Diagnosing Neurologic EHV-1: Back to Basics

From nasal swabs to blood samples, and PCR testing to virus isolation, find out about EHV-1 diagnostic testing
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Imagine the following scenario: Your horse has a fever. He’s recently been exposed to a horse that tested positive for the neurologic strain of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). You call your vet, who comes out and swabs the horse’s nasal passages and draws a tube or two of blood. A few days later you get a call confirming that your horse is positive for EHV-1. What exactly happened from the time your horse’s samples left your barn to when you got that call?

Equine herpesvirus-1 is highly contagious and can cause a variety of ailments in horses, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses), abortion in broodmares, and myeloencephalopathy (the neurologic form). Clinical signs of EHV-1 myeloencephalopathy include fever, ataxia (incoordination), weakness or paralysis of the hind limbs, and incontinence. The virus is generally passed from horse to horse via aerosol transmission (when affected animals sneeze/cough) and contact with nasal secretions, but it isn’t transmissible to humans.

An ongoing outbreak of the virus affecting several Western states and Canadian provinces (believed to have started at the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western Regional Championship competition that ended May 8) has many horse owners asking questions about all aspects of EHV-1. Udeni Balasuriya, BVSc, PhD, professor of virology at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, and Nicola Pusterla, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of California, Davis, shared some insight on what happens when a horse’s sample arrives at the laboratory, and what test results mean

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Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.

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