Diagnosis of the aleutian mink disease using the molecular genetic method

Abstract

Today, fur farming continues to incur huge losses because of the Aleutian mink disease. Frequently, the pathogen enters the territory of farms together with newly imported mink livestock, which is why the applied immunoelectroosmophoresis reaction has low efficiency if the antibodies have not yet reached a certain level. So for this reason, the problem of accurate and early diagnosis of viral plasmocytosis in newly imported quarantine livestock becomes urgent. The study was carried out using PCR diagnostics of fecal samples from a newly imported population of minks of 30-day age in the fur farm of the North-Western region. Before taking fecal samples, all animals were examined by clinical methods. PCR diagnostics was performed using a set of reagents «Test system "ABN"» according to the manufacturer's instructions. According to the results of the experiment, it was found that out of 40 selected animals without clinical signs of the disease, 29 managed to detect the DNA of the causative agent of viral plasmocytosis. Thus, the use of PCR diagnostics as a method of identifying the Aleutian mink disease virus for newly imported livestock will prevent the development and spread of the disease already at its early stages.