Getah virus infection of Indian horses.
Abstract: An outbreak of disease, characterized by depression, anorexia, fever, limb oedema and lymphocytopenia, occurred on a farm for thoroughbreds in India in 1990. Twenty-six of the 88 horses on the farm were affected, predominantly adults. Signs were present in affected horses for 7-10 days, and the outbreak lasted 21 days. Seven of the 26 affected horses were tested for exposure to Getah virus using paired serum samples, acute and convalescent. Four of the 7 horses seroconverted to Getah virus, and the other three showed a 4-fold or greater rise in titre. The clinical and laboratory findings were similar, but not indentical, to those described in natural and experimental infections in Japanese horses. This is the first description of disease caused by Getah virus infection in horses outside Japan. In addition serum samples from 152 horses from 3 regions of India were evaluated for the presence of antibodies to Getah virus. The seroprevalence was found to be 17%, indicating exposure to the virus elsewhere in Indian horses.
Publication Date: 1998-10-07 PubMed ID: 9760716DOI: 10.1023/a:1005079229232Google 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
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 documents an outbreak of disease caused by the Getah Virus in horses on an Indian farm in 1990, where twenty-six out of 88 horses were affected, and how four out of seven horses developed antibodies against the virus, marking the first occasion of such an occurrence outside Japan.
Background & Objectives
- The study aimed to document and analyze a peculiar outbreak of disease observed in a stable of horses in India, characterized by noticeable symptoms including depression, anorexia, fever, swelling of limbs, and a decrease in lymphocytes – a type of white blood cell integral to the immune system.
- The outbreak, which occurred in 1990, affected 26 out of the 88 resident horses, with adults being the primary victims.
- The symptoms were present in the affected horses for a period of 7-10 days while the entire outbreak lasted for 21 days overall.
Investigation and Findings
- To identify the cause of the outbreak, seven out of the twenty-six infected horses were tested for exposure to Getah virus. This procedure involved analyzing paired serum samples in both the initial stage of infection and the recovery phase.
- The results showed that four out of the seven tested horses seroconverted (developed specific antibodies) to the Getah virus, indicating that the virus was indeed the causative agent of the disease. The remaining three horses exhibited a fourfold or more increase in their antibody levels – further evidence of their exposure to the virus.
- The clinical and laboratory findings from the investigation tallied with, but were not identical to, those seen in previous cases of Getah virus infections in Japanese horses.
Comparison with Previous Cases and Further Investigations
- This is the first time a disease caused by the Getah virus was recorded in horses outside Japan, a critical addition to scientific knowledge of where this virus can spread.
- Towards the end of the study, serum samples from 152 additional horses from three different regions in India were examined to search for the presence of Getah virus antibodies.
- The results revealed a seroprevalence (the level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum) of 17%. This finding implies that nearly one-fifth of the tested population had exposure to the virus, suggesting its wider presence in the equine population of India.
Cite This Article
APA
Brown CM, Timoney PJ.
(1998).
Getah virus infection of Indian horses.
Trop Anim Health Prod, 30(4), 241-252.
https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1005079229232 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Alphavirus
- Alphavirus Infections / epidemiology
- Alphavirus Infections / veterinary
- Animals
- Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses / virology
- India / epidemiology
- Male
References
This article includes 36 references
- Kamada M, Wada R, Kumanomido T, Imagawa H, Sugiura T, Fukunaga Y. Effect of viral inoculum size on appearance of clinical signs in equine Getah virus infection.. J Vet Med Sci 1991 Oct;53(5):803-6.
- Sentsui H, Kono Y. An epidemic of Getah virus infection among racehorses: isolation of the virus.. Res Vet Sci 1980 Sep;29(2):157-61.
- Sentsui H, Kono Y. Reappearance of Getah virus infection among horses in Japan.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1985 Apr;47(2):333-5.
- Kulkarni SM, Geevarghese G, George PJ. Susceptibility status of five species of Japanese encephalitis vectors to insecticides from Kolar district, Karnataka.. Indian J Med Res 1992 Nov;95:297-300.
- Yago K, Hagiwara S, Kawamura H, Narita M. A fatal case in newborn piglets with Getah virus infection: isolation of the virus.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1987 Dec;49(6):989-94.
- Kumanomido T, Fukunaga Y, Kamada M, Imagawa H, Ando Y, Wada R, Nitta M, Akiyama Y. Getah virus isolations from mosquitoes collected at two horse habitations in the western areas of Japan.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1986 Dec;48(6):1191-7.
