There is now a quick, stall-side test to know if your horse has an infection. A new tool in our box called Serum Amyloid A by StableLab is useful for veterinarians to check levels of a protein found in the blood called Serum Amyloid A. Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is a major acute phase protein in horses. In normal, healthy horses it is low; with inflammation or infection it can become elevated in as little as 6-12 hours.
This test can be run stall-side or in-clinic to help determine if a horse has inflammation versus infection, or to help with evaluating the response to treatment quicker than previously able to. Other common lab work that can be run in conjunction with SAA include complete blood counts (CBC) and blood chemistry.