Equine Coronavirus (ECoV) is a virus that affects horses. Symptoms of ECoV are often gastrointestinal, including fever, lethargy, anorexia, and changes in fecal consistency. While the disease is usually mild, it can lead to more severe symptoms where death has occurred. Diagnosis of ECoV is typically confirmed through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing of fecal samples. Initial studies have shown that fecal samples from horses can inhibit PCR analysis for ECoV, other PCR systems and buffers may have a better effect on inhibition in fecal samples then the current method used at Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA) today, leading to false negative results. To avoid false negative results due to inhibition, the option of using an internal control exists. If the internal control yields a negative result, it suggests that the PCR reaction did not function as intended and a negative result for ECoV would therefore not be reliable. The purpose of this study was to gather more information about the current method's performance and possibly optimize its sensitivity. Seven different buffers were tested to see which works best for horse feces and the current method was compared with other PCR methods in order to choose the method with the highest sensitivity. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between PB and PVP buffers. Additionally the comparison between the PCR systems in the study showed a significant difference, indicating that the new system for ECoV detection has the potential to improve upon the current routine method.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-534246 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Isaksson, Kamilla |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för medicinsk cellbiologi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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