- Matsumura T, Goto H, Shimizu K, Ando Y, Imagawa H, Sugiura T, Akiyama Y, Taya Y. Prevalence of antibodies against Getah virus in horses raised in Hokkaido.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1981 Oct;43(5):783-6.
- Timoney PJ, McCollum WH. Equine viral arteritis.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 1993 Aug;9(2):295-309.
- Simpson DI, Smith CE, Marshall TF, Platt GS, Way HJ, Bowen ET, Bright WF, Day J, McMahon DA, Hill MN, Bendell PJ, Heathcote OH. Arbovirus infections in Sarawak: the role of the domestic pig.. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1976;70(1):66-72.
- Kumanomido T, Kamada M, Wada R, Kenemaru T, Sugiura T, Akiyama Y. Pathogenicity for horses of original Sagiyama virus, a member of the Getah virus group.. Vet Microbiol 1988 Aug;17(4):367-73.
- Kumanomido T, Wada R, Kanemaru T, Kamada M, Hirasawa K, Akiyama Y. Clinical and virological observations on swine experimentally infected with Getah virus.. Vet Microbiol 1988 Mar;16(3):295-301.
- Wada R, Kamada M, Fukunaga Y, Ando Y, Kumanomido T, Imagawa H, Akiyama Y, Oikawa M. Equine Getah virus infection: pathological study of horses experimentally infected with the MI-110 strain.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1982 Jun;44(3):411-8.
- Kamada M, Kumanomido T, Wada R, Fukunaga Y, Imagawa H, Sugiura T. Intranasal infection of Getah virus in experimental horses.. J Vet Med Sci 1991 Oct;53(5):855-8.
- Mitchell CJ, Lvov SD, Savage HM, Calisher CH, Smith GC, Lvov DK, Gubler DJ. Vector and host relationships of California serogroup viruses in western Siberia.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1993 Jul;49(1):53-62.
- Hiruma M, Ide S, Hohdatsu T, Yamagishi H, Tanaka Y, Fujisaki Y. Polymyositis in mice experimentally inoculated with Getah virus.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1990 Aug;52(4):767-72.
- Tesh RB, Gajdusek DC, Garruto RM, Cross JH, Rosen L. The distribution and prevalence of group A arbovirus neutralizing antibodies among human populations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1975 Jul;24(4):664-75.
- Sentsui H, Kono Y. Pathogenicity of Getah virus for mice.. Natl Inst Anim Health Q (Tokyo) 1981 Spring;21(1):7-13.
- Shibata I, Hatano Y, Nishimura M, Suzuki G, Inaba Y. Isolation of Getah virus from dead fetuses extracted from a naturally infected sow in Japan.. Vet Microbiol 1991 May;27(3-4):385-91.
- Asai T, Shibata I, Uruno K. Susceptibility of pregnant hamster, guinea pig, and rabbit to the transplacental infection of Getah virus.. J Vet Med Sci 1991 Dec;53(6):1109-11.
- Ksiazek TG, Trosper JH, Cross JH, Basaca-Sevilla V. Isolation of Getah virus from Nueva Ecija Province, Republic of the Philippines.. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1981;75(2):312-3.
- Marchette NJ, Rudnick A, Garcia R, MacVean DW. Alphaviruses in Peninusular Malaysia: I. Virus isolations and animal serology.. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1978 Sep;9(3):317-29.
- Bochkova NG, Koreshkova GV, Pogodina VV. [Study of combined foci of mosquito-transmitted arbovirus infections].. Vopr Virusol 1981 Sep-Oct;(5):611-5.
- Leake CJ, Ussery MA, Nisalak A, Hoke CH, Andre RG, Burke DS. Virus isolations from mosquitoes collected during the 1982 Japanese encephalitis epidemic in northern Thailand.. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1986;80(5):831-7.
- Spradbrow PB. A survey for arbovirus antibodies in pigs and sheep in Queensland.. Aust Vet J 1972 Jul;48(7):402-7.
- Kulkarni SM, Naik PS. Susceptibility studies on Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles, 1901, to insecticides in the state of Goa.. Indian J Med Res 1991 May;93:179-81.
- Kumanomido T, Wada R, Kanemaru T, Kamada M, Akiyama Y, Matumoto M. Transplacental infection in mice inoculated with Getah virus.. Vet Microbiol 1988 Feb;16(2):129-36.
- Li XD, Qiu FX, Yang H, Rao YN, Calisher CH. Isolation of Getah virus from mosquitos collected on Hainan Island, China, and results of a serosurvey.. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1992 Dec;23(4):730-4.
