The reason why there is no effective test prior to development of symptoms is two-fold: a) the first symptom of ECE is its horrible symtoms - 48 hours doesn't give you a lot of time. b) until a virus can be grown, there is no possibility of a test. Coronaviruses are notoriously difficult to grow - the coronavirus that causes feline infectious peritonitis took almost ten years in one of the best labs around. Why is there no effective treatment? Because this is a viral enteritis. There is no effective antiviral drugs in veterinary medicine. We treat symptoms and sequelae. Pharmacologically, we still can't directly treat viruses - they aren't susceptible to antibiotics. With kindest regards, Bruce Williams, DVM [Posted in FML issue 3404]