EHV-1 Neurologic Disease a Challenge for Researchers

Despite the remarkable advances in understanding neurologic disease in horses, including the identification of the single genetic mutation that gives rise to the neuropathogenic form of equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1), virologists continue to experience frustrations when it comes to studying EHV-1 in the experimental setting.

EHV-1 causes abortion, neonatal death, and

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite the remarkable advances in understanding neurologic disease in horses, including the identification of the single genetic mutation that gives rise to the neuropathogenic form of equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1), virologists continue to experience frustrations when it comes to studying EHV-1 in the experimental setting.

EHV-1 causes abortion, neonatal death, and myeloencephalopathy in horses. It is known that EHV-1 can lie dormant in lymph nodes, lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell), or the trigeminal nerve, and can be reactivated at a future point in time to potentially infect susceptible horses.

It is also known that not all horses are equally susceptible to EHV-1 infection. Horses younger than three years of age have a lower risk of developing neurologic disease whereas Warmblood breeds, Thoroughbreds, and Standardbreds are more commonly affected than other breeds such as Shetland and Icelandic ponies.

In an attempt to create a model to better study the secrets of the neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1, Marianne M. Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, and colleagues attempted to infect four horses with the neuropathologic form of EHV-1 using a large, inhaled dose inoculation. Only one of the four (25%) horses developed characteristic signs of EHV-1-associated myeloencephalopathy (EHM) which was accompanied by viremia (EHV-1 in the bloodstream)

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
326 votes · 326 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!