- Kamada M, Ando Y, Fukunaga Y, Kumanomido T, Imagawa H, Wada R, Akiyama Y. Equine Getah virus infection: isolation of the virus from racehorses during an enzootic in Japan.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1980 Sep;29(5):984-8.
- Imagawa H, Ando Y, Kamada M, Sugiura T, Kumanomido T, Fukunaga Y, Wada R, Hirasawa K, Akiyama Y. Sero-epizootiological survey on Getah virus infection in light horses in Japan.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1981 Dec;43(6):797-802.
- Matsumura T, Goto H, Shimizu K, Sugiura T, Ando Y, Kumanomido T, Hirasawa K, Akiyama Y. Prevalence and distribution of antibodies to Getah and Japanese encephalitis viruses in horses raised in Hokkaido.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1982 Dec;44(6):967-70.
- Peiris JS, Amerasinghe PH, Amerasinghe FP, Calisher CH, Perera LP, Arunagiri CK, Munasingha NB, Karunaratne SH. Viruses isolated from mosquitoes collected in Sri Lanka.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1994 Aug;51(2):154-61.
- Kanamitsu M, Taniguchi K, Urasawa S, Ogata T, Wada Y, Wada Y, Saroso JS. Geographic distribution of arbovirus antibodies in indigenous human populations in the Indo-Australian archipelago.. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1979 Mar;28(2):351-63.
- Izumida A, Takuma H, Inagaki S, Kubota M, Hirahara T, Kodama K, Sasaki N. Experimental infection of Getah virus in swine.. Nihon Juigaku Zasshi 1988 Jun;50(3):679-84.
- Shortridge KF, Mason DK, Watkins KL, Aaskov JG. Serological evidence for the transmission of Getah virus in Hong Kong.. Vet Rec 1994 May 14;134(20):527-8.
- Gronwall R, Mia AS. Fasting hyperbilirubinemia in horses.. Am J Dig Dis 1972 May;17(5):473-6.
- Sentsui H, Kono Y. Survey on antibody to Getah virus in horses in Japan.. Natl Inst Anim Health Q (Tokyo) 1980 Summer;20(2):39-43.
Citations
This article has been cited 24 times.- Azerigyik FA, Faizah AN, Kobayashi D, Amoa-Bosompem M, Matsumura R, Kai I, Sasaki T, Higa Y, Isawa H, Iwanaga S, Ishino T. Evaluating the mosquito host range of Getah virus and the vector competence of selected medically important mosquitoes in Getah virus transmission. Parasit Vectors 2023 Mar 15;16(1):99.
- Qiu X, Cao X, Shi N, Zhang H, Zhu X, Gao Y, Mai Z, Jin N, Lu H. Development and application of an indirect ELISA for detecting equine IgG antibodies against Getah virus with recombinant E2 domain protein. Front Microbiol 2022;13:1029444.
- Takeishi M, Kuwata R, Ono T, Sasaki A, Ogata M, Iwata E, Taji S, Koike M, Nemoto M, Bannai H, Isawa H, Maeda K, Morikawa S, Kitagawa H, Yoshikawa Y. Seroconversion of anti-Getah virus antibody among Japanese native Noma horses around 2012. J Vet Med Sci 2022 Nov 18;84(12):1605-1609.
- Sun Q, Xie Y, Guan Z, Zhang Y, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang J, Li Z, Qiu Y, Li B, Liu K, Shao D, Wang J, Ma Z, Wei J, Li P. Seroprevalence of Getah virus in Pigs in Eastern China Determined with a Recombinant E2 Protein-Based Indirect ELISA. Viruses 2022 Sep 30;14(10).
- Li B, Wang H, Liang G. Getah Virus (Alphavirus): An Emerging, Spreading Zoonotic Virus. Pathogens 2022 Aug 20;11(8).
- Mohamed-Romai-Noor NA, Sam SS, Teoh BT, Hamim ZR, AbuBakar S. Genomic and In Vitro Phenotypic Comparisons of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Getah Virus Strains. Viruses 2022 Apr 30;14(5).
- Shi N, Qiu X, Cao X, Mai Z, Zhu X, Li N, Zhang H, Zhang J, Li Z, Shaya N, Lu H, Jin N. Molecular and serological surveillance of Getah virus in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, 2017-2020. Virol Sin 2022 Apr;37(2):229-237.
- Ren T, Min X, Mo Q, Wang Y, Wang H, Chen Y, Ouyang K, Huang W, Wei Z. Construction and characterization of a full-length infectious clone of Getah virus in vivo. Virol Sin 2022 Jun;37(3):348-357.
- Wang A, Zhou F, Liu C, Gao D, Qi R, Yin Y, Liu S, Gao Y, Fu L, Xia Y, Xu Y, Wang C, Liu Z. Structure of infective Getah virus at 2.8 Å resolution determined by cryo-electron microscopy. Cell Discov 2022 Feb 11;8(1):12.
- Sam SS, Mohamed-Romai-Noor NA, Teoh BT, Hamim ZR, Ng HY, Abd-Jamil J, Khor CS, Hassan SS, Ahmad H, AbuBakar S. Group IV Getah Virus in Culex Mosquitoes, Malaysia. Emerg Infect Dis 2022 Feb;28(2):475-477.
- Fang Y, Zhang W, Xue JB, Zhang Y. Monitoring Mosquito-Borne Arbovirus in Various Insect Regions in China in 2018. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2021;11:640993.
- Ren T, Mo Q, Wang Y, Wang H, Nong Z, Wang J, Niu C, Liu C, Chen Y, Ouyang K, Huang W, Wei Z. Emergence and Phylogenetic Analysis of a Getah Virus Isolated in Southern China. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:552517.
- Liu H, Zhang X, Li LX, Shi N, Sun XT, Liu Q, Jin NY, Si XK. First isolation and characterization of Getah virus from cattle in northeastern China. BMC Vet Res 2019 Sep 5;15(1):320.
- Lu G, Ou J, Ji J, Ren Z, Hu X, Wang C, Li S. Emergence of Getah Virus Infection in Horse With Fever in China, 2018. Front Microbiol 2019;10:1416.
- Sam SS, Teoh BT, Chee CM, Mohamed-Romai-Noor NA, Abd-Jamil J, Loong SK, Khor CS, Tan KK, AbuBakar S. A quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for detection of Getah virus. Sci Rep 2018 Dec 5;8(1):17632.
- Xia H, Wang Y, Atoni E, Zhang B, Yuan Z. Mosquito-Associated Viruses in China. Virol Sin 2018 Feb;33(1):5-20.
- Bannai H, Nemoto M, Ochi A, Kikuchi T, Kobayashi M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Epizootiological Investigation of Getah Virus Infection among Racehorses in Japan in 2014. J Clin Microbiol 2015 Jul;53(7):2286-91.
- Nemoto M, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kobayashi M, Kikuchi T, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. Getah Virus Infection among Racehorses, Japan, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis 2015 May;21(5):883-5.
- Zhang HL, Zhang YZ, Yang WH, Feng Y, Nasci RS, Yang J, Liu YH, Dong CL, Li S, Zhang BS, Yin ZL, Wang PY, Fu SH, Li MH, Liu F, Zhang J, Sun J, Li CW, Gao XY, Liu H, Wang HY, Petersen LR, Liang GD. Mosquitoes of Western Yunnan Province, China: seasonal abundance, diversity, and arbovirus associations. PLoS One 2013;8(10):e77017.
- Kong D, Meng L, Liu D, Wang J, Huang X, Zhai T, Deng Y, Xue Q, Wu H, Mao Y, Wang H, Wu H. Generation of an infectious cDNA clone of BJ-Swzp-2022, a Group III Isolate of Getah Virus. Virus Genes 2026 Feb 7;.
- Shao L, Nie M, Liu B, Li F, Xu T, Xu L, Deng L, Li H, Zhao L, Li Y, Zhang L, Yan Y, Xu Z, Zhu L. Isolation and Characterization of a Porcine Getah Virus Strain from Sichuan Province. Vet Sci 2025 Mar 15;12(3).
- Huang J, Song D, Wei J, Xie B, Yang Q, Xu J, Zhang F. First report on identification and genetic characterization of Getah virus in wild boar in China. Front Microbiol 2025;16:1583023.
- Zhong D, Zheng J, Ma Z, Wang Y, Wei J. Rapid Detection of Getah Virus Antibodies in Horses Using a Recombinant E2 Protein-Based Immunochromatographic Strip. Animals (Basel) 2024 Aug 8;14(16).
- Pan J, Zhang H, Chen X, Zeng M, Han H, Guo Y, Li J, Luo S, Yan G, Chen S, Mo M, Liu M, Huang L. Evolutionary characterization and pathogenicity of Getah virus from pigs in Guangdong Province of China. Arch Virol 2023 Sep 28;168(10):258.
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