Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Equine strangles caused by Streptococcus equi and leptospira abortion and uveitis predominantly caused by
Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona type kennewicki (Lk) are common bacterial diseases of horses in
Kentucky and in many parts of the world. Laboratory diagnosis of these infections requires culture and PCR of
specimens from infected animals and the environment. These assays can be performed in only a few
specialized laboratories often delaying decisions conceming therapeutic treatment, movement and
transportation. Our pilot studies have demonstrated that assay based on helicase dependent DNA amplification
(HDA) following by colorimetric lateral flow detection of results is as sensitive and specific as culture and PCR.
The assay in this proposal requires only simple equipment (water bath, pipettes and disposable lateral flow
cassette) and could be performed in less than 2 hours.
The objective of this project is to develop and evaluate HDA tests for S. equi and pathogenic leptospira.
Specific aims will include design of primers and probes specific for each organism, development of experimental
kits and evaluation of their specificity and sensitivity on cultures and specimens from diseased animals. We have
identified several S. equi (Timoney et aI. 1997, 2007; Artiushin et al. 2002; Tiwari et al. 2007) and Lk (Artiushin
et aI., 1999,2004; Verma et aI., 2005, 2006) specific sequences that will be evaluated as targets for HDA. Our
laboratory has a large and continually growing collection of bacterial isolates and clinical samples from
outbreaks that will be used for evaluation of HDA assays.
Results of this work will be used for development of commercial kits for detection of S. equi and pathogenic
leptospira. Since these kits could rapidly be applied beside the animal or in the veterinarian's office they will
greatly improve control of strangles and leptospirosis and so positively impact the horse industry in Kentucky.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 7/1/08 → 6/30/10 |
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