Publications by authors named "Helena Back"
The aim of this study was to identify respiratory viruses circulating amongst elite racehorses in a training yard by serological testing of serial samples and to determine their impact on health status and ability to race. A six-month longitudinal study was conducted in 30 Thoroughbred racehorses (21 two-year-olds, five three-year-olds and four four-year-olds) during the Flat racing season. Sera were tested for the presence of antibodies against equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) and equine rhinitis viruses A and B (ERAV and ERBV) by complement fixation (CF) and equine arteritis virus (EAV) by ELISA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEquine Influenza Virus (EIV) is a major cause of respiratory disease in horses and the virus constantly undergoes antigenic drift. Here we characterize and describe the HA1 and the NA genes of H3N8 within samples obtained from outbreaks in Sweden during November-December 2011. Both clade 1 and clade 2 viruses of the Florida sublineage were identified.
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- Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5), related to the Epstein-Barr virus, has been linked to equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF), challenging earlier beliefs of its low pathogenicity.
- The study involved collecting samples from eight healthy horses and one horse with EMPF over one year to analyze the partial glycoprotein B (gB) gene of EHV-5 using next-generation sequencing, yielding 27 sequences and identifying four genotypes.
- Findings revealed varying interactions between EHV-5 and its equine hosts, with some horses harboring persistent virus strains while others exhibited more dynamic infection patterns, indicating a need for further research on the virus-host relationship.
Introduction: While clinical respiratory disease is considered a main cause of poor performance in horses, the role of subclinical respiratory virus infections is less clear and needs further investigation.
Aims And Objectives: In this descriptive longitudinal study the relationship of markers of subclinical respiratory viral activity to occurrence of poor performance in racing Standardbred trotters was investigated.
Material And Methods: 66 elite Standardbred trotters were followed for 13 months by nasal swabs analysed with qPCR for equine influenza virus, equine arteritis virus, equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV), equine herpesvirus type 1(EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) and serology to equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV), ERBV, EHV-1 and EHV-4, as well as the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA).
Article Synopsis
- Recent studies have reevaluated the equine gamma herpesviruses EHV-2 and EHV-5, previously thought to be harmless, suggesting a potential link to respiratory diseases in horses.
- A 13-month study monitored 66 elite Standardbred trotters for nasal shedding of these viruses, finding 30% positive for EHV-2 and 74% for EHV-5 among 663 samples collected.
- The research revealed significant variability in viral shedding patterns among individual horses, but no direct connection was found between higher viral loads and respiratory disease or poor performance.
A standardbred gelding with a history of 10 days pyrexia and lethargy was referred to the Equine Hospital at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden.The horse had tachypnea with increased respiratory effort and was in thin body condition. Laboratory findings included leukocytosis, hyperfibrinogenemia and hypoxemia.
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