A brief introduction to equine influenza and equine influenza viruses.
Abstract: Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a common respiratory pathogen of horses and other equids in most parts of the world. EIV are Type A influenza viruses and two subtypes are known: H3N8 and H7N7. Both are believed to have evolved from avian influenza virus ancestors. The H3N8 subtype circulates widely, but the H7N7 subtype is thought to be extinct. The clinical disease in horses, caused by either subtype, is an upper respiratory infection of varying severity depending upon the immune status of the individual animal. It is not normally life-threatening in itself except in very young foals; however it predisposes infected equids to secondary infections capable of producing life-threatening pneumonias. Vaccines are available and widely used in some horse populations, but their effectiveness is limited by antigenic drift and other factors, and vaccinated animals with subclinical infections have been responsible for introduction of EIV into susceptible populations. EIV has spread into canines.
Publication Date: 2014-06-06 PubMed ID: 24899445DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-0758-8_31Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article is a detailed study on the Equine Influenza Virus (EIV), its origin, impact, and the challenges posed in curbing its spread through vaccines largely among horses, and its transmission into canines.
Understanding Equine Influenza Virus (EIV)
- The study primarily deals with the Equine Influenza Virus (EIV), a prevalent respiratory pathogen primarily affecting equids, a term referring to any member of the horse family including horses, zebras, and donkeys.
- EIV comprises Type A influenza viruses, with two known subtypes, H3N8 and H7N7, both believed to have evolved from avian influenza virus ancestors.
- While H3N8 continues to circulate widely, H7N7 is presumably extinct.
Impact of EIV on Equids
- EIV results in a clinical disease in horses that manifests as an upper respiratory infection. The gravity of this infection tends to fluctuate based on the immune status of the individual animal.
- While EIV doesn’t usually pose an immediate threat to life, foals or young horses are exceptions as it can be life-threatening for them.
- Furthermore, EIV makes infected equids more prone to secondary infections which may cause potentially fatal pneumonias.
Challenges and Limitations in Vaccination
- Some horse populations use available vaccines to control EIV. However, these vaccines’ efficacy is limited due to issues like antigenic drift and other factors.
- Antigenic drift refers to the genetic mutations that accumulate over time as the virus replicates, leading to the emergence of new strains. This mechanism may cause the virus to change to the extent that the existing vaccine no longer provides protection against it.
- Another challenge identified by the study is the role of vaccinated animals with subclinical infections in EIV’s spread. Subclinical infections are those infections that fail to produce noticeable symptoms capable of being identified by a direct examination.
EIV Transmission into Canines
- The study also found out that EIV has crossed species barriers and spread into canines. Therefore, adding another dimension to understand and control EIV’s spread, that is, it can cross species lines.
Cite This Article
APA
Chambers TM.
(2014).
A brief introduction to equine influenza and equine influenza viruses.
Methods Mol Biol, 1161, 365-370.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0758-8_31 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Science, OIE Reference Laboratory for Equine Influenza, Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, 1400 Nicholasville Road, Lexington, KY, 40546-0099, USA, tmcham1@uky.edu.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Epidemiological Monitoring
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horse Diseases / transmission
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses / virology
- Humans
- Influenza A virus / physiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / prevention & control
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / transmission
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections / veterinary
- Vaccination
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Zhang H, Han S, Wang B, Xing Y, Yuan G, Wang Y, Zhao Z, Li G, Li Q, Pan J, Li W, He H. Genetic Characterization and Pathogenesis of Avian Influenza Virus H3N8 Isolated from Chinese pond heron in China in 2021. Viruses 2023 Jan 28;15(2).
- Blanco-Lobo P, Rodriguez L, Reedy S, Oladunni FS, Nogales A, Murcia PR, Chambers TM, Martinez-Sobrido L. A Bivalent Live-Attenuated Vaccine for the Prevention of Equine Influenza Virus. Viruses 2019 Oct 11;11(10).
- Singh RK, Dhama K, Karthik K, Khandia R, Munjal A, Khurana SK, Chakraborty S, Malik YS, Virmani N, Singh R, Tripathi BN, Munir M, van der Kolk JH. A Comprehensive Review on Equine Influenza Virus: Etiology, Epidemiology, Pathobiology, Advances in Developing Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Control Strategies. Front Microbiol 2018;9:1941.
- Wang M, Zhang Z, Wang X. Strain-Specific Antagonism of the Human H1N1 Influenza A Virus against Equine Tetherin. Viruses 2018 May 16;10(5).
- Lloren KKS, Lee T, Kwon JJ, Song MS. Molecular Markers for Interspecies Transmission of Avian Influenza Viruses in Mammalian Hosts. Int J Mol Sci 2017 Dec 13;18(12).
- Sutton TC, Lamirande EW, Czako R, Subbarao K. Evaluation of the Biological Properties and Cross-Reactive Antibody Response to H10 Influenza Viruses in Ferrets. J Virol 2017 Oct 1;91(19).
- Houtsma A, Bedenice D, Pusterla N, Pugliese B, Mapes S, Hoffman AM, Paxson J, Rozanski E, Mukherjee J, Wigley M, Mazan MR. Association between inflammatory airway disease of horses and exposure to respiratory viruses: a case control study. Multidiscip Respir Med 2015;10:33.
- Ding J, Wang Y, Liang J, He Z, Zhai C, He Y, Xu J, Lei L, Mu J, Zheng M, Liu B, Shi M. Spatiotemporal pattern and suitable areas analysis of equine influenza in global scale (2005-2022). Front Vet Sci 2024;11:1395327.
- Trovão NS, Khan SM, Lemey P, Nelson MI, Cherry JL. Comparative evolution of influenza A virus H1 and H3 head and stalk domains across host species. mBio 2024 Jan 16;15(1):e0264923.
- Wang X, Zheng H, Gao R, Ren L, Jin M, Ji Z, Wang X, Lu X, Yang W, Gu M, Liu X, Hu S, Liu K, Liu X. Genetically Related Avian Influenza H7N9 Viruses Exhibit Different Pathogenicity in Mice. Animals (Basel) 2023 Nov 28;13(23).
- Taubenberger JK, Kash JC, Morens DM. The 1918 influenza pandemic: 100 years of questions answered and unanswered. Sci Transl Med 2019 Jul 24;11(502).
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