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Zoologix performs avian and livestock PCR tests for...

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

African swine fever

Akabane virus

Alcelaphine herpesvirus

AMPKγ3R200Q mutation in pigs

Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillus species

Atoxoplasma

Aujeszky's disease

Avian adenovirus

Avian herpes

Avian influenza

Avian polyomavirus

Avian reovirus

Avibacterium paragallinarum

Baylisascaris procyonis

Blood typing for swine

Bluetongue virus

Bordetella avium

Borna virus

Bovine adenovirus

Bovine endogenous retrovirus

Bovine enterovirus

Bovine ephemeral fever virus

Bovine herpesvirus 1

Bovine herpesvirus 2

Bovine herpesvirus 4

Bovine leukemia virus

Bovine papillomavirus

Bovine papular stomatitis virus

Bovine parvovirus

Bovine polyomavirus

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus

Bovine rhinoviruses

Bovine viral diarrhea type 1

Brachyspira pilosicoli

Brucella

Cache Valley virus

Camelpox

Campylobacter      

Candida

Caprine arthritis-encephalitis (CAE) virus

Chlamydia/Chlamydophila genus

Chlamydophila psittaci

Classical swine fever

Clostridium

Coccidia

Coccidiodes

Coronaviruses

Cowpox

Coxiella burnetii

Cryptococcus

Cryptosporidium

Ebola Reston

E. coli O157:h7

Edwardsiella

Encephalomyocarditis

Enteric E. coli panel

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

Foot and mouth disease

Fowl adenovirus

Fowlpox

Fusobacterium necrophorum

Hepatitis E

Herpes, avian

Histoplasma

Infectious bronchitis

Infectious bursal disease

Infectious coryza

Infectious laryngotracheitis

Influenza type A

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV)

Japanese encephalitis

Jena virus

Johne's disease

Lawsonia intracellularis

Leptospira

Lumpy skin disease virus

Malaria

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF)

Mites

Mycobacterium avium and other Mycobacteria

Mycoplasma species

Mycoplasma suis

Newcastle disease virus

Nipah virus

Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale

Ovine herpesvirus 2

Pacheco's disease (psittacid herpesviruses)

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV)

Pigeon circovirus

Plasmodium species

Porcine adenovirus

Porcine circovirus 1

Porcine circovirus 2

Porcine cytomegalovirus

Porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV)

Porcine enterovirus

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis

Porcine hemorrhagic enteropathy

Porcine intestinal adenomatosis

Porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus

Porcine parvovirus

Porcine reproductive & respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus

Porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV)

Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV)

Poultry respiratory panel

Pseudocowpox

Pseudorabies

Psittacine beak and feather disease

Psittacine herpes

Q fever

Rabies

Reovirus

Rift Valley fever virus

Rinderpest virus

RyR1 R615C mutation in pigs

Salmonella

Staphylococcus xylosus

St. Louis encephalitis

Streptococcus

Swinepox

Swine vesicular disease

Taenia solium

Teschovirus (Teschen-Talfan disease)

Tickborne encephalitis virus

Trichinella spiralis

Trichomonas/
Tritrichomonas

Vaccinia

Valley fever

Vesicular exanthema of swine

Vesicular stomatitis

Wesselsbron virus

West Nile virus

Yersinia enterocolitica

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

...and more -- see the avian & livestock test menu for a complete listing of avian and livestock assays.

Aspergillus fumigatus PCR test for birds

avian & livestock assay data sheet

Aspergillus fumigatus

Test code:
F0001 - Ultrasensitive qualitative detection of Aspergillus fumigatus fungus by real time polymerase chain reaction

F0001 is included in the poultry respiratory panel

 

The genus Aspergillus includes several related fungi which cause aspergillosis. One that is common in the environment is Aspergillus fumigatus. This fungus produces airborne spores which can spread to a wide area, especially during dry windy weather. Spores can enter and develop in the respiratory system, lungs, eyes, and ears. “Sick Building Syndrome” is a condition caused by continuous fungal growth in areas of buildings and ventilation systems. Growth leads to the release of more spores. This can potentially lead to large scale respiratory infections and distress associated with aspergillosis.

Symptoms of aspergillosis are caused by endotoxins produced by the fungus. Aspergillosis can be fatal, especially in immunodeficient individuals. Aspergillus infection is common among domesticated and caged birds.

Animals such as birds, horses and other livestock can be infected with this fungus by inhalation of spores from contaminated feed, fecal material, and soil. Healthy unstressed birds and animals are generally resistant to even high levels of spores. However, young and old individuals, those on antibiotics, and those whose immune systems are suppressed by surgery, reproduction, environmental changes, capture, or shipping may become infected. Human patients with AIDS, cancer or other immunosuppressive diseases are often victims of this fungal infection.

Since many birds and animals have had prior exposure to this fungus, serological testing is not useful or reliable. Culture identification is labor intensive and cultures are frequently contaminated with other fungi. Molecular detection by PCR can provide quick, sensitive and specific detection of the fungus in a variety of specimen types (Buess et al., 2012).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Shorten the time required to confirm a clinical diagnosis of Aspergillus fumigatus infection.
  • Help ensure that flocks and herds are free of this fungus
  • Early prevention of spread of this fungus
  • Minimize personnel exposure to this fungus
  • Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive from susceptible species

References:
Buess, M., Cathomas, G., Halter, J., Junker, L., Grendelmeier, P., Tamm, M. and Stolz, D. (2012) Aspergillus-PCR in bronchoalveolar lavage for detection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. BMC Infectious Diseases 12: 237-244.

Specimen requirements: Throat or respiratory swab, or 0.2 ml water, or fungal culture, or 0.2 ml fresh, frozen or fixed tissue, or environmental surface swab, or cloacal 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 real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

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