title: Experimental infection with neuropathogenic equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) in adult horses.
abstract: Equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1)-associated myeloencephalopathy (EHM) may follow an infection with the virus in horses. This study tested three hypotheses: (1) a large inhaled dose of a neuropathogenic EHV-1 strain would induce a cell-associated viraemia in all infected horses; (2) neurological disease will only occur in viraemic horses, and (3) the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition following EHV-1 viraemia will be an indicator for EHM. Four EHV-1 seronegative horses were inoculated with EHV-1 by inhalation. Three developed clinical signs of neurological disease, which were mild in two horses and lacking typical EHM histopathological findings, but moderately severe in the third horse. This latter animal was the only one found to be viraemic, with xanthochromic CSF and spinal cord histopathology findings characteristic of EHM. This study showed that cell-associated viraemia was not guaranteed, despite a large-dose inoculation with EHV-1, yet viraemia was probably a pre-requisite for subsequent development of EHM. The histopathological changes used to confirm EHM may be predicted from CSF analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 300 West Drake Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523, USA. lutz.goehring@colostate.edu
authors.forename: Lutz S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Goehring
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van Maanen
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berendsen
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cullinane
authors.forename: Raoul J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: Peter J M
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Rottier
authors.forename: Jeroen J C M
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wesselingh
authors.forename: Marianne M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000418:Albumins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D000818:Animals; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004906:Erythrocyte Count / Q000662:veterinary; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000662:veterinary; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014766:Viremia / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000418:Albumins