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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / Serosurveillance of equine coronavirus infection among Thoro...
Equine veterinary journal2022; 55(3); 481-486; doi: 10.1111/evj.13857

Serosurveillance of equine coronavirus infection among Thoroughbreds in Japan.

Abstract: Equine coronavirus (ECoV) causes fever, lethargy, anorexia and gastrointestinal signs in horses. There has been limited information about the prevalence and seasonality of ECoV among Thoroughbreds in Japan. Objective: To understand the epidemiology and to evaluate the potential risk of ECoV infection to the horse industry in Japan. Methods: Longitudinal. Methods: The virus-neutralisation (VN) test was performed using sera collected three times a year at 4 months intervals from 161 yearlings and at 6-7 months intervals from 181 active racehorses in Japan in 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. VN titre ≥1:8 was defined as seropositive, and ≥4-fold increase in titres between paired sera was regarded as indicative of infection. Results: The VN test showed that 44.1% (71/161) of yearlings were seropositive in August, when they first entered the yearling farm. The infection rate was significantly higher between August and December (60.9%, 98/161) than between December and the following April (5.6%, 9/161; p = 0.002). Among the racehorses, it was significantly higher between November and the following May (15.5%, 28/181) than between the preceding April/May and November (0%; p = 0.02). The morbidity rates during the estimated periods of viral exposure were 39.2% in the yearlings and 4% in the racehorses. No horses showed any severe clinical signs. Conclusions: Clinical records did not cover the period during horses' absence from the training centre. Conclusions: ECoV was substantially prevalent in Thoroughbred yearlings and racehorses in Japan, and there was a difference in epizootic pattern between these populations in terms of predominant periods of infection. ECoV infection was considered to be responsible for some of the pyretic cases in the yearlings. However, no diseased horses were severely affected in either population, suggesting that the potential risk of ECoV infection to the horse industry in Japan is low. Unassigned: Das Equine Coronavirus (ECoV) verursacht bei Pferden Fieber, Lethargie, Anorexie und gastrointestinale Symptome. Es liegen nur begrenzte Informationen über die Prävalenz und Saisonalität von ECoV bei Vollblütern in Japan vor. Unassigned: Verständnis der Epidemiologie und Bewertung des potenziellen Risikos einer ECoV-Infektion für die Pferdewirtschaft in Japan. Unassigned: Longitudinal. Methods: Der Virusneutralisationstest (VN) wurde mit Seren durchgeführt, die dreimal jährlich im Abstand von 4 Monaten von 161 Jährlingen und im Abstand von 6-7 Monaten von 181 aktiven Rennpferden in Japan in den Jahren 2017-2018, 2018-2019 und 2019-2020 gesammelt wurden. Ein VN-Titer von ≥1:8 wurde als seropositiv definiert, und ein ≥4-facher Anstieg der Titer zwischen gepaarten Seren wurde als Hinweis auf eine Infektion angesehen. Unassigned: Der VN-Test zeigte, dass 44.1% (71/161) der Jährlinge im August, als sie zum ersten Mal in die Jährlingsfarm kamen, seropositiv waren. Die Infektionsrate war zwischen August und Dezember signifikant höher (60.9%, 98/161) als zwischen Dezember und dem folgenden April (5.6%, 9/161; p = 0.002). Bei den Rennpferden war sie zwischen November und dem darauffolgenden Mai signifikant höher (15.5%, 28/181) als zwischen dem vorangegangenen April/Mai und November (0%; p = 0.02). Die Morbiditätsraten während der geschätzten Zeiträume der Virusexposition betrugen 39.2% bei den Jährlingen und 4% bei den Rennpferden. Kein Pferd zeigte schwere klinische Symptome. Unassigned: Die klinischen Aufzeichnungen der Rennpferde umfassten nicht den Zeitraum ihrer Abwesenheit vom Ausbildungszentrum. Unassigned: ECoV war bei einjährigen Vollblütern und Rennpferden in Japan stark verbreitet, und es gab einen Unterschied im epizootischen Muster zwischen diesen Populationen in Bezug auf die vorherrschenden Infektionszeiten. Eine ECoV-Infektion wurde für einige der Fieberfälle bei den Jährlingen verantwortlich gemacht. In beiden Populationen waren jedoch keine erkrankten Pferde schwer betroffen, was darauf schließen lässt, dass das potenzielle Risiko einer ECoV-Infektion für die japanische Pferdeindustrie gering ist.
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Publication Date: 2022-08-03 PubMed ID: 35822940DOI: 10.1111/evj.13857Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 study evaluates the prevalence and potential risk of equine coronavirus (ECoV) infection among Thoroughbred horses in Japan, finding it to be significantly prevalent in their population but posing a low risk to the country’s horse industry due to mild clinical symptoms associated with the virus.

Research Objective and Methodology

  • The research focused on understanding the epidemiology of ECoV infection and assessing its potential threat to Japan’s horse industry. ECoV is known to cause symptoms like fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal issues in horses.
  • The study utilized a longitudinal method with the virus-neutralization (VN) test performed on blood samples. These samples were collected three times a year at four-month intervals from 161 yearling horses, and at six to seven-month intervals from 181 active racehorses over three years from 2017 to 2020.
  • A VN titre of ≥1:8 was considered seropositive (indicating the presence of antibodies against the virus), and an increase in titres by four times between paired sera was regarded as evidence of infection.

Findings and Results

  • The VN test found that 44.1% of the yearlings were seropositive in August when they first entered the yearling farm.
  • The infection rate was significantly higher between August and December (60.9%) than between December and the following April (5.6%) among the yearlings, and among the racehorses, it was significantly higher between November and the following May (15.5%) than between April/May and November (0%).
  • The estimated periods of viral exposure led to morbidity rates of 39.2% in the yearlings and 4% in the racehorses. However, none of the horses showed severe clinical symptoms.

Conclusions and Implications

  • ECoV was found to be substantially present in Thoroughbred yearlings and racehorses in Japan, but no severe effects were observed in either population.
  • There was a recognized time pattern to the outbreaks, with greater infection rates occurring in certain parts of the year – between August and December for yearlings, and between November and May for racehorses.
  • The study concluded that while ECoV was responsible for some fever cases, the mild nature of symptoms suggests that the virus poses a low risk to Japan’s horse industry.

Cite This Article

APA
Kambayashi Y, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Ohta M, Bannai H. (2022). Serosurveillance of equine coronavirus infection among Thoroughbreds in Japan. Equine Vet J, 55(3), 481-486. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.13857

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 55
Issue: 3
Pages: 481-486

Researcher Affiliations

Kambayashi, Yoshinori
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.
Nemoto, Manabu
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.
Tsujimura, Koji
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.
Ohta, Minoru
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.
Bannai, Hiroshi
  • Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Betacoronavirus 1
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Coronavirus Infections / veterinary
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis
  • Serologic Tests / veterinary

Grant Funding

  • Japan Racing Association

References

This article includes 17 references
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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
  1. Bannai H, Kambayashi Y, Ohta M, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K. Prevalence of serum and salivary virus-neutralizing antibodies against equine coronavirus in four riding stables in Japan. J Equine Sci 2023 Mar;34(1):13-18.
    doi: 10.1294/jes.34.13pubmed: 37155492google scholar: lookup
  2. Kouadria W, Poder SL, van Maanen K, Seuberlich T, Dawson KLD, Zientara S, Laabassi F. First serological evidence of equine coronavirus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in horses in North Africa. Vet Res Commun 2025 Oct 4;49(6):347.
    doi: 10.1007/s11259-025-10928-0pubmed: 41045398google scholar: lookup
  3. Ricci I, Rosone F, Pacchiarotti G, Manna G, Cersini A, Carvelli A, La Rocca D, Cammalleri E, Giordani R, Tofani S, Conti R, Rombolà P, Nardini R, Minniti CA, Caforio R, Linardi B, Scicluna MT. Pegiviruses and Coronavirus: Biomolecular Prevalence and Phylogenetic Analysis of Strains Detected in Italian Horse Populations. Viruses 2025 Aug 2;17(8).
    doi: 10.3390/v17081076pubmed: 40872790google scholar: lookup
  4. Bannai H, Kambayashi Y, Kume K, Takebe N, Endo Y, Kawanishi N, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K. Reduction in endemic equine herpesvirus type-1 and type-4 infection among Thoroughbred yearlings through an updated vaccination program. J Equine Sci 2025 Jun;36(2):67-74.
    doi: 10.1294/jes.36.67pubmed: 40831999google scholar: lookup
  5. 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
  6. Pusterla N, Lawton K, Barnum S. Investigation of the seroprevalence to equine coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2 in healthy adult horses recently imported to the United States. Vet Q 2024 Dec;44(1):1-6.
    doi: 10.1080/01652176.2023.2288876pubmed: 38010292google scholar: lookup
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