Equine insect bite hypersensitivity: Are molecular diagnostic tests the future?

摘要

The study by Dr Nathalie van der Meide of the Cell Biology and Immunology Group at Wageningen University, and her colleagues, published in a recent issue of The Veterinary Journal, evaluated a diagnostic ELISA for equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) using recombinant Culicoides Obsoletus complex allergens, which has the potential to considerably improve diagnosis of IBH ( van der Meide et al., 2014). The study builds on many years of research, by different groups, who identified allergens from laboratory-bred and wild Culicoides spp. at the molecular level and then produced these as recombinant proteins ( Langner et al., 2009; Schaffartzik et al, 2010 and Schaffartzik et al, 2011; van der Meide et al., 2013).