The Veterinary Record, Vol 151, Issue 9, 258-260
Copyright © 2002 by British Veterinary Association

Evaluation of the SNAP Foal IgG test for the semiquantitative measurement of immunoglobulin G in foals

¹ Department of Medicine and Epidemiology
² Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Drive, Davis, CA 95616-8737, USA
³ Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, 1 Shields Drive, Davis, CA 95616-8737, USA

The SNAP Foal IgG test (IDEXX) as evaluated for its accuracy and usefulness by measuring blood samples collected from 42 foals between 24 and 48 hours after birth. The results were compared with the single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) test as the reference method. The SNAP test was quick and easy to perform, and the results were similar to those obtained by SRID in 64 per cent of the samples. The best results were found with low (400 mg/dl) and high (800 mg/dl) concentrations of immunoglobulin G, with an accuracy of 80 per cent and 89 per cent, respectively. The intermediate concentrations were usually lower when measured by the SNAP test than by the SRID test, possibly owing to the variable volume of blood added to the test with the sample loop.