Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
No equid herpesvirus 1 or 4 found in healthy newborn Thoroughbred
By Brown, Lara J et al.·Published in Journal of the South African Veterinary Association·2019·Department of Production Animal Studies·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Failure to detect equid herpesvirus types 1 and 4 DNA in placentae and healthy new-born Thoroughbred foals.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A group of Thoroughbred mares and their healthy newborn foals were tested for equid herpesvirus types 1 and 4, which can cause serious health issues in horses, including respiratory problems and neonatal death. Samples were taken from the mares and foals shortly after birth, but the tests showed no signs of the virus in any of the samples. This means that there was no evidence of the virus being passed from the mare to the foal during pregnancy or at birth. Overall, the foals were healthy and free from these specific viruses at the time of testing.
People also search for: equid herpesvirus in foals · healthy foal care · Thoroughbred foal health issues
Abstract
Equid herpesvirus type 1 is primarily a respiratory tract virus associated with poor athletic performance that can also cause late gestation abortion, neonatal foal death and encephalomyelopathy. Horizontal transmission is well described, whereas evidence of vertical transmission of equid herpesvirus type 1 associated with the birth of a healthy foal has not been demonstrated. This study sampled a population of Thoroughbred mares (n = 71), and their healthy neonatal foals and foetal membranes, to test for the presence of both equid herpesvirus types 1 and 4 using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. Foetal membrane swabs and tissue samples were taken immediately post-partum, and venous blood samples and nasal swabs were obtained from both mare and foal 8 h after birth. Neither equid herpesvirus type 1 nor equid herpesvirus type 4 nucleic acid was detected in any sample, and it was concluded that there was no active shedding of equid herpesvirus types 1 and 4 at the time of sampling. Consequently, no evidence of vertical transmission of these viruses could be found on this stud farm during the sampling period.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31170779/