AIE

Equine Infectious Anemia is an equine infectious disease caused by a lentivirus, the Equine Infectious Anemia virus. The disease is characterized by three different clinical forms: acute, chronic and inapparent.

The lentivirus has RNA as genetic material. Despite of the genetic mutations between the different virus samples, the p26 protein used in diagnostic tests is stable and specific to all EIA virus samples.

The EIA virus shows in vivo macrophage tropism, but in vitro it can replicate in other cells. Viral replication is performed in long-term fibroblastic cell cultures arising from 0.2 to 1.2 µm vesicles originated from the equine dermis (photograph of the cell below).

The immunodiffusion technique in agar is the the "golden diagnostic test" for EIA. The test detects antibodies against the p26 antigen from the EIA virus (main protein of the viral core).

The advantage that the immunodiffusion technique has in the diagnostic of the Equine Infectious Anemia is the ability to differentiate antigens that are molecularly close due to the identity reaction.

Picture: Laboratórios Bruch Ltda, registred in INPI, required patent.

Cell with 20 µm in diameter. Double nuclear membrane is distinguished in the bottom edge of the nucleus (big arrows). Presence of nuclear pores (small arrows). In the cytoplasm and around the nucleous, there are several Golgi formations, two of them with fused cisternae (G). Secretory vesicles with granulations inside (vd) with average size of 400 nm.

We are in the veterinary industry for more than two decades, manufacturing the Equine Infectious Anemia Diagnostic kit for the past 10 years. Bruch Laboratories has over than 600 customers in Brazil and exports to Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia. From 1999 to 2000 Bruch Laboratories was the only EIA antigen manufacturer in South America, what provided us a large experience in the EIA protein industrial processes, commercialization and distribution. We continue to be the largest producer and we are honored by the preference of the veterinarians.

Bruch is a national company with Total Quality Management and Production, which has as main objective our customers and the management continuous improvement. To fulfill our customers' needs and to adapt to the variations of the disease in field, we have a continuous improvement of the product, which is the reason why Bruch's EIA kit detects more "weak positives" and "very weak positives" cases than its competitors.