equine assay data sheet
Surra (trypanosomiasis)
NOTE: THIS TEST IS NOT PERFORMED
ON SAMPLES TAKEN FROM ANIMALS OWNED OR LOCATED IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA.
Etiologic
agent:
Trypanosoma
evansi
Test code:
X0008 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of
Trypanosoma evansi
by real time polymerase chain reaction
Surra is an
animal disease occurring in Africa, Asia and Latin America,
caused by Trypanosoma evansi.
T. evansi
belongs to the subgenus
Trypanozoon, together with
T. equiperdum and
T. brucei. The
parasite infects various host species and is transmitted by
biting flies such as
Tabanidae and Stomoxys species, as well as by vampire bats including
Desmodus rotondus
(Hoare, 1972). Camels and horses are very susceptible to the
infection and death can occur within weeks or months.
T. evansi infections
of cattle and buffalo usually lead to pronounced
immunosuppression, resulting in increased susceptibility to
other opportunistic diseases such as Pasteurella and anthrax
(Stephen, 1986).
Diagnosis of
T. evansi
infection usually starts with clinical symptoms or the detection
of antibodies to T. evansi. Conclusive evidence of
T. evansi infection,
however, relies on detection of the parasite in the blood or
tissue fluids of infected animals. Unfortunately,
parasitological techniques cannot always detect ongoing
infections as the level of parasitemia is often low and
fluctuating, particularly during the chronic stage of the
disease (Nantulya, 1990).
Molecular
detection of T. evansi
using the polymerase chain reaction is a highly sensitive and
specific alternative to parasitological tests.
Utilities:
-
Help confirm the disease causing agent
-
Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical
diagnosis of Trypanosoma
evansi infection.
-
Help ensure that horse populations are free of
T. evansi
-
Early prevention of spread of this parasite
-
Minimize personnel exposure to this parasite
-
Safety monitoring of biological products that derive
from horses
References:
Hoare, C.A. (1972) The trypanosomes of mammals. Oxford,
Blackwell Scientific Publications 1972, 1-749.
Nantulya,
V.M. (1990) Trypanosomiasis in domestic animals: the problems of
diagnosis.
Rev Sci Tech 1990, 9:357-367.
Stephen, L.E.
(1986) Trypanosomiasis. A veterinary perspective (Edited by:
StephenLE). Oxford, Pergamon Press 1986.
Specimen requirements: 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube, or 0.2 ml fresh, frozen or fixed tissue.
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
real time PCR
Normal range:
Nondetected