Respiratory symptoms got you breathless? Try our equine respiratory PCR panel -- we test for 7 respiratory bacteria and viruses from 1 swab.

Neurological symptoms got you down? Try our equine neurological PCR panel -- we test for 5 neurological diseases from 1 CSF or tissue sample.

Diarrhea got you on the run? Try our equine GI / diarrhea PCR panel -- we test for 4 GI diseases from 1 fecal or swab sample.

Oh baby! Our equine breeding/abortion PCR panel tests for 5 diseases affecting breeding success from 1 swab or semen sample.

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For our international clients: Our DRY CARDS let you mail blood samples to Zoologix easily and cheaply from anywhere. Samples are small, light and stable at room temperature.

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Zoologix performs equine PCR tests for...

African horse sickness

Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Anoplocephala

Anoplocephaloides

Aspergillus

Babesia

Borna virus

Borrelia burgdorferi

Burkholderia mallei and pseudomallei

Clostridium difficile

Clostridium species

Contagious equine metritis (CEM)

Coronaviruses

Dengue

Dourine

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE)

E. coli O157:H7

E. coli panel

Equine adenoviruses

Equine arteritis virus (EAV)

Equine hepatitis virus

Equine herpesvirus
type 1

Equine herpesvirus
type 2

Equine herpesvirus
type 3

Equine herpesvirus
type 4

Equine herpesvirus
type 5

Equine infectious anemia (EIA)

Equine parvovirus

Equine piroplasmosis

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM)

Equine rhinitis virus A

Equine rhinitis virus B

Giardia

Glanders

Helicobacter

Histoplasma

Horsepox virus

Influenza type A

Japanese encephalitis

Lawsonia intracellularis

Leptospirosis

Lyme disease

Melioidosis

Neospora caninum

Neospora hughesi

Piroplasmosis

Potomac horse fever

Rabies

Rhodococcus equi

Rotavirus

Sarcocystis neurona

St. Louis encephalitis

Strangles (Strep equi)

Streptococcus pneumoniae

Strongyles

Surra

Tapeworms

Taylorella equigenitalis

Theileria equi

Toxoplasma gondii

Trichomonas/
Tritrichomonas

Trypanosoma equiperdum

Trypanosoma evansi

Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)

Vesicular stomatitis

West Nile virus (WNV)

Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE)

Yersinia enterocolitica

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

Genetic tests for...

Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis


Tapeworm PCR test for horses
equine assay data sheet

Horse tapeworms (Anoplocephala perfoliata, Anoplocephala magna, and Anoplocephaloides mamillana)

Test code:
X0015 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection but not differentiation of the three most commonly-encountered horse tapeworms by multiplex real time PCR.

 

Three species of tapeworms, Anoplocephala perfoliata, Anoplocephala magna, and Anoplocephaloides mamillana, can be found as adults in horses. A. perfoliata is the most common of the three, with prevalence rates in horses ranging from 18 to 82% depending on the geographical region. Infection of equines with cestodes such as tapeworms was previously thought to be relatively harmless, but recent reports have suggested potential pathogenicity in horses due to significant gastrointestinal disease or even death caused by A. perfoliata.

Diagnosis of a tapeworm infection can be made by means of fecal examination, but this method is labor intensive and not very sensitive or specific. The procedure is based on the coprological demonstration of eggs by flotation and sedimentation techniques. Various studies have shown sensitivities of only 11 to 61%, indicating that these coprological techniques are inadequate for diagnosing equine cestodosis (Proudman and Edwards, 1992; Ihler et al., 1995).

Serological detection of tapeworm infection is also not very satisfactory, as it has a sensitivity of no more than 68% (Hoglund et al., 1995; Proudman and Trees, 1996a, b). The low sensitivity of coprological and serological techniques calls for the use of more sensitive methods. Molecular detection by PCR is by far the most sensitive and specific method for detecting these tapeworms (Drogemuller et al., 2004).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm the presence of these tapeworms
  • Help ensure that herds are free of these tapeworms
  • Early prevention of spread of these parasites among a herd or to other animals
  • Minimize human exposure to tapeworms

References:
Drogemuller, M., Beelitz, P., Pfister, K., Schnieder, T. and von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G. (2004) Amplification of ribosomal DNA of Anoplocephalidae: Anoplocephala perfoliata diagnosis by PCR as a possible alternative to coprological methods.Vet Parasitol.124:205-215.
Höglund, J. Ljungström, B.-L., Nilsson, O. and Uggla, A. (1995) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to Anoplocephala perfoliata in horse sera, Vet. Parasitol. 59:97–106.
Ihler, C.F., Rootwelt, V., Heyeraas, A. and Dolvik, N.I. (1995) The prevalence and epidemiology of Anoplocephala perfoliata infection in Norway. Vet. Res. Commun. 19: 487–494.
Proudman, C.J. and Edwards, G.B. (1992) Validation of a centrifugation/flotation techniques for the diagnosis of equine cestodiasis. Vet. Rec. 131: 71–72.
Proudman, C.J. and Trees, A.J. (1996a) Use of excretory/secretory antigens for the serodiagnosis of Anoplocephala perfoliata cestodosis. Vet. Parasitol. 61:239–247.
Proudman, C.J. and Trees, A.J. (1996b) Correlation of antigen specific IgG and IgG(T) responses with Anoplocephala perfoliata infection intensity in the horse, Parasite Immunol. 18:499–506.

Specimen requirements: 0.2 ml feces or rectal swab.

Contact Zoologix if advice is needed to determine an appropriate specimen type for a specific diagnostic application. For specimen types not listed here, please contact Zoologix to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.

For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 2 business days

Methodology: Qualitative multiplex real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

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