PEDV FA Substrate Slide Now Available

US - VMRD’s new slide represents new diagnostic tool for detection of porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV) antibody.
calendar icon 14 July 2014
clock icon 3 minute read

VMRD has made available a substrate slide that can be used for the detection of antibody to PEDV. The slides are of 12-well, Teflon-masked format with a substrate of fixed (killed), PEDV-infected Vero cells interspersed with non-infected Vero cells.

“This substrate slide is the first quality-controlled FA diagnostic tool for PEDV on the market,” said Dr Chungwon Chung, Vice President of Research and Development at VMRD. “It is a hassle-free, ready-to-use product.”

Diagnostic methods for PEDV fall generally under the categories of antibody detection and agent detection. The two methods are complementary, serving different purposes. Agent detection methods, such as PCR, are suited to early detection of infection and positive confirmation of current infection, but are susceptible to missing positive animals, particularly those not at the peak of infection. Antibody detection is potentially more sensitive and is able to detect positive animals for a longer period in convalescence or unapparent persistence following acute infection.

VMRD’s FA substrate slide is designed for use as an antibody detection tool and can be used both qualitatively (positive or negative result) and semi-quantitatively (antibody titration). This tool has potential value for screening and surveillance and can also be used to evaluate the antibody levels of infected populations of swine.

“This product is yet another example of VMRD’s ability to rapidly react with a high quality solution to a novel diagnostic problem,” said Ethan Adams, Vice President of VMRD. “While we are not certain that this slide will be our final answer to the need for a PEDV diagnostic, our broad FA reagent platform and expertise in FA enabled us to bring a high-quality commercial serological assay to market very quickly.”

PEDV was first reported clinically in the UK in the 1970s and was identified as a coronavirus in 1978. Today it is classified as a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA group 1 Coronavirus infecting the small intestines of pigs and causing epidemic diarrhoea. It has substantial economic impact due to high morbidity and mortality in piglets. Newborn piglets typically die within five days of contracting the virus whereas older pigs recover after about one week of illness. Prevention and control can be achieved by following appropriate biosecurity protocols.

On 17 May 2013, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) confirmed a case of PEDV in the United States, and in 2014 on-farm cases of PEDV were confirmed in Canada. Recent evidence suggests that the epidemic may be spreading to Central and South America. It has infected more than six million pigs nationwide.

For more information, visit VMRD's web site, www.vmrd.com.

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