Detection of equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) in horses with keratoconjunctivitis.
Abstract: The prevalence of EHV-2 in 27 horses with keratoconjunctivitis and 21 clinically healthy horses of different ages and stocks were analyzed. We demonstrated that EHV-2 was present in 12 keratoconjunctivitis cases as shown by nested PCR on ocular swabs. This is statistically more often than in the control group, where only two ocular swabs were EHV-2 positive. Cocultivation was successful on peripheral blood leukocytes of healthy and diseased horses but not on swabs. We isolated ten EHV-2 strains from diseased and nine from control horses, whereas 16 isolates showed different restriction enzyme patterns. The results of immunfluorescence and neutralization tests are predictory only in combination with the nested PCR data on ocular swabs. A successful antiviral treatment in nine out of 16 cases supports the aetiological role of EHV-2 in this ocular disease.
Publication Date: 2001-10-13 PubMed ID: 11597754DOI: 10.1016/s0168-1702(01)00299-4Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Antiviral
- Case Reports
- Clinical Study
- Conjunctiva
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Equine Herpesvirus
- Horses
- Immunofluorescence Assay
- Infectious Disease
- Leukocytes
- Ophthalmology
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
- Virology
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This research studies the presence of equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) in horses suffering from keratoconjunctivitis, revealing a significantly higher occurrence of the virus in such horses compared to healthy ones, and suggesting that EHV-2 could play a key role in causing this eye disease.
Study Sample and Methods
- The study examined a sample of 27 horses with keratoconjunctivitis (inflammation of the cornea and conjunctiva of the eyes), and a control group of 21 clinically healthy horses of varying ages and stocks.
- Both groups were tested for equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) using a technique known as nested PCR on ocular swabs (swabs taken from the eye). This technique amplifies the DNA of the virus if it is present, allowing for detection.
Results
- The tests showed that EHV-2 was present in 12 out of the 27 horses who had keratoconjunctivitis. In contrast, only two out of the 21 healthy horses tested positive for EHV-2. Statistical analysis suggested that the virus is significantly more common in horses with keratoconjunctivitis than in the control group.
- The researchers also tried co-cultivating the virus on peripheral blood leukocytes (white blood cells) of both healthy and diseased horses, but were unable to do so from ocular swabs.
- Notably, EHV-2 was isolated in greater numbers from diseased horses (10) compared to control (9), with 16 of the isolated virus strains showing different restriction enzyme patterns, suggesting genetic diversity in the virus.
Immunofluorescence, Neutralization Tests, and Antiviral Treatments
- Immunofluorescence and neutralization tests were conducted to further understand the relationship between the virus and the disease. However, the predictive value of these tests was only valid when paired with the nested PCR data on ocular swabs.
- The researchers reported that nine out of the sixteen cases treated with antiviral medication saw success, reinforcing the hypothesis that EHV-2 could be a significant factor in keratoconjunctivitis.
Cite This Article
APA
Kershaw O, von Oppen T, Glitz F, Deegen E, Ludwig H, Borchers K.
(2001).
Detection of equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) in horses with keratoconjunctivitis.
Virus Res, 80(1-2), 93-99.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0168-1702(01)00299-4 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institut für Virologie der FU Berlin, Königin-Luise-Strassse 49, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- DNA, Viral / analysis
- Eye / virology
- Herpesviridae Infections / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Keratoconjunctivitis / veterinary
- Rhadinovirus / immunology
- Rhadinovirus / isolation & purification
- Tumor Virus Infections / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Miglinci L, Reicher P, Nell B, Koch M, Jindra C, Brandt S. Detection of Equine Papillomaviruses and Gamma-Herpesviruses in Equine Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Pathogens 2023 Jan 23;12(2).
- de Almeida Campos AC, Cicolo S, de Oliveira CM, Molina CV, Navas-Suárez PE, Poltronieri Dos Santos T, da Silveira VB, Barbosa CM, Baccarin RYA, Durigon EL, Góes LGB, Belli CB, Oliveira DBL. Potential outbreak by herpesvirus in equines: detection, clinical, and genetic analysis of equid gammaherpesvirus 2 (EHV-2). Braz J Microbiol 2023 Jun;54(2):1137-1143.
- Badr C, Souiai O, Arbi M, El Behi I, Essaied MS, Khosrof I, Benkahla A, Chabchoub A, Ghram A. Epidemiological and Phylogeographic Study of Equid Herpesviruses in Tunisia. Pathogens 2022 Sep 5;11(9).
- Onasanya AE, El-Hage C, Diaz-Méndez A, Vaz PK, Legione AR, Browning GF, Devlin JM, Hartley CA. Whole genome sequence analysis of equid gammaherpesvirus -2 field isolates reveals high levels of genomic diversity and recombination. BMC Genomics 2022 Aug 30;23(1):622.
- Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Rola J. Kinetics of the Equid Herpesvirus 2 and 5 Infections among Mares and Foals from Three Polish National Studs. Viruses 2022 Mar 29;14(4).
- Nielsen SS, Alvarez J, Bicout DJ, Calistri P, Canali E, Drewe JA, Garin-Bastuji B, Gonzales Rojas JL, Gortázar C, Herskin M, Michel V, Miranda Chueca MÁ, Roberts HC, Padalino B, Pasquali P, Spoolder H, Ståhl K, Calvo AV, Viltrop A, Winckler C, Carvelli A, Paillot R, Broglia A, Kohnle L, Baldinelli F, Van der Stede Y. Assessment of listing and categorisation of animal diseases within the framework of the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) No 2016/429): infection with Equine Herpesvirus-1. EFSA J 2022 Jan;20(1):e07036.
- Thorsteinsdóttir L, Jónsdóttir S, Stefánsdóttir SB, Andrésdóttir V, Wagner B, Marti E, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V. The effect of maternal immunity on the equine gammaherpesvirus type 2 and 5 viral load and antibody response. PLoS One 2019;14(6):e0218576.
- Marenzoni ML, Stefanetti V, Danzetta ML, Timoney PJ. Gammaherpesvirus infections in equids: a review. Vet Med (Auckl) 2015;6:91-101.
- Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Rola J. Prevalence and sequence analysis of equid herpesviruses from the respiratory tract of Polish horses. Virol J 2018 Jul 11;15(1):106.
- Pennington MR, Ledbetter EC, Van de Walle GR. New Paradigms for the Study of Ocular Alphaherpesvirus Infections: Insights into the Use of Non-Traditional Host Model Systems. Viruses 2017 Nov 18;9(11).
- LeCuyer TE, Rink A, Bradway DS, Evermann JF, Nicola AV, Baszler T, Haldorson GJ. Abortion in a Mediterranean miniature donkey (Equus asinus) associated with a gammaherpesvirus similar to Equid herpesvirus 7. J Vet Diagn Invest 2015 Nov;27(6):749-53.
- Rushton JO, Kolodziejek J, Tichy A, Nowotny N, Nell B. Clinical course of ophthalmic findings and potential influence factors of herpesvirus infections: 18 month follow-up of a closed herd of lipizzaners. PLoS One 2013;8(11):e79888.
- Burnouf T, Griffiths E, Padilla A, Seddik S, Stephano MA, Gutiérrez JM. Assessment of the viral safety of antivenoms fractionated from equine plasma. Biologicals 2004 Sep;32(3):115-28.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
