African Horse Sickness: A Threat to the United States?

African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) are both members of the genus Orbivirus of the family Reoviridae. Both cause serious, noncontagious but infectious, arthropod-borne diseases in equids and ruminants, respectively. AHSV infects all equids, causing asymptomatic infection in zebra and African donkeys, but it is the most lethal infectious disease of horses

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African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) are both members of the genus Orbivirus of the family Reoviridae. Both cause serious, noncontagious but infectious, arthropod-borne diseases in equids and ruminants, respectively. AHSV infects all equids, causing asymptomatic infection in zebra and African donkeys, but it is the most lethal infectious disease of horses known, with mortality as high as 95%. BTV is thought to infect all known species of ruminants; however, severe disease usually occurs only in certain breeds of sheep and some species of deer. Zebra are thought to be the reservoir host of AHSV in equines and of BTV in bovines.

The distribution of both diseases reflects the presence of their infected arthropod vectors, which are certain species of Culicoides biting midges, the temperature required for viral replication in these vectors, and transmission by these vectors. BTV unexpectedly entered Northern Europe in August of 2006, creating a rapidly spreading bluetongue epizootic in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, and Luxembourg, with over 2,000 cases. The virus overwintered by an unknown mechanism, although the 2006-2007 winter was the second mildest winter in Northern Europe on record. The epizootic continued into 2007, resulting in 45,000 cases. Because of the recent dramatic change in epidemiologic status of BTV and its Culicoides sp. vectors in Europe, both the equine and ruminant industries have become concerned about the potential for entry for these diseases into the United States.

Peracture African horse sickness

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