Direct detection of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1) DNA in heparinized plasma by loop-mediated isothermal amplification

• Published in: Journal of Veterinary Medical Science Vol. 85; no. 4; pp. 459 - 462
• Main Authors: TAKEHANA, Kazuya, MATSUNO, Keita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan JAPANESE SOCIETY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE 2023; Japan Science and Technology Agency; The Japanese Society of Veterinary Science
• Subjects: Animals; Asian elephants (Elephas maximus); Deoxyribonucleic acid; Diagnosis; direct detection; DNA; elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV); Elephants; Gene amplification; Hemorrhagic disease; heparinized plasma; Herpes viruses; Herpesviridae - genetics; Herpesviridae Infections - diagnosis; Herpesviridae Infections - veterinary; loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP); Viremia; Wildlife Science; Asian elephants (Elephas maximus); elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV); heparinized plasma; loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP); direct detection
• ISSN: 0916-7250; 1347-7439; 1347-7439
• DOI: 10.1292/jvms.22-0578

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) causes a fatal hemorrhagic disease and is a significant cause of mortality in juvenile Asian elephants. A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was developed to rapidly diagnose EEHV viremia. However, extracting DNA from whole blood samples to perform LAMP hampers diagnosis in a field setting. Here, we established the Direct-LAMP method, using heparinized plasma without extracting the DNA to speed up and simplify the test. EEHV-positive specimens were tested using the Direct-LAMP. The detection limit was calculated to be 101.3 copies/μL using the mimetic samples, which was almost identical to the value determined in LAMP in which DNA was extracted. Hence, the Direct-LAMP provided a more rapid diagnosis to save, which could prevent elephant deaths.