Over a period of 6 years, antemortem and postmortem examinations were performed on a number of donkeys suffering from respiratory disease. For many cases, initial diagnostic efforts failed to identify an etiology consistent with the pathologic findings. However, retrospective examination of these cases using consensus primer polymerase chain reaction, designed to recognize herpesviruses from al...

A questionnaire was developed to document the knowledge base of large-animal diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) regarding polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology and to identify the common use of this technology in equine practice. Ninety-three of the 278 mailed questionnaires were returned, for an overall response rate of 33.4%. Ninety respondents (99...

The alphaherpesvirus, equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), is a highly prevalent cause of equine infectious abortion and encephalomyelopathy. These syndromes have been attributed to ischemic necrosis from thrombosis in placental and neural vessels, although the mechanisms underlying thrombosis are unknown. After inhalation, EHV-1 establishes a peripheral blood mononuclear cell-associated viremia,...

The N-terminal fragment comprising residues +1 to +50 (gB1-50) of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) glycoprotein B was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein in Escherichia coli. Recombinant gB1-50 (rgB1-50) was recognized in immunoblots by sera from rabbits immunized with EHV-1 and by convalescent-phase sera from horses with natural EHV-1 infections. An enzyme-linked immunosor...

The presence of antibodies against equine encephalosis virus (EEV) and equid herpesvirus 1 and 4 in zebra in the Kruger National Park (KNP) was demonstrated. The ability of zebra to maintain immunity against EEV is illustrated by the appearance of neutralizing antibodies in most zebra foals within months of losing their maternal immunity. This occurs in every month of the year, even in winter. ...

385, 26th Annual American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, San Antonio, TX. J Vet Intern Med 2008;22:819 (abstract) b Carr EA, Pusterla N, Schott HC, II, et al. Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) recrudescence and viremia in hospitalized critically ill horses: Abstract #123, 26th Annual American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, San Antonio, TX. J Vet Intern Med 2008;22:737...

Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory disorders and abortion in equids while EHV-1 regularly causes equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), a stroke-like syndrome following endothelial cell infection in horses. Both EHV-1 and EHV-9 infections of non-definitive hosts often result in neuronal infection and high case fatality rates. Hence, EHV-1 and EHV-9 are somewhat unusual ...