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Home / Equine Research Bank / Acta Vet Scand / Low prevalence of equine coronavirus in foals in the largest...
Acta veterinaria Scandinavica2015; 57(1); 53; doi: 10.1186/s13028-015-0149-4

Low prevalence of equine coronavirus in foals in the largest thoroughbred horse breeding region of Japan, 2012-2014.

Abstract: Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is considered to be a diarrheic pathogen in foals. In central Kentucky in the United States, it has been shown that approximately 30 % of thoroughbred foals are infected with ECoV and thus it is considered widely prevalent. In contrast, the epidemiology of ECoV and its relationship to diarrhea in foals are poorly understood in Japan. We investigated ECoV in rectal swabs collected from thoroughbred foals in Japan. Results: We collected 337 rectal swabs from 307 diarrheic foals in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido, the largest thoroughbred horse breeding region in Japan, between 2012 and 2014. In addition, 120 rectal swabs were collected from 120 healthy foals in 2012. These samples were tested by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification and a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. All samples collected from diarrheic foals were negative, and only three samples (2.5 %) collected from healthy foals were positive for ECoV. Compared with central Kentucky, ECoV is not prevalent among thoroughbred foals in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido. Conclusions: ECoV is not prevalent and was not related to diarrhea in thoroughbred foals in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido between 2012 and 2014.
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Publication Date: 2015-09-22 PubMed ID: 26395082PubMed Central: PMC4579792DOI: 10.1186/s13028-015-0149-4Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

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This research studied the prevalence of equine coronavirus (ECoV) among thoroughbred foals in the largest horse breeding region of Japan between 2012 and 2014. The study found that the virus is not prevalent among these horses and is not a common cause of diarrhea among them.

Research Objectives and Methodology

  • The researchers aimed to understand the prevalence and impacts of equine coronavirus (ECoV) among thoroughbred foals in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido, Japan, which is the country’s largest horse breeding region. They were particularly interested in understanding the relationship between this virus and diarrhea in these foals, especially in light of existing research indicating that more than a quarter of thoroughbred foals in central Kentucky, United States, were infected with the virus.
  • The study involved the collecting and testing of rectal swabs from both diarrheic and healthy thoroughbred foals from this region during the period of 2012 to 2014. A total of 337 rectal swabs were collected from 307 diarrheic foals, while 120 rectal swabs were collected from 120 healthy foals in 2012.
  • The samples collected were tested using reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification and a real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to determine the prevalence of ECoV.

Results of the Research

  • All rectal swabs obtained from diarrheic foals were free from ECoV. From the healthy foals, only 2.5% (3 out of 120) tested positive for the virus. This outcome shows a significantly lower prevalence when compared to similar research in Kentucky.
  • The low prevalence of ECoV in both diarrheic and healthy foals indicates that this virus is not a common cause of diarrhea among thoroughbred foals in the Hidaka district of Hokkaido.

Conclusions of the Study

  • The research concluded that ECoV is not prevalent among thoroughbred foals in the Hidaka region, which contrasts with findings from the United States.
  • The study also found that there was no link between ECoV and diarrhea in these foals in this region between 2012 and 2014.

Cite This Article

APA
Nemoto M, Oue Y, Higuchi T, Kinoshita Y, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T. (2015). Low prevalence of equine coronavirus in foals in the largest thoroughbred horse breeding region of Japan, 2012-2014. Acta Vet Scand, 57(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-015-0149-4

Publication

Acta veterinaria Scandinavica
ISSN: 1751-0147
NlmUniqueID: 0370400
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 57
Issue: 1
Pages: 53
PII: 53

Researcher Affiliations

Nemoto, Manabu
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. nemoto_manabu@equinst.go.jp.
Oue, Yasuhiro
  • Hokkaido Kushiro Livestock Hygiene Service Center, 127-1 Otanoshike, Kushiro, Hokkaido, 084-0917, Japan. one.yasuhiro@pref.hokkaido.lg.jp.
Higuchi, Tohru
  • Hidaka Agriculture Mutual Aid Association, 200 Higashihourai, Mitsuishi, Shinhidaka-cho, Hidaka-gun, Hokkaido, 059-3105, Japan. hig@cocoa.ocn.ne.jp.
Kinoshita, Yuta
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. kinoshita@equinst.go.jp.
Bannai, Hiroshi
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. bannai@equinst.go.jp.
Tsujimura, Koji
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. kotsuji@equinst.go.jp.
Yamanaka, Takashi
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. yamanaka@equinst.go.jp.
Kondo, Takashi
  • Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0412, Japan. kondo@equinst.go.jp.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Coronavirus / genetics
  • Coronavirus / isolation & purification
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Coronavirus Infections / veterinary
  • Coronavirus Infections / virology
  • Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins
  • Diarrhea / epidemiology
  • Diarrhea / veterinary
  • Diarrhea / virology
  • Feces / virology
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Nucleocapsid Proteins / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Prevalence
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / veterinary

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Citations

This article has been cited 4 times.
  1. Uzal FA, Arroyo LG, Navarro MA, Gomez DE, Asín J, Henderson E. Bacterial and viral enterocolitis in horses: a review. J Vet Diagn Invest 2022 May;34(3):354-375.
    doi: 10.1177/10406387211057469pubmed: 34763560google scholar: lookup
  2. Nemoto M, Schofield W, Cullinane A. The First Detection of Equine Coronavirus in Adult Horses and Foals in Ireland. Viruses 2019 Oct 14;11(10).
    doi: 10.3390/v11100946pubmed: 31615132google scholar: lookup
  3. Pusterla N, Vin R, Leutenegger CM, Mittel LD, Divers TJ. Enteric coronavirus infection in adult horses. Vet J 2018 Jan;231:13-18.
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  4. Fukumoto N, Bannai H, Kawanishi N, Shibata M, Kishi D, Kambayashi Y, Tsujimura K, Nemoto M. The first outbreak of equine coronavirus infection in 13 years among draft horses at Obihiro Racecourse in Japan in 2025. J Vet Med Sci 2025 Oct 1;87(10):1158-1163.
    doi: 10.1292/jvms.25-0271pubmed: 40754417google scholar: lookup
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