Effects of human alpha interferon on experimentally induced equine herpesvirus-1 infection in horses.

The study aimed to investigate the impact of using human alpha interferon as an immunotherapeutic treatment on horses infected with the equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). The results suggest that the proposed treatment did not significantly affect the parameters measured, including febrile responses, nasal discharge, viral shedding, changes in complete blood count (CBC), and EHV-1 antibody levels.

Research Methodology

• The experiment involved eighteen healthy weanling horses, aged 5 to 7 months old, divided evenly into three groups.
• Human alpha-2a interferon was administered orally in two different doses (0.22 or 2.2 U/kg of body weight) to the horses in the first two groups.
• This treatment was given on two days before the horses were inoculated with EHV-1, on the day of inoculation, and one day after.
• The third group was given an oral placebo following the same schedule.
• Subsequent monitoring involved daily observation of body temperature changes and signs of respiratory disease, and daily sample collection for virus isolation. Periodical blood collection was also done for evaluation of CBC, serum IgG and IgM concentrations, and EHV-1 antibody titers.

Research Findings

• All horses displayed signs of infection after EHV-1 inoculation, including febrile responses, nasal discharge, viral shedding, changes in CBC, and increased antibody titers to EHV-1.
• No statistically significant difference was found between the alpha-2a interferon treatment groups and the control group. This suggests that the tested immunotherapy didn’t have a measurable effect on the host’s response to EHV-1 infection.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the low-dose human alpha interferon tested in this study may not be effective as a therapeutic agent against EHV-1 in horses. The parameters measured in the study (body temperature, clinical signs of respiratory diseases, virus isolation, CBC counts, serum IgG and IgM concentrations, and EHV-1 antibody titers) showed no significant differences between the horses that received the interferon treatments and those that were given a placebo.