The experimental infection of horses with Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River viruses.
Abstract: Eleven weanling horses were inoculated with Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River viruses either by intravenous injection or by the bite of Culex annulirostris or Aedes vigilax mosquitoes infected orally. Five of the 11 horses circulated trace amounts of MVE virus for 1 to 5d and they infected 7/408 Cx annulirostris which subsequently fed on them. Haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody persisted at detectable levels for the 24-week observation period. With Ross River virus, only one of 11 horses inoculated developed a viraemia detectable by inoculation of suckling mice but 5 horses contained virus sufficient to infect 41/383 Cx annulirostris that fed on them 3 to 4 days after inoculation. On primary inoculation with Ross River virus, only 2 horses developed HI antibody but late responses occurred in 3 horses following probable naturally acquired re-infections. With both viruses, most horses remained normal, some developed mild pyrexia and transient clinical signs. This paper, therefore, indicates that horses are unlikely to be efficient amplifiers of either MVE or RR viruses and does little to incriminate them as important pathogens.
Publication Date: 1987-02-01 PubMed ID: 3038067DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1987.tb16129.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research investigated the potential of horses to amplify Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) and Ross River viruses and found minimal evidence supporting their significant role in the transmission process.
Experiment Setup
- In this experiment, eleven weanling horses were inoculated with two types of viruses, namely Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) and Ross River viruses. Inoculation was executed either via intravenous injection or through mosquito bites. The mosquitoes used were either of the Culex annulirostris or Aedes vigilax variety, which were orally infected with the respective viruses.
MVE Virus Observations
- Of the eleven horses, five circulated trace amounts of MVE virus for a period of 1 to 5 days. These horses managed to infect 7 out of 408 Culex annulirostris mosquitoes that fed on them.
- The horses produced haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibodies, which remained at detectable levels all through the 24-week observation period.
Ross River Virus Observations
- When it comes to the Ross River virus, only one horse out of the eleven developed viraemia (presence of virus in the blood) detectable by the inoculation of suckling mice. However, five horses had enough virus to infect 41 out of 383 Culex annulirostris mosquitoes that fed on them 3 to 4 days post-inoculation.
- Originally, only two horses developed HI antibodies when inoculated with the Ross River virus. However, late responses occurred in three horses, and this was likely due to naturally acquired re-infections.
Clinical Observations and Conclusion
- The majority of the horses remained healthy regardless of the virus they were exposed to. In some cases, mild fever and transient clinical signs were observed.
- The study concluded that horses are unlikely to be efficient amplifiers of either the MVE or Ross River viruses, indicating they don’t play a significant role in transmitting these diseases.
Cite This Article
APA
Kay BH, Pollitt CC, Fanning ID, Hall RA.
(1987).
The experimental infection of horses with Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River viruses.
Aust Vet J, 64(2), 52-55.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1987.tb16129.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Aedes
- Alphavirus / pathogenicity
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / biosynthesis
- Culex
- Female
- Flavivirus / immunology
- Flavivirus / pathogenicity
- Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Male
- Neutralization Tests
- Ross River virus / immunology
- Ross River virus / pathogenicity
- Togaviridae Infections / immunology
- Togaviridae Infections / microbiology
- Togaviridae Infections / veterinary
- Viremia / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Nelson AN, Ploss A. Emerging mosquito-borne flaviviruses. mBio 2024 Dec 11;15(12):e0294624.
- Taylor-Robinson AW. Complex transmission epidemiology of neglected Australian arboviruses: diverse non-human vertebrate hosts and competent arthropod invertebrate vectors. Front Microbiol 2024;15:1469710.
- Yuen NKY, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Coyle MP, Henning J. Exposure dynamics of Ross River virus in horses - Horses as potential sentinels (a One Health approach). Epidemiol Infect 2024 Apr 12;152:e67.
- Braddick M, O'Brien HM, Lim CK, Feldman R, Bunter C, Neville P, Bailie CR, Butel-Simoes G, Jung MH, Yuen A, Hughes N, Friedman ND. An integrated public health response to an outbreak of Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection during the 2022-2023 mosquito season in Victoria. Front Public Health 2023;11:1256149.
- Yuen KY, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H. Ross River Virus Infection: A Cross-Disciplinary Review with a Veterinary Perspective. Pathogens 2021 Mar 17;10(3).
- Chapman GE, Sherlock K, Hesson JC, Blagrove MSC, Lycett GJ, Archer D, Solomon T, Baylis M. Laboratory transmission potential of British mosquitoes for equine arboviruses. Parasit Vectors 2020 Aug 12;13(1):413.
- Stephenson EB, Peel AJ, Reid SA, Jansen CC, McCallum H. The non-human reservoirs of Ross River virus: a systematic review of the evidence. Parasit Vectors 2018 Mar 19;11(1):188.
- Koolhof IS, Carver S. Epidemic host community contribution to mosquito-borne disease transmission: Ross River virus. Epidemiol Infect 2017 Mar;145(4):656-666.
- Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Prow NA, Wang W, Tan CS, Coyle M, Douma A, Hobson-Peters J, Kidd L, Hall RA, Petrovsky N. Safety and immunogenicity of a delta inulin-adjuvanted inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine in pregnant mares and foals. Vet Res 2014 Dec 17;45(1):130.
- Hobson-Peters J. Approaches for the development of rapid serological assays for surveillance and diagnosis of infections caused by zoonotic flaviviruses of the Japanese encephalitis virus serocomplex. J Biomed Biotechnol 2012;2012:379738.
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