Prevalence of serotype specific antibody to equine encephalosis virus in Thoroughbred yearlings in South Africa (1999-2004).

Cohorts of yearlings were sampled over a period of 6 years in a retrospective serological survey to establish the annual prevalence of serotype specific antibody to equine encephalosis virus on Thoroughbred stud farms distributed within defined geographical regions of South Africa. Seasonal seroprevalence varied between 3.6% and 34.

Differentiation of strains of equine arteritis virus of differing virulence to horses by growth in equine endothelial cells.

Objective: To compare growth characteristics of strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) of differing virulence to horses in rabbit kidney (RK)-13 cells and equine endothelial cells (EECs) cultured from the pulmonary artery of a foal.

Sample Population: 13 strains of EAV, including 11 field isolates of differing virulence to horses; the highly virulent, horse-adapted Bucyrus strain; and the modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine derived from it.

Procedure: The growth characteristics of the 13 strains were compared in EECs and RK-13 cells.