Epizootiological investigation of the most important infectious equine diseases in Greece.
Abstract: During the period 2001 to 2008, a total of 7,872 equine sera were tested at the Centre of Veterinary Institutes of Athens. Antibodies against seven infectious diseases of equids were determined: equine infectious anaemia (EIA), African horse sickness (AHS), equine viral arteritis (EVA), West Nile encephalitis (WNE), glanders, piroplasmosis and dourine. Tests for the four viral diseases found 4.5% seropositivity for EIA, 0% for AHS, 3.3% for EVA and 4% for WNE. All sera tested for glanders antibodies were negative. Tests for piroplasmosis detected antibodies against T. equi and B. caballi in 12.9% and 1.3% of the sera, respectively. No sample tested positive for dourine. The results of this epidemiological survey provide strong evidence that Greece is free from the diseases of AHS, glanders and dourine.
Publication Date: 2014-04-26 PubMed ID: 24761730DOI: 10.20506/rst.32.2.2217Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article provides an analysis of major infectious horse diseases in Greece, conducted between 2001 and 2008, concluding that Greece is free from African horse sickness, glanders, and dourine.
Methodology
- The researchers collected a whopping 7,872 horse sera samples from the period 2001 to 2008.
- These samples were then tested at the Centre of Veterinary Institutes of Athens against seven infectious horse diseases namely: equine infectious anaemia (EIA), African horse sickness (AHS), equine viral arteritis (EVA), West Nile encephalitis (WNE), glanders, piroplasmosis and dourine.
Findings
- The antibodies tests for the four viral diseases resulted in 4.5% seropositivity for EIA, 0% for AHS, 3.3% for EVA, and 4% for WNE.
- None of the horse sera tested showed positive results for glanders (indicative of a glanders-free equine population in Greece).
- Piroplasmosis antibody tests detected antibodies against T. equi and B. caballi in 12.9% and 1.3% of the examined horse sera, respectively.
- All samples tested negative for dourine, which implies the disease does not affect Greece’s equine population.
Conclusion
- Based on the findings of this study, the researchers concluded that Greece is free from African horse sickness (AHS), glanders, and dourine.
- This epizootiological investigation provides robust scientific evidence for the claims of Greece being free from the aforementioned horse diseases.
Cite This Article
APA
Mangana-Vougiouka O, Boutsini S, Ntousi D, Patakakis M, Orfanou E, Zafiropoulou K, Dilaveris D, Panagiotatos D, Nomikou K.
(2014).
Epizootiological investigation of the most important infectious equine diseases in Greece.
Rev Sci Tech, 32(3), 775-787.
https://doi.org/10.20506/rst.32.2.2217 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Commerce
- Communicable Diseases / epidemiology
- Communicable Diseases / veterinary
- Greece / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horses
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Serologic Tests / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Gonzálvez M, Franco JJ, Cano-Terriza D, Barbero-Moyano J, Jose-Cunilleras E, García J, Alguacil E, García-Bocanegra I. Equine Infectious Anemia Virus in Equids: A Large-Scale Serosurvey in Western Europe. Animals (Basel) 2025 Dec 4;15(23).
- Raftery AG, Gummery L, Garcia K, Mohite D, Capewell P, Sutton DGM. Equine trypanosomiasis, a systematic review and meta-analyses: Prevalence, morbidity and mortality. Equine Vet J 2026 Mar;58(2):291-319.
- Duaso J, Perez-Ecija A, Navarro A, Martínez E, De Las Heras A, Mendoza FJ. True Prevalence and Seroprevalence of Piroplasmosis in Horses in Southwestern Europe. Animals (Basel) 2025 Jul 11;15(14).
- Gothe LMR, Ganzenberg S, Ziegler U, Obiegala A, Lohmann KL, Sieg M, Vahlenkamp TW, Groschup MH, Hörügel U, Pfeffer M. Horses as Sentinels for the Circulation of Flaviviruses in Eastern-Central Germany. Viruses 2023 Apr 30;15(5).
- Efstratiou A, Karanis G, Karanis P. Tick-Borne Pathogens and Diseases in Greece. Microorganisms 2021 Aug 14;9(8).
- Vilibic-Cavlek T, Savic V, Petrovic T, Toplak I, Barbic L, Petric D, Tabain I, Hrnjakovic-Cvjetkovic I, Bogdanic M, Klobucar A, Mrzljak A, Stevanovic V, Dinjar-Kujundzic P, Radmanic L, Monaco F, Listes E, Savini G. Emerging Trends in the Epidemiology of West Nile and Usutu Virus Infections in Southern Europe. Front Vet Sci 2019;6:437.
- Gossner CM, Marrama L, Carson M, Allerberger F, Calistri P, Dilaveris D, Lecollinet S, Morgan D, Nowotny N, Paty MC, Pervanidou D, Rizzo C, Roberts H, Schmoll F, Van Bortel W, Gervelmeyer A. West Nile virus surveillance in Europe: moving towards an integrated animal-human-vector approach. Euro Surveill 2017 May 4;22(18).
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