Department of Veterinary Science, OIE Reference Laboratory for Equine Influenza, Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, 1400 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY, 40546-0099, USA,
Published: January 2015
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
In horses, presumptive diagnosis of equine influenza is commonly made on the basis of clinical signs. This alone is insufficient for confirmation of equine influenza, because other equine infectious respiratory diseases can in some degree have similar clinical presentations. Surveillance and control of equine influenza also necessitate detection of subclinical cases. Effective diagnosis of equine influenza virus infection is critically dependent on obtaining adequate specimens of virus-containing respiratory secretions for testing. These specimens are also valuable as sources for isolation of virus strains for antigenic characterization and potential inclusion in vaccines. Both nasal swabs and nasopharyngeal swabs are employed in horses. These differ little in their invasiveness, but nasopharyngeal swabs typically yield more virus than nasal swabs and are superior diagnostic specimens. Methods for obtaining nasopharyngeal swab specimens are described.
Development of an efficacious universal influenza vaccines remains a long-sought goal. Current vaccines have shortfalls such as mid/low efficacy and needing yearly strain revisions to account for viral drift/shift. Horses undergo bi-annual vaccines for the H3N8 equine influenza virus, and surveillance of sera from vaccinees demonstrated very broad reactivity and neutralization to many influenza strains.
During the past decade (and beyond), neurologists have become aware of the emergence, persistence, and consequences of some familiar and new infections affecting the nervous system. Even among the familiar CNS infections, such as herpes virus, polyoma virus/JC, influenza, arbovirus, and hepatitis, challenges remain in developing effective antiviral treatments and treatments of postinfection sequelae. With the changing environment and increased global travel, arthropod vectors that mediate zoonotic disease transmission have spread unfamiliar viruses such as West Nile virus, dengue, chikungunya, equine encephalitis, and Zika, among others.
Departamento de Medicina y Zootecnia de Cerdos, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico.
Influenza A is a zoonotic disease that affects dogs, pigs, horses, poultry, and birds. In this report, a meta-analysis according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) was conducted. Studies of influenza A viruses in dogs providing prevalence or seroprevalence in any location worldwide were included.
Respiratory disorders (RDs) are a common transport-related welfare consequence in horses. This prospective study described the journeys of horses transported to two slaughterhouses in Italy, documented the prevalence of potentially RD-related pathogens, and identified possible predisposing factors. Data were recorded from arrival until 48 h after arrival and included the collection of Deep Nasopharyngeal Swabs (DNS), journey details and welfare assessment of horses (n = 155).
Recent outbreaks of influenza A(H5N1) have affected many mammal species. We report serologic evidence of H5N1 virus infection in horses in Mongolia. Because H3N8 equine influenza virus is endemic in many countries, horses should be monitored to prevent reassortment between equine and avian influenza viruses with unknown consequences.
