Several diseases have clinical signs of neurologic dysfunction. However, in cases of equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy (the neurologic form), these neurologic signs reflect diffuse multifocal hemorrhagic vasculitis and thrombosis, meaning the virus has damaged the lining of the blood vessels in the central nervous system, leading to inflammation and clots.

Pam Wilkins, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, of the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, discussed several poorly understood aspects of equine herpesvirus-1 infection (such as latency, vaccination, treatment, and outbreak control) at a 2007 meeting hosted by the C.L. Davis Foundation and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians on Equine Herpesviral Diseases.