Visna virus

Visna-maedi virus is a small ruminant lentivirus that causes a slowly progressive, lifelong infection in sheep and goats. It produces chronic interstitial pneumonia (maedi), demyelinating encephalitis (visna), indurative mastitis and arthritis, leading to weight loss, lower milk production and early culling. Since there is no vaccine or treatment, control relies on detecting and removing infected animals.

The OneqPCR-realtime™ Visna virus Kit is a ready-to-use assay for the specific detection of Visna virus RNA by one-step real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR): reverse transcription and amplification take place in a single tube. Specific primers and a FAM-labelled hydrolysis probe amplify the target, while an internal control detected in the HEX channel reveals possible PCR inhibition or extraction failure. Positive and negative controls are included, and results can be analysed qualitatively or quantitatively using a standard curve.