in dogs and cats from 2022. AAVP Proceedings, Lexington, June 2023.
  5. Evason, et al. Performance of a molecular diagnostic as compared to routine centrifugal-flotation for fecal gastrointestinal parasite identification. ECVIM Barcelona 2023.

Product Information

U.S. Code

KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR Panel: T991 

Canada Code

KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR Panel: CT991 

Sample

0.15 grams feces

Turnaround 

24 hours for most customers. 48 hours or less for all customers.

Have questions about KeyScreen? Fill out this form and an Antech representative will reach out to you.


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