Ross River Virus Infection of Horses: Appraisal of Ecological and Clinical Consequences.
Abstract: Ross River virus (RRV) is a mosquito-borne arbovirus of the genus Alphavirus that causes disease in humans and horses in Australia. A temporal association of RRV infection in horses with clinical signs including pyrexia, malaise, and polyarthralgia has been reported, along with reduced athletic performance, often for extended periods. Despite these reports, disease due to RRV remains somewhat controversial as experimental infection of horses has resulted in obvious viraemia yet minimal signs of clinical disease. The relatively high viraemia demonstrated by horses infected with RRV has led to speculation that they could act as an important reservoir host of the virus, although this remains unclear. This review sought to appraise the existing literature relating to RRV infection of horses and to summarize the ecological and clinical consequences of RRV of relevance to the equine industry and to public health more broadly.
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-05-30 PubMed ID: 32972681DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103143Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Review
Summary
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The research article deals with the Ross River virus (RRV), a mosquito-borne disease causing virus in Australia, and its impact on horses and, by extension, public health. The study reviews existing literature on the topic and seeks insights into the role of horses as potential reservoir hosts.
Introduction to Ross River Virus
- Ross River Virus (RRV) is a pathogen from the Alphavirus genus that is spread through mosquito bites. The disease primarily affects humans and horses in Australia.
- The infection has been associated temporally with various clinical signs in horses, such as fever, weakness, multi-joint pain, and significantly reduced performance levels often over prolonged periods.
Controversy Surrounding Ross River Virus
- Notwithstanding the above-mentioned reports, the disease due to RRV in horses is subject to some controversy. This uncertainty arises because when horses were intentionally infected for experimental purposes, they displayed clear signs of being virus carriers (viraemia) but exhibited few clinical markers of the disease.
- Furthermore, the comparatively high levels of viraemia in horses infected with RRV contributed to conjecture that horses could act as an essential reservoir host for the virus. However, this hypothesis continues to be uncertain.
Objective of the Review
- This study aims to explore and reevaluate available literature pertaining to RRV infection in horses.
- The goal is to summarize the ecological as well as clinical ramifications of RRV. This not only includes its significance to the equine industry in Australia but also its potential threats to public health at a larger scale.
Cite This Article
APA
El-Hage CM, Bamford NJ, Gilkerson JR, Lynch SE.
(2020).
Ross River Virus Infection of Horses: Appraisal of Ecological and Clinical Consequences.
J Equine Vet Sci, 93, 103143.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.103143 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
- Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
- Agriculture Victoria Research, AgriBio Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: Stacey.Lynch@agriculture.vic.gov.au.
MeSH Terms
- Alphavirus
- Alphavirus Infections / diagnosis
- Alphavirus Infections / veterinary
- Animals
- Australia
- Culicidae
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horses
- Ross River virus
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- de Vries EM, Cogan NOI, Gubala AJ, Rodoni BC, Lynch SE. Fine-scale genomic tracking of Ross River virus using nanopore sequencing.. Parasit Vectors 2023 Jun 6;16(1):186.
- Harvey AM, Ramp D, Mellor DJ. Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Dec 1;12(23).
- Knox A, Beddoe T. Isothermal Nucleic Acid Amplification Technologies for the Detection of Equine Viral Pathogens.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jul 20;11(7).
- Yuen KY, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H. Ross River Virus Infection: A Cross-Disciplinary Review with a Veterinary Perspective.. Pathogens 2021 Mar 17;10(3).
- Ong OTW, Skinner EB, Johnson BJ, Old JM. Mosquito-Borne Viruses and Non-Human Vertebrates in Australia: A Review.. Viruses 2021 Feb 9;13(2).
- Rawle DJ, Nguyen W, Dumenil T, Parry R, Warrilow D, Tang B, Le TT, Slonchak A, Khromykh AA, Lutzky VP, Yan K, Suhrbier A. Sequencing of Historical Isolates, K-mer Mining and High Serological Cross-Reactivity with Ross River Virus Argue against the Presence of Getah Virus in Australia.. Pathogens 2020 Oct 16;9(10).
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