A brief introduction to equine influenza and equine influenza viruses

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13 Scopus citations

Abstract

Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a common respiratory pathogen of horses and other equids in most parts of the world. EIV are Type A influenza viruses and two subtypes are known: H3N8 and H7N7. Both are believed to have evolved from avian influenza virus ancestors. The H3N8 subtype circulates widely, but the H7N7 subtype is thought to be extinct. The clinical disease in horses, caused by either subtype, is an upper respiratory infection of varying severity depending upon the immune status of the individual animal. It is not normally life-threatening in itself except in very young foals; however it predisposes infected equids to secondary infections capable of producing life-threatening pneumonias. Vaccines are available and widely used in some horse populations, but their effectiveness is limited by antigenic drift and other factors, and vaccinated animals with subclinical infections have been responsible for introduction of EIV into susceptible populations. EIV has spread into canines.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)365-370
Number of pages6
JournalMethods in Molecular Biology
Volume1161
DOIs
StatePublished - 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014.

Keywords

  • Antigenic drift
  • Equine influenza virus
  • Pathogenesis
  • Type A influenza
  • Vaccine

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

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