PCR for equine infectious anemia virus detection in whole blood from naturally infected horses in Colombia

Abstract

The equine infectious anemia virus is associated with a variety of clinical symptoms that include anorexia, weight loss, pirexia, and anemia. Serological tests and reverse transcriptase nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nPCR) have been used to detect EIAV in infected horses. In the present study, the use of non-nested PCR for the detection of EIAV gag gene sequences in peripheral blood cells DNA from horses bred in farms around Medellín (Colombia) is reported. EIAV DNA was detected by PCR in blood cells from fifteen horses, which had been found positive in an agar gel immunodiffusion test, despite the absence of clinical symptoms of expression. An amplified product to about 1.300 bp was obtained with a round of PCR without requiring nested PCR or RT-PCR.