We've added new PCR tests for swine and bovine diseases -- see our menu for a complete listing.

Parrots moving in or moving out? Try our psittacine PCR screening panel.

Respiratory problems got you breathless? Try our poultry respiratory PCR panel.

Our DRY CARDS let you mail blood samples to Zoologix easily and cheaply from anywhere because DRY CARD samples are small, light and stable at room temperature for several weeks.

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.

Ovine herpesvirus 2 PCR test
avian & livestock assay data sheet

Ovine herpesvirus 2 (malignant catarrhal fever)

Test code: S0176 - Ultrasensitive detection of ovine herpesvirus 2 by real time PCR

Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is a frequently fatal disease of cattle and other ungulates such as deer, antelope, buffalo and bison. It is caused by two viruses which cause inapparent infection in their reservoir hosts: most frequently by ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2) carried by sheep, and less frequently by Alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1) carried by wildebeest. Although the diseases induced in susceptible species by these viruses are indistinguishable, there are some fundamental differences between the two viruses in disease development.

Young animals are most susceptible to MCF. However, studies have shown that under natural conditions, the majority of lambs are not infected by OvHV-2 until after 2 months of age. Placental transmission only rarely occurs in sheep, and colostrum and milk from infected dams play little role in viral transmission, even though they contain virus-infected cells. Both lambs and adult sheep are likely to be infected via horizontal short-distance transmission.

Passively acquired maternal immunity does not affect the rate of infection. Although OvHV-2 DNA can be detected continuously in nasal secretions of most infected sheep, the highest levels of viral DNA predominantly occur between 6 and 9 months of age, suggesting this adolescent period as the time when most virus is shed into the environment. Like other herpesviruses, OvHV-2 infection may result in latent infection which can be reactivated again at any time to shed the virus.

Culture detection of the virus is not very useful because it is very difficult to propagate OvHV-2 in vitro. Diagnosis of the disease by serological methods has low sensitivity and may not be possible because of widespread prior exposure of animals to the virus. However, molecular detection by polymerase chain reaction is rapid, highly sensitive and specific (Mϋller-Doblies et al., 1998).

Utilities:

  • Help confirm the disease causing agent
  • Identify OvHV-2 carriers
  • Help ensure that flocks, herds and wild populations are free of OvHV-2
  • Early prevention of spread of this virus among animals
  • Minimize human exposure to the virus
  • Safety monitoring of biological products that derive from susceptible animals

References:
Mϋller-Doblies, U.U., Li, H., Hauser, B., Adler, H. and Ackermann, M.(1998) Field Validation of Laboratory Tests for Clinical Diagnosis of Sheep-Associated Malignant Catarrhal Fever. J. Clin. Microbiol. 36:2970-2972.

Specimen requirements: 0.2 ml whole blood in EDTA (purple top) tube, or nasal swab, 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

©2003-2024 Zoologix, Inc. • Email Zoologix • Phone (818) 717-8880