Lawsonia Intracellularis PCR
Sample Requirement | Turnaround Time |
Faeces | Same working day |
Foals between the ages of 4 and 7 months, often weanlings, that develop sudden and marked depression, weight loss, subcutaneous oedema and sometimes diarrhoea, have been identified with proliferative enteropathy caused by Lawsonia intracellularis infection. This life-threatening infection causes thickening of the small intestinal mucosa, which leads to protein-losing enteropathy.
Early diagnosis is essential to guide specific treatment for recovery and we can examine faecal samples (Sterilin universal 30 ml container) from foals with clinical signs by direct qPCR test to detect Lawsonia intracellularis DNA. Faecal shedding of bacteria is variable and can be intermittent, leading to the possibility of false negative results, particularly where antibiotic treatment has already started.
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