From:
daneedv@aol.com
Date: 2002-06-12 10:51:00 UTC
Subject: ADV Research at the U of GA
Many people often ask exactly what type of research the group at the U of GA is doing. Understandably, before they donate money, they want to know what the money will be supporting.
I am in the process of getting some information about this from Dr. Ritchie, who heads the team. In the meantime, here is some information people might find interesting. This is an excerp from an email I received from Dr. Stevenson. She has indicated I can share this with people that are interested in learning more about what they are doing.
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>>Kate is continuing on some very interesting projects. We had >>difficulty
>>getting DNA sequence just from PCR products that we >>generated from positive
>>clinical samples (either serum, urine, or tissue extracts), >>so she has been
>>cloning PCR products into DNA vectors that should allow us >>to get really
>>reliable sequence. We have positive samples from many >>different parts of the
>>country, so we are hoping to compare the sequences to see if >>there are
>>differences in the virus strains in different parts of the >>country. Also,
>>this sequence should help us make a better "probe" for the >>tissue staining
>>test that Kate has been working on for over a year now.
For some, this may seem like a very slow process, but remember, very little research has actually been done on ADV-F, the ADV strain that affects ferrets. The majority of work that has been done in the past was done on the mink strains, and while there are many similarities, there are also many differences.
I hope that everyone will continue to support this important research, in whatever way they are able. All ferrets will ultimately benefit from this work, and hopefully someday we will have a useful treatment or vaccine against ADV.
Danee