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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2018; 32(6); 2099-2104; doi: 10.1111/jvim.15318

Investigation of an experimental infection model of equine coronavirus in adult horses.

Abstract: Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is a recently reported enteric disease of adult horses. Natural infection by ECoV has been reported in adult horses worldwide, whereas experimental infection has only been reported in juvenile horses. An experimental infection model is needed to study the clinical presentation, laboratory abnormalities, and pathophysiological changes associated with ECoV. Objective: To investigate the clinical, hematologic, molecular, and serological features of adult horses experimentally infected with ECoV. Methods: Eight adult horses. Methods: Four horses were intragastrically infected with fecal material containing 10 genome equivalents of ECoV. Four additional horses were exposed daily to the feces from the experimentally-infected horses. Monitoring included physical examinations, as well as daily nasal swab, whole blood, and fecal collection for molecular detection of ECoV. Blood was collected every other day for hematologic analysis and weekly for serologic analysis. Results: All 8 horses shed ECoV in feces. Six of the 8 horses (75%) exhibited mild, clinical disease with soft, formed manure; 1 horse exhibited transient pyrexia. All horses maintained total white cell counts within normal limits, but 3 horses developed transient lymphopenia. No statistically significant differences (P = .20) were observed in quantity of fecal shedding of ECoV between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Experimental infection of adult horses with ECoV was associated with mild and self-limiting clinical signs, transient lymphopenia, and fecal shedding of ECoV, which mimics natural infection. No differences between experimentally-infected horses and horses exposed to ECoV-containing feces were identified. Results of our study support a fecal-oral route of transmission.
© 2018 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2018-10-24 PubMed ID: 30353949PubMed Central: PMC6271284DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15318Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • 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 article discusses a study on adult horses experimentally infected with Equine coronavirus (ECoV), establishing that this disease typically causes minor symptoms, temporary lymphopenia, and ECoV shedding in feces, and is likely transmitted via a fecal-oral route.

Research Background

  • The study investigates an experimental infection model of equine coronavirus (ECoV) in adult horses. The coronavirus ECoV primarily impacts adult horses and has been reported worldwide. However, its experimental infection has been predominantly reported in young horses.

Research Objectives and Methods

  • The objective of the research was to investigate clinical, hematologic, molecular, and serological aspects of adult horses experimentally infected with ECoV. To fulfil this purpose, eight adult horses were selected for the experiment.
  • The research model involved intragastrically infecting four horses among the group with fecal matter that contained ten genome equivalents of ECoV. The remaining four were exposed daily to the feces from the experimentally infected horses.
  • Monitoring was done through daily physical exams, nasal swabbing, whole blood collection, and fecal collection for detecting the presence of ECoV. Blood for hematologic analysis was collected on alternate days while a weekly collection of blood was done for serologic analysis.

Research Results

  • All eight horses exhibited ECoV shedding in their feces. Furthermore, six out of eight horses (75%) showed mild clinical signs, including soft, formed manure. One horse experienced transient pyrexia.
  • The total white cell counts remained within normal boundaries for all the horses, even though three developed transient lymphopenia. There was no statistically significant difference observed in the amount of fecal ECoV shedding between the two groups of horses.

Conclusions

  • The conclusions drawn from the study indicate that the experimental infection of adult horses with ECoV corresponds with mild and temporary clinical signs, fleeting lymphopenia, and fecal shedding of ECoV. This closely mirrors natural infection scenarios.
  • There were no discernible differences identified between the horses that were experimentally infected and horses that were exposed to ECoV-containing feces, suggesting that the fecal-oral path is a likely route of transmission.

Cite This Article

APA
Schaefer E, Harms C, Viner M, Barnum S, Pusterla N. (2018). Investigation of an experimental infection model of equine coronavirus in adult horses. J Vet Intern Med, 32(6), 2099-2104. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15318

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 32
Issue: 6
Pages: 2099-2104

Researcher Affiliations

Schaefer, Emily
  • William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
Harms, Corey
  • William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
Viner, Molly
  • William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
Barnum, Samantha
  • Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.
Pusterla, Nicola
  • Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Betacoronavirus 1
  • Coronavirus Infections / pathology
  • Coronavirus Infections / transmission
  • Coronavirus Infections / veterinary
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Feces / virology
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / pathology
  • Horse Diseases / transmission
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Lymphocyte Count / veterinary
  • Male
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Virus Shedding

Grant Funding

  • Boehringer Ingelheim

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