Development and evaluation of a new lateral flow assay for simultaneous detection of antibodies against African Horse Sickness and Equine Infectious Anemia viruses.

The research article discusses the development and evaluation of a lateral flow assay (LFA) capable of detecting and distinguishing between antibodies of African Horse Sickness and Equine Infectious Anemia viruses in horses, simultaneously.

Background

• The pathogens African horse sickness (AHS) and equine infectious anemia (EIA) are identified as severe, notifiable diseases in the equine family. Both diseases may present similar clinical signs, making identification challenging.
• Due to augmented global movement of horses and equine products, alongside the socio-economic consequences of previous AHS and EIA outbreaks, there has been a raised demand for early identification and rigorous transmission control between endemic and disease-free zones.
• Presently, the prevention and control of either AHS or EIA depend on several measures such as animal movement restriction, vector control, and multiple laboratory techniques for identifying the specific virus.
• The currently available serological tests can only assess antibodies specific to either AHS or EIA individually.

Study Objectives and Methodology

• The study aimed to develop a duplex lateral flow assay (LFA) capable of detecting antibodies against AHS virus (AHSV) and EIA virus (EIAV) in a horse simultaneously, aiding prompt and specific diagnosis.
• The developed duplex LFA is based on the outer core protein of AHSV (AHSV-VP7) and the major core protein of EIAV (EIAV-P26).
• This diagnostic tool was tested and evaluated using experimental and real field serum samples.

Findings

• The results indicate that the developed duplex LFA demonstrated good analytical performance, being successful in detecting and differentiating antibodies against both AHSV and EIAV simultaneously.
• The diagnostic evaluation revealed a good agreement with results from the AHS and EIA tests prescribed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
• The study highlights the potential efficacy of this new AHSV/EIAV duplex LFA for on-field and point-of-care first diagnosis, which could enhance early detection, rapid response, and control of these diseases.