Evaluation of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus by the Indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay EIA-LAB as Screening Tools in Mexico.
Authors: Rodríguez Domínguez Maria Carla, Montes-de-Oca-Jiménez Roberto, Vázquez Chagoyan Juan Carlos, Pliego Alberto Barbabosa, Varela Guerrero Jorge Antonio, Coroas González Laura Ileana, Bernabé Salvador Lagunas
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
Equine infectious anemia (EIA) remains a significant global health concern with no commercial vaccine available, making reliable diagnostic screening essential for disease control programmes. Researchers in Mexico evaluated a novel indirect ELISA kit (ELISA AIE-LAB), developed by LABIOFAM Group in Cuba, against the existing gold standard agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test to assess its suitability as a complementary or alternative screening tool. The ELISA demonstrated excellent analytical performance with 100% diagnostic sensitivity and 97.6% specificity, alongside outstanding reproducibility (coefficient of variation indicating excellent consistency) and very good concordance with AGID testing (Kappa = 0.9). Given these results, the ELISA AIE-LAB represents a viable diagnostic option that meets international standards for EIA antibody detection and could streamline screening programmes by offering improved throughput and consistency compared to traditional diffusion-based methods. For practitioners in endemic or at-risk regions, adoption of this validated ELISA could enhance herd health management and disease surveillance efficiency, particularly where laboratory capacity or resources may limit repeated AGID testing.
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Practical Takeaways
- •The ELISA AIE-LAB offers a highly sensitive and specific alternative to AGID for screening horses for equine infectious anemia, improving diagnostic efficiency in disease control programs
- •This test demonstrates excellent reliability and consistency, making it dependable for routine diagnostic screening in equine practice
- •Practitioners can use ELISA AIE-LAB with confidence as a complement or replacement for traditional AGID testing, supporting faster disease detection and quarantine decisions
Key Findings
- •ELISA AIE-LAB demonstrated 100% diagnostic sensitivity and 97.6% specificity compared to AGID gold standard
- •Coefficient of variation values were adequate, demonstrating excellent consistency and repeatability of the ELISA AIE-LAB test
- •Very good concordance (Kappa = 0.9) was achieved between ELISA AIE-LAB and both AGID tests
- •ELISA AIE-LAB is suitable for use in Mexico as a diagnostic screening tool for equine infectious anemia virus antibodies per international standards