title: Epidemiology of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in the mare and foal populations on a Hunter Valley stud farm: are mares the source of EHV-1 for unweaned foals.
abstract: The prevalence of EHV-1 and EHV-4 antibody-positive horses was determined using a type specific ELISA on serum samples collected from 229 mares and their foals resident on a large Thoroughbred stud farm in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in February 1995. More than 99% of all mares and foals tested were EHV-4 antibody positive, while the prevalence of EHV-1 antibody positive mares and foals were 26.2 and 11.4%, respectively. Examination of the ELISA absorbance data for the individual mares and foals suggested that the EHV-1 antibody positive foals had been infected recently with EHV-1 and that a sub-group of the mare population was the likely source of infectious virus for the unweaned foals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Pathology, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gilkerson
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Whalley
authors.forename: H E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Drummer
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Studdert
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Love
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000662:veterinary; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006736:Horses; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D018140:Varicellovirus / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral