title: A retrospective study on equine herpesvirus type-1 associated myeloencephalopathy in France (2008-2011).
abstract: Diagnosis of equine herpesvirus-1 associated myeloencephalopathy (EHM) can be troublesome, but early recognition and knowledge of risk factors are essential for prevention and control. The objectives for this study are to (1) describe EHM in France, (2) improve clinical recognition, (3) identify risk factors. Through epidemiosurveillance of acute neurological cases (all considered to be potentially infectious cases) in France (2008-2011), 26 EHM cases were identified and 29 EHM negative control cases. EHM cases were described and compared to controls with univariate, multivariate and classification and regression tree analysis. EHM cases had a 46% fatality rate and were frequently isolated cases. Most showed ataxia, paresis and a cauda equina syndrome, yet presence of other neurological signs was variable. Statistical analysis identified the following variables to be significantly associated to EHM compared to controls: introduction of a new horse to the herd, cauda equina syndrome, larger herd size, saddle horses and month of occurrence. The presence of many isolated cases, and less typical and variable clinical presentations emphasize the difficulty in diagnosing EHM. Nevertheless, history and clinical examination of acute neurological cases can be valuable in recognizing EHM early as well in order to select those cases that need further laboratory testing and infection control measures. Moreover, with a different study format and geographic location, risk factors were found to be similar to previous studies, therefore strengthening their significance to the spread of EHM.
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Science (UREAR-ULg), Department of Infectious and Parasitic diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium. Electronic address: gaby@equinespecialists.eu.
authors.forename: Gaby
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: van Galen
authors.affiliation: UR 346 Animal Epidemiology INRA Theix, Vetagrosup, Equine Department, University of Lyon, Lyon, France; Réseau d'Epidémio-Surveillance en Pathologie Equine (RESPE), Mondeville, France.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leblond
authors.affiliation: Réseau d'Epidémio-Surveillance en Pathologie Equine (RESPE), Mondeville, France; Veterinary Clinic of Faulquemont, Faulquemont, France; Committee of Infectious Diseases of the French Equine Veterinary Association (Association Vétérinaire Equine Francaise-AVEF), France.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tritz
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Science (UREAR-ULg), Department of Infectious and Parasitic diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martinelle
authors.affiliation: Réseau d'Epidémio-Surveillance en Pathologie Equine (RESPE), Mondeville, France; Frank Duncombe Laboratory-LABEO, Caen, France; Normandie Université, Unité Risques Microbiens (U2RM), 14000 Caen, France.
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pronost
authors.affiliation: Research Unit of Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Applied to Veterinary Science (UREAR-ULg), Department of Infectious and Parasitic diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium; Réseau d'Epidémio-Surveillance en Pathologie Equine (RESPE), