Isolation of equine herpesviruses from horses with respiratory disease.

Abstract

Abstract Extract Although respiratory disease is common in horses in New Zealand, little is known of the viruses which are involved. In other countries the principal cause of equine respiratory disease is equine herpesvirus 1 (Studdert, 1974 Bachmann, P. A., Hartl, G., Thein, P., Bibrack, B. and Mayr, A. 1972. Occurrence and distribution of viruses possibly concerned with respiratory disease of horses in West Germany. Zentbl. vet. Med., 19B: 801–813. [Google Scholar]) and equine influenza A virus (Powell et al., 1974 Burrows, R. and Goodridge, D. 1973. “In vivo and in vitro studies of equine rhinopneumonitis virus strains”. In Proc. 3rd int. Conf. equine Infectious Diseases, Paris 1972, 306–321. Basel: Karger. [Google Scholar]; Powell, 1975 Carter, Margery E., Brookbanks, E. O. and Dickson, M. R. 1968. Demonstration of a pseudo-cowpox virus in New Zealand. N.Z. vet. J., 16: 105–108. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Mixedinfections of these viruses have also been reported (Jensen, 1973 Carter, Margery E. and Hunter, R. 1970. Isolation of parainfluenza type 3 virus from sheep in New Zealand. N.Z. vet. J., 18: 226–227. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Rhinoviruses (Plummer, 1962 Ditchfield, J., Zbitnew, A. and Macpherson, L. W. 1963. Association of myxovirus parainfluenza 3 (RE55) with upper respiratory infection of horses. Can. vet. J., 4: 175–180. [Google Scholar]; Hofer et al., 1973 Doll, E. R. and Bryans, J. T. 1963. Epizootiology of equine viral rhinopneumonitis. J. Am. vet. med. Ass., 142: 31–37. [Google Scholar]), adenoviruses (Todd, 1969 Doll, E. R., Bryans, J. T., McCollum, W. H. and Crowe, M. E. W. 1957. Isolation of a filterable agent causing arteritis of horses and abortion by mares. Its differentiation from equine abortion (influenza) virus. Cornell Vet., 47: 3–41. [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]), parainfluenza 3 virus (Ditchfield et al., 1963 Erasmus, B. J. 1970. “Equine cytomegaloviruses”. In Proc. 2nd int. Conf. equine Infectious Diseases, Paris, 1969, 46–55. Basel: Karger. [Google Scholar]) and equine arteritis virus (Doll et al., 1957 Feldman, H. A. and Wang, S. S. 1961. Sensitivity of various viruses to chloroform. Proc. Soc. exp. Biol. Med., 106: 736–740. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) have also been isolated from horses with upper respiratory disease, and serological evidence of reovirus infections in horses has been reported (Bachmann et al., 1972 Harden, T. J., Pascoe, R. R., Spradbrow, P. B. and Johnston, K. G. 1974a. The prevalence of antibodies to adenoviruses in horses from Queensland and New South Wales. Aust. vet. J., 50: 477–482. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).