Experimental vesicular stomatitis virus infection in horses: effect of route of inoculation and virus serotype.
Abstract: Horses were inoculated with Vesicular stomatitis New Jersey and Indiana viruses by routes simulating contact and vector transmission. Clinical signs, lesions, antibody development, viral shedding and persistence, and viremia were monitored. Horses were infected with both viruses by all routes as confirmed by seroconversion. Salivation, primary lesions at inoculation sites, and secondary oral lesions were the most common clinical findings. Viral shedding was most often from the oral cavity, followed by the nasal cavity; titers were highest from oral cavity samples. Virus was rarely isolated from the conjunctival sac and never from feces or blood. Development of neutralizing antibody coincided with cessation of lesion development and detection of virus by isolation. Circulating virus-specific IgM, IgG, IgA, and neutralizing antibodies developed in most animals postinoculation (PI) days 6 to 12, depending on the route of inoculation. At postmortem (PI days 12 to 15), lesions were healing, were not vesicular, and did not contain detectable virus by isolation, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, or immunohistochemistry. Numerous infiltrating lymphocytes and plasma cells suggested that lesion resolution was partially due to local immunity. Detection of viral RNA from tonsil and lymph nodes of head at necropsy suggests that these tissues play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease; molecular techniques targeting these tissues may be useful for confirming infection in resolving stages of disease. The routes of inoculation used in this study reflect the diversity of transmission routes that may occur during outbreaks and can be used to further study contact and vector transmission, vaccine development, and clarify pathogenesis of the disease in horses.
Publication Date: 2006-11-14 PubMed ID: 17099151DOI: 10.1354/vp.43-6-943Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The study shows that horses can get infected with Vesicular stomatitis New Jersey and Indiana viruses through both contact and vector transmission with symptoms such as salivation, lesions at injection sites and secondary oral lesions. A comprehensive understanding of the infection route, viral shedding, development of neutralizing antibodies, persistence of the virus, and the role of the tonsils and lymph nodes in the disease pathogenesis is being investigated.
Methodology and Results
- The experiment involved infecting horses with Vesicular stomatitis New Jersey and Indiana viruses using various methods that simulated contact and vector transmission.
- Clinical signs, lesions, antibodies, viral shedding and persistence, and viremia were monitored.
- Horses were found to be infected with both viruses regardless of the route of inoculation. This was confirmed through seroconversion – a process where the body starts producing antibodies in response to an infection.
- The most common clinical findings were salivation, primary lesions at inoculation sites and secondary oral lesions.
Viral Shedding and Antibody Development
- Viral shedding was found to be most common from the oral cavity, followed by the nasal cavity, with the highest viral titers originating from orally taken samples.
- The virus was rarely found in the conjunctival sac, and never found in the feces or blood.
- The development of neutralizing antibodies corresponded with the cessation of lesion development and detection of virus presence via isolation.
- Various types of antibodies were developed within 6 to 12 days of inoculation depending on the route of infection.
Post-Inoculation Observations
- Post-inoculation, the lesions were healing and were not vesicular, and did not contain detectable virus as determined by various diagnostic methods.
- Increased presence of lymphocytes and plasma cells indicated that local immunity played a part in the healing of the lesions.
- The presence of viral RNA in the tonsils and lymph nodes at necropsy suggests that these tissues may play a role in the disease pathogenesis. This finding suggests that molecular techniques targeting these tissues may be useful for confirming infection in resolving stages of disease.
- The results suggest that the diversity of transmission routes used in this study can be useful in further research on contact and vector transmission, vaccine development and understanding of disease pathogenesis in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Howerth EW, Mead DG, Mueller PO, Duncan L, Murphy MD, Stallknecht DE.
(2006).
Experimental vesicular stomatitis virus infection in horses: effect of route of inoculation and virus serotype.
Vet Pathol, 43(6), 943-955.
https://doi.org/10.1354/vp.43-6-943 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. ehowerth@vet.uga.edu
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / blood
- Female
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Immunoglobulin A / blood
- Immunoglobulin G / blood
- Immunoglobulin M / blood
- Male
- Mouth / pathology
- Mouth / virology
- Rhabdoviridae Infections / veterinary
- Rhabdoviridae Infections / virology
- Stomatitis / veterinary
- Stomatitis / virology
- Vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus / isolation & purification
- Vesiculovirus
- Virus Shedding
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Cooper CL, Morrow G, Yuan M, Postler TS, Neal ML, Cross RW, Woolsey C, Agans KN, Borisevich V, McNamara RP, Atyeo C, Roy V, Germosen D, Hou F, Li SL, Reiserova L, Choi Y, Wilson A, Wagner D, Wallace-Selman O, Carpov A, Geng F, Frederick DJ, DeStefano J, Ercolini AM, Enriquez AS, Hastie KM, Ramos da Silva S, Sayeed E, Coleman JW, Kilianski A, Alter G, Saphire EO, Aitchison JD, Geisbert TW, Gupta SB, Feinberg MB, Parks CL. Preclinical development of a replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus-based Lassa virus vaccine candidate advanced into human clinical trials. EBioMedicine 2025 Apr;114:105647.
- Ahmed MM, Okesanya OJ, Ukoaka BM, Ibrahim AM, Lucero-Prisno DE 3rd. Vesicular Stomatitis Virus: Insights into Pathogenesis, Immune Evasion, and Technological Innovations in Oncolytic and Vaccine Development. Viruses 2024 Dec 18;16(12).
- Zhou LH, Valdez F, Lopez Gonzalez I, Freysser Urbina W, Ocaña A, Tapia C, Zambrano A, Hernandez Solis E, Peters DPC, Mire CE, Navarro R, Rodriguez LL, Hanley KA. Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Transmission Dynamics Within Its Endemic Range in Chiapas, Mexico. Viruses 2024 Nov 6;16(11).
- Humphreys JM, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, Shults PT, Velazquez-Salinas L, Bertram MR, McGregor BL, Cohnstaedt LW, Swanson DA, Scroggs SLP, Fautt C, Mooney A, Peters DPC, Rodriguez LL. Modeling the 2014-2015 Vesicular Stomatitis Outbreak in the United States Using an SEIR-SEI Approach. Viruses 2024 Aug 18;16(8).
- Mashin VV, Sergeev AN, Martynova NN, Sergeev AA, Lys'ko KA, Raikov AO, Kataeva VV, Zagidullin NV. Viral Safety Issues in the Production and Manufacturing of Human Immunoglobulin Preparations from Equine Plasma/Serum. Pharm Chem J 2022;56(4):532-537.
- Rozo-Lopez P, Londono-Renteria B, Drolet BS. Impacts of Infectious Dose, Feeding Behavior, and Age of Culicoides sonorensis Biting Midges on Infection Dynamics of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus. Pathogens 2021 Jun 29;10(7).
- Velazquez-Salinas L, Pauszek SJ, Holinka LG, Gladue DP, Rekant SI, Bishop EA, Stenfeldt C, Verdugo-Rodriguez A, Borca MV, Arzt J, Rodriguez LL. A Single Amino Acid Substitution in the Matrix Protein (M51R) of Vesicular Stomatitis New Jersey Virus Impairs Replication in Cultured Porcine Macrophages and Results in Significant Attenuation in Pigs. Front Microbiol 2020;11:1123.
- Rozo-Lopez P, Drolet BS, Londoño-Renteria B. Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Transmission: A Comparison of Incriminated Vectors. Insects 2018 Dec 11;9(4).
- Velazquez-Salinas L, Pauszek SJ, Stenfeldt C, O'Hearn ES, Pacheco JM, Borca MV, Verdugo-Rodriguez A, Arzt J, Rodriguez LL. Increased Virulence of an Epidemic Strain of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Is Associated With Interference of the Innate Response in Pigs. Front Microbiol 2018;9:1891.
- Presloid JB, Mohammad TF, Lauring AS, Novella IS. Antigenic diversification is correlated with increased thermostability in a mammalian virus. Virology 2016 Sep;496:203-214.
- Smith PF, Howerth EW, Carter D, Gray EW, Noblet R, Berghaus RD, Stallknecht DE, Mead DG. Host predilection and transmissibility of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus strains in domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and swine (Sus scrofa). BMC Vet Res 2012 Oct 3;8:183.
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