Companion Animal Diagnostic Solutions

Overview
West Nile virus (WNV) can cause inflammation of the brain and spinal cord lining (meningitis) or inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), and is a mosquito-borne virus. Outbreaks of the virus have been reported in various regions, including Africa, Egypt, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States.

Of horses bitten by a carrier mosquito, one-third will typically develop severe disease that will result in death or require the animals to be euthanized. In some instances, gestating foals may become infected with the virus if WNV should cross from the mother’s placenta.

Signs
Signs of WNV may include listlessness, limb weakness, stumbling, droopy eyelids or lower lip, difficulty defecating or urinating, skin twitching, and muscle tremors. In some cases the infected animals may also show signs of fever, seizures, and blindness.

Human health risk
While WNV cannot be transmitted from horses to humans, humans are at risk of being infected with the virus if bitten by a carrier mosquito.

Economic impact
The economic impact of WNV can be significant. In addition to horses that may die as a result of WNV, the disease can also contribute to other financial burdens such as treatment costs, quarantines, disease prevention, and an inability of the animal to be used during its recovery period.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.

Overview
EAV is an enveloped single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus that primarily affects equine populations, with the highest occurrence of the disease appearing in warmbloods and standardbreds. With the exception of Iceland and Japan, EAV is a global disease and has been associated with an increased number of laboratory-verified outbreaks in recent years. Outbreaks of EAV are commonly linked to transport of infected animals or shipment of semen that is contaminated with the virus.

EAV is primarily transmitted via the respiratory route and in environments where naive equids may be kept in close contact, such as shows, breeding farms, racetracks, and veterinary hospitals. Mares can also be infected venereally after breeding to a carrier stallion, either by live cover or artificial insemination. Additionally, the infection can be transmitted through indirect contact via the hands or clothing of animal handlers, or through fomites contaminated by the virus (e.g., shanks, breeding equipment, twitches, etc.).

Signs
Signs of the disease can differ greatly from one animal to the next and may include persistent fever, limb edema, depression, leukopenia, and anorexia. While less common, infected animals may also show signs of conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, photophobia, lacrimation, stiffness of gait, dyspnea, diarrhea, icterus, ataxia, and edema (supraorbital, periorbital, or ventral body wall).

Human health risk
It does not appear that EAV presents a zoonotic risk.

Economic impact
EAV can contribute to abortion in susceptible mares, and a large percentage of stallions can become carriers of the disease. Since carrier stallions have the potential to transmit EAV very efficiently via natural breeding or artificial insemination, the economic implications for the breeding industry can be significant.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.

Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious though rarely fatal respiratory disease of horses, donkeys and mules, and other equidae. EI is caused by two subtypes of influenza A viruses: H7N7 and H3N8, of the family Orthomyxoviridae. They are related to but distinct from the viruses that cause human influenza; equine influenza is a disease listed in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, and countries are obligated to report the occurrence of the disease according to the OIE Code.

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Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a viral disease of cats due to a feline coronavirus, whose prognosis is almost always fatal. Its origin is unclear. It is due to a mutation, suspected but unproven, in the virus of feline infectious peritonitis. The mutated virus is then able to invade and reproduce in the white blood cells’ macrophages. The incidence of the disease is 1 per 5000 family with 1 or 2 cats. The disease, non-transferable to humans and other animals, may take different forms, dry or effusive; the latter, representing 60 to 70% of cases, is evolving faster. There is no treatment for FIP; treatment is mainly palliative and symptomatic.

The VetMAX FIP Dual IPC Kit can be used on cat and swine samples.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.

Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne bacterial infection caused by bacteria of the family Anaplasmataceae, genera Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. These obligate intracellular bacteria infect and kill white blood cells.

The VetMAX A. phagocytophilum Kit is a molecular diagnostic tool for real-time PCR detection of the 3 biovars of Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A.phagocytophilum, A.equi and HGE. This kit can be used on bacterial DNA extracted from blood in EDTA tubes, spleen, and ticks.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.

The VetMAX Chlamydophila spp. Exogenous IPC Kit is a molecular diagnostic tool enabling real-time PCR detection of Chlamydophila spp. Each DNA sample obtained after extraction is analyzed in a single well; the same well is used for specific detection of the bacterial DNA of Chlamydophila spp. and an IPC (Internal Positive Control). It can be used on bacterial DNA extracted from placenta, amniotic fluid or fetal tissue, milk, and vaginal mucus from multiple species.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.

Overview
Leptospirosis occurs worldwide, and while the disease is typically reported in tropical climates, it can also be found in temperate climates during periods of rainfall. Leptospirosis most commonly affects pigs, cattle, and horses, and displays a variety of clinical effects ranging from mild infection to organ failure to death.

The disease is prevalent in wild mammals, but is often only noticed when wildlife serve as an infection source for domestic animals and livestock. Leptospirosis can be transmitted transplacentally or venereally, but most often through direct contact with infected milk, urine, or placental fluids.

Signs
The signs of leptospirosis can vary greatly depending upon a herd’s immunity, age of an infected animal, and the infecting serovar. In respect to infecting serovars, there are >220 pathogenic serovars of Leptospira that can cause leptospirosis.

As an example, cattle are the maintenance host for Leptospira hardjo-bovis, which can affect an animal’s kidneys, resulting in long-term urinary shedding. L. hardjo-bovis is also associated with persistent reproductive tract infections that can cause infertility in cattle.

For other Leptospira serovars such as grippotyphosa, icterohaemorrhagiae, or pomona, cattle become incidental hosts for the disease and may display various clinical signs such as lethargy, jaundice, fever, anemia, and red urine. While adult cattle do not usually die from leptospirosis, the disease can be fatal to calves and may affect pregnant cows, causing abortion, stillbirth, and the birth of weak calves.

Human health risk
Leptospirosis is considered to be zoonotic, and can be transmitted to humans if a person comes in contact with water or soil that has been contaminated by urine or body fluids of an infected animal.

Economic impact
The infertility that can result from persistent reproductive tract infections is perhaps the most economically damaging aspect of leptospirosis

The VetMAX PathoLept real-time CPR kit can be used on all animal species samples.

Regulatory requirements vary by country; products may not be available in your geographic area.