SCVMA and MiDog Present:

From Snakes to Mammals:

Expanding Infectious Disease Detection in Exotic Pets

Accurate pathogen identification is the foundation of successful antimicrobial therapy, yet conventional culture frequently fails in exotic patients, missing anaerobes, fastidious and slow-growing bacteria, and most pathogenic fungi. This presentation compares culture, targeted PCR, and next-generation sequencing (NGS), framing each as an answer to a different clinical question rather than as competing alternatives. Amplicon, shotgun metagenomic, and metatranscriptomic approaches are contrasted, and the interpretation of a clinical shotgun sequencing report is discussed.

Data from the first direct comparison of culture and sequencing in exotic animals demonstrate that the greatest diagnostic gap occurs in fungal infections, where 81% of samples were culture-negative but sequencing-positive. Clinical cases in snakes, an African grey parrot, black-footed ferrets, a turtle, a boa, a rabbit, and a dog illustrate how sequencing results altered treatment decisions. Attendees will learn when NGS adds clinical value, how specimen selection determines result quality, and why sequencing complements rather than replaces traditional diagnostics.

Free Webinar!

Approved for one hour California Statutory CEU

Wednesday, October 14, 2026
9:00 – 10:00 AM PT

**Click Here to Register**

 Presented By:

Janina Krumbeck, PhD | MiDOG Animal Diagnostics

Dr. Janina Krumbeck, PhD is the CEO and Co-Founder of MiDOG Animal Diagnostics LLC (Tustin, California) and is leading the efforts to bring novel diagnostic tools to veterinarians to improve the diagnosis of infectious diseases in companion and wildlife animals. Using molecular DNA sequencing to understand the animal microbiome, Dr. Krumbeck has published several peer-reviewed manuscripts on the microbiome of animals in health and disease. She earned her PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in genetics, cell and molecular biology with an emphasis on microbial gastrointestinal ecology and her Master’s degree in genetics and applied microbiology from the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Dr. Krumbeck has studied the interaction between microbes and their hosts for over 15 years in order to understand how they specifically affect health and disease. She is passionate about applying the current knowledge about the pet microbiome to improve infections disease diagnostics and promote good antibiotic stewardship.

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