Equine viral arteritis

Description

Equine viral arteritis (EVA) is an acute, contagious disease caused by equine arteritis virus (EAV) of the genus arterivirus (Family Arteriviridae). Identification of seropositive horses and a semen-culture positive stallion in Australia suggest a low virulence form of this organism has been established in the horse population at a low level. Clinical disease has not yet been recorded.

EVA is usually subclinical, but clinical disease overseas is characterised by pyrexia lasting 1-5 days, subcutaneous oedema of limbs and ventral abdomen, rhinitis and conjunctivitis with nasal and ocular discharge and photophobia, a skin rash, anorexia, depression, dyspnoea and diarrhoea. Up to 70% of pregnant mares abort during the febrile stage. Affected animals usually recover.

Virus is spread by respiratory and venereal transmission. Infection can also spread through indirect contact with virus-contaminated equipment, hands or apparel of animal handlers. Virus is present in semen, respiratory secretions and also in urine, faeces and aborted foetuses.

Diagnosis and tests available

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is supported by history, clinical signs and virological tests

Tests available

Click on + in the tables below for sampling requirements and additional test information

Code	Name	Samples required	Species	Turnaround time	Price (excl. GST)	Notes	Test days
EVA_VI	Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) Virus Isolation (VI) 3 passes	Semen 15-20 ml of sperm rich fraction of ejaculate Submit chilled Fresh tissue Lung, liver, spleen, thymus, lymph node, placenta and foetal fluid from aborted foetus Submit chilled	Equine	2-3W	$174.10	D (number of working days) and W (number of weeks). Test TAT does not include weekends and public holidays. This test is for export purposes only. Please contact Customer Service before submitting samples.	According to demand
EVA_VN	Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) Virus Neutralisation test (VNT)	Clotted blood (Red top) 10 ml of blood collected in a plain red top tube Submit chilled	Equine	3-7D	$55.15	D (number of working days) and W (number of weeks). Test TAT does not include weekends and public holidays.	Batch tested Tuesday & Friday
EVA_RT_PCR	Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA) Real–time PCR	EDTA (Purple top) 10 ml of EDTA blood collected in a purple top tube Submit chilled Fresh tissue Lung, liver, spleen, thymus, lymph node, placenta and foetal fluid from aborted foetus Submit chilled Swab (PBGS) Nasal / nasopharyngeal and conjunctival swabs collected into PBGS Submit chilled Semen	Equine	2-3D	$109.35	D (number of working days) and W (number of weeks). Test TAT does not include weekends and public holidays.	According to demand
HIST_HE1	Histopathology – Preparation & Examination	Fixed Tissues- General Fresh tissues immediately placed in formalin Tissue pieces should not be greater than 1cm cubed to ensure proper fixation Submit fixed in neutral buffered formalin at a 10:1 ratio of formalin: tissue Fixed Tissues- Nervous tissues Submission of whole brain is required to ensure preservation of TSE target sites submit fixed in neutral buffered formalin at a ratio of 10:1 formalin: tissue Brains submitted for Nervous tissues are processed once a week, separate to general tissues to ensure consistent and reliable results. Urgent cases can be processed out of cycle if clearly marked on the Submission Form however this may reduce the quality of the brain histology results, so should only be requested in extremely urgent cases. Fresh Tissues Fresh tissues can be submitted following necropsy The quality of the tissues will be reduced due to the effects of autolysis so ideally fixed tissue should be submitted in neutral buffered formalin at a ratio of 10:1 formalin: tissue	All species	Up to 10D	$84.95	D (number of working days) and W (number of weeks). Test TAT does not include weekends and public holidays.	Monday - Friday

Additional sample requirements

Histopathology specific sample requirements

Fixed tissue
Lung, liver, spleen, thymus and lymph node from aborted foetus Submit fixed in neutral buffered formalin at a ratio of 10:1 formalin: tissue Lung, spleen, lymph nodes draining oedematous areas from adult horse Submit fixed in neutral buffered formalin at a ratio of 10:1 formalin: tissue

Additional Information

Customer Service

Contact Customer Service for enquiries relating to testing and results, quotations and pricing, couriers, sample submission and invoicing.

NSW DPIRD's laboratories are committed to continual improvement of services. If you would like to provide feedback, please fill in and submit the online feedback form.

CONTACT DETAILS
Phone	1800 675 623
Email	laboratory.services@dpird.nsw.gov.au
Operating Hours	8:30am-4:30pm Monday-Friday (excluding public holidays) 8:30am-12:00pm Saturday (for deliveries only)
Postal Address	Private Bag 4008, Narellan NSW 2567

Quotations

For Animal export, Plant health or Veterinary quotations, please complete the online quotation request

Submission Forms

Veterinary Specimen Advice Form

Please Note: These documents are not fully web accessible, please contact Customer Service (laboratory.services@dpird.nsw.gov.au) for more information.

Courier services and specimen delivery

For NSW submissions, please contact the relevant Customer Service team for courier account details and to order consignment notes.

For submitters outside of NSW, Couriers can be contacted directly to make bookings and arrange collection of packages at the submitters own cost.

Commercial couriers may use either road or air transport and specimens should therefore be packed in accordance with International Air Transport Association (IATA) requirements. Most submission sent by veterinarians to the APHL for testing are defined as “Biological Substance Category B” and must be packed according to the IATA packing instructions 650 (Biological Substance Category B). As requirements for transport can change, customers should consult with their transport agent to obtain current requirements.

Samples may also be hand delivered to the site during normal business hours (8.30am - 4.30pm).

Sample Type	Laboratory	Street Address
Animal (including aquatic animals)	NSW Animal and Plant Health Laboratories (APHL)	EMAI, Woodbridge Road, Menangle NSW 2568