Development and application of multiplex PCR assays for detection of virus-induced respiratory disease complex in dogs

PIEWBANG, Chutchai; RUNGSIPIPAT, Anudep; POOVORAWAN, Yong; TECHANGAMSUWAN, Somporn

Diagnosis of CIRDC-associated virus(es) is important for giving the appropriate treatment plan, prognosis and preventive strategies. Various diagnostic tests are available for these infections. However, many are not practical due to their time-consuming process, poor specificity or sensitivity, and costly diagnostic tools [10] . Thus, a rapid molecular technique is an appropriate method of choice for CIRDC virus detection. Because multiple viruses cause CIRDC, including co-infections, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed and has become commercially available as a test for respiratory tract infections [1, 10, 13, 18] . Recently, multiplex real-time PCR (qPCR) has largely replaced the conventional counterpart in order to increase the sensitivity. However, it is challenging, in terms of financial support, in developing countries and so is limited in clinical and practical uses. Thus, using a multiplex PCR would be simple, sensitive and cost-effective to screen for CIRDC viruses. Accordingly, two multiplex PCR assays were developed in this study for the simultaneous detection of CIV, CPIV, CDV, CRCoV, CAdV-2 and CaHV-1.