4 Jun 2020
“Publication of this research is important as it provides veterinarians with additional evidence of the commercial test’s accuracy” – Corrine Austin, director at Austin Davis Biologics.
Vet Times
Job Title
Research underpinning the commercialised blood test for diagnosing small redworm (cyathostomin) infections in horses has been published in the International Journal of Parasitology.
The paper describes research undertaken to define the final format of the test that was developed at Moredun Research Institute and commercialised by Austin Davis Biologics in September 2019.
A new antigen was discovered to be important in accurately identifying cyathostomin burdens when combined with previously identified cyathostomin antigens in an ELISA detecting cyathostomin-specific IgG(T) antibodies in horse serum.
The three-antigen cocktail was identified as being the most suitable for a commercial test to detect all stages of the small redworm life cycle, including the all-important encysted larval phase.
Until now it has not been possible to test for encysted small redworm, as faecal egg counts only detect the presence of egg-laying adult worms.
Horses harbouring a large burden of encysted larvae that emerge en masse from the intestinal wall can develop clinical symptoms such as diarrhoea and colic, which can be fatal (larval cyathostominosis).
Moxidectin is the only dewormer capable of eliminating the encysted stages for which worm resistance is not known to be widespread. As a result, targeted treatment is required.
Blood test results allow veterinarians to make decisions about treatment in individual horses or groups.
Jacqui Matthews, chief technology officer at Roslin Technologies and test inventor, said: “This research paper describes the selection of antigens that provide coverage for detecting the commonest cyathostomin species found globally.“
Austin Davis Biologics director Corrine Austin said: “Publication of this research is important as it provides veterinarians with additional evidence of the commercial test’s accuracy.
“Following on from this published research, we conducted additional validation and optimisation of the test for use on robotic systems.”
