Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Isolation of equine herpesvirus-5 from blood mononuclear cells of a gelding.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc
- Year:
- 2006
- Authors:
- Bell, Stephanie A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Pathology · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Researchers found a strain of equine herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) in the blood of a healthy adult horse in California, which is not something that happens often. They used a special test called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify the virus, and it was able to infect rabbit kidney cells after being passed through cultures several times. The virus showed typical features of herpesviruses when examined under a microscope. Additionally, they discovered that about 64% of young racehorses in a group tested positive for EHV-5 using the same PCR method on samples taken from their noses. Overall, this study highlights the presence of EHV-5 in horses, even in those that appear healthy.
Abstract
Horses are commonly infected by herpesviruses, but isolation of equine herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) has only infrequently been reported. We describe the isolation and characterization of a strain of EHV-5 from the blood mononuclear cells of a healthy adult horse in California. The virus was initially identified by EHV-5 specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and it caused lytic infection of cultured rabbit kidney cells only after repeated serial passage. Virions with characteristic herpesvirus morphology were readily demonstrated in cell culture lysate by transmission electron microscopy. A portion of the glycoprotein B gene of this strain of EHV-5 had 99% identity to the published EHV-5 sequence, and it was clearly distinguishable from other EHV (1-4) by virus-specific PCR assays. Prevalence of EHV-5 infection in a group of young racehorses was estimated at 64% using the EHV-5 specific PCR on nasopharyngeal secretions.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17037617/