WEST NILE VIRUS
Posted by Doug Stearn, DVM on 6/2/2008 to
WEST NILE VIRUS
West Nile Virus (WNV) is a Flavivirus that can cause encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the nervous system) or potentially death in horses and humans. It was first noted in the United States in 1999 on Long Island , New York . Since
Serum Antibody Products
Posted by Michael D. Piontkowski, DVM on 5/2/2001 to
C&D ANTITOXIN
Serum antibody products are as the name implies, derived from serum, the fraction of whole blood that contains the disease-fighting proteins known as antibodies. Antibodies are produced by normal animals in response to an antigen (in our case, bacteria or bacterial toxins) and are very specific for that antigen. An antigen, in the presence of its specific antibodies is destroyed or neutralized. The end result is an animal immune to that antigen. One way to produce antibodies (immunity) is to vaccinate, but that takes time. An alternate method to produce immunity is to provide the actual antibodies in a ready-to-use format, or a serum antibody product.