West Nile virus encephalomyelitis in eight horses.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Animals↗
Biomedical subjects
E N Ostlund
Publications and source records attributed to E N Ostlund.
Foxtail-induced ulcerative stomatitis outbreak in a Missouri stable.
Twenty of 25 horses in a well-managed Missouri boarding stable were diagnosed with gingivitis/stomatitis. Gross examination of the affected horses revealed varying degrees of gingivitis ranging from mild periodontal swelling to marked swelling and erythema with ulceration and hemorrhage. Fine hair-like material was embedded within the intensely affected areas. Gingival biopsies from 4 affected horses contained pyogranulomatous inflammation with, in some cases, numerous eosinophils and several grass awns in cross and longitudinal section. Numerous foxtail seed heads were identified in hay samples. Examination of the records revealed that all of the affected horses had been fed the suspect hay, with the exception of 1 horse. Although not deliberately fed the suspect hay, this horse did have access to the hay when turned out into the exercise paddock. The lesions resolved following a change in hay source.
Animals↗
West Nile encephalitis.
WNV encephalitis in horses, previously reported in Africa, Asia, and Europe, occurred for the first time in the Western Hemisphere in 1999. The causative agent, WNV, is a flavivirus maintained in nature by a bird-mosquito cycle. The disease in horses is manifested primarily by ataxia of variable severity. Outbreaks of encephalitis may have a case fatality rate in excess of 40%, although this virus infection is inapparent in some horses. Early evidence indicates that WNV has overwintered in the northeastern United States and poses a threat for future disease occurrences in horses. No vaccine is available to protect against WNV infection in horses; disease control is predicated on mosquito abatement.
Animals↗
Equid herpesvirus-induced immunosuppression is associated with lymphoid cells and not soluble circulating factors.
A paresis isolate of equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV1, Ab4/8) and a plaque-purified virus derived from it (EHV1, Ab4/13), induced long-term suppression of both mitogenic and antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferations in adult outbred ponies. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) taken from a pony after EHV1 infection suppressed the in vitro function of normal cells but serum did not. This showed that the observed immune suppression was associated with circulating PBMC and/or their products rather than circulating soluble factors such as antigen or immune complexes. The results suggested that productive infection of lymphocytes by EHV1 was unlikely to result in the observed in vitro effects. Moreover, prostaglandin release from monocytes was not likely to have caused the observed suppression, because lymphocyte responsiveness was not restored in the presence of indomethacin.
Animals↗
Effect of vaccine-induced immune activation on the performance of early-weaned pigs.
Two groups of 96 pigs were studied to determine the influence of weaning age, nursery site and a challenge to their immune system on their performance. The weaning ages were 11 to 16 days and 16 to 21 days. One nursery was on-site and the second nursery was off-site. Immune activation was stimulated by the administration of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBR) vaccine to half of the pigs at each site. Serum virus neutralisation titres to IBR and total immunoglobulins were monitored in some of the pigs in each group. Performance was measured in terms of feed intake, average daily gain in weight, and feed conversion ratio (FCR). The mean serum immunoglobulin concentrations of all the groups of pigs tended to decrease in the first two weeks after weaning and then increase. Twelve of 20 pigs vaccinated with IBR had neutralisation titres to the virus. The site of the nursery did not significantly affect average daily gain in weight, feed intake or FCR. Pigs weaned at 16 to 21 days of age had a significantly better daily gain in weight than the pigs weaned at 11 to 16 days of age. Immune stimulation of the older weaned pigs did not influence their performance, but it had a significantly (P < 0.016) negative effect on the performance of the younger weaned pigs.
Animal Husbandry↗
The equine herpesviruses.
Two viruses, EHV-1 and EHV-4, are now known to be responsible for disease conditions formerly considered caused by "equine rhinopneumonitis virus." Although these viruses share several laboratory and clinical features, they differ in epidemiology and pathogenic potential. EHV-4 is primarily associated with clinical respiratory disease, whereas EHV-1 is more frequently isolated from aborted fetuses, sickly foals, and neurologic cases. Both viruses frequently establish latent infections, but the relevance of latency to clinical disease is unclear. Diagnosis based on identification of the pathogen is generally superior to serologic methods. Vaccines containing each virus are available, and vaccination in concert with careful management limits the number of clinical cases. Immunity following vaccination or disease is not absolute, however, and improved disease prophylaxis awaits a better understanding of protective immune responses.
Abortion, Veterinary↗
Equid herpesvirus abortion--another piece in the pathogenesis puzzle.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Abortion, Veterinary↗
Equine West Nile encephalitis, United States.
After the 1999 outbreak of West Nile (WN) encephalitis in New York horses, a case definition was developed that specified the clinical signs, coupled with laboratory test results, required to classify cases of WN encephalitis in equines as either probable or confirmed. In 2000, 60 horses from seven states met the criteria for a confirmed case. The cumulative experience from clinical observations and diagnostic testing during the 1999 and 2000 outbreaks of WN encephalitis in horses will contribute to further refinement of diagnostic criteria.
Animals↗
Detection of North American West Nile virus in animal tissue by a reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction assay.
A traditional single-stage reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) procedure is effective in determining West Nile (WN) virus in avian tissue and infected cell cultures. However, the procedure lacks the sensitivity to detect WN virus in equine tissue. We describe an RT-nested PCR (RT-nPCR) procedure that identifies the North American strain of WN virus directly in equine and avian tissues.
Animals↗
West Nile virus outbreak among horses in New York State, 1999 and 2000.
West Nile (WN) virus was identified in the Western Hemisphere in 1999. Along with human encephalitis cases, 20 equine cases of WN virus were detected in 1999 and 23 equine cases in 2000 in New York. During both years, the equine cases occurred after human cases in New York had been identified.
Aedes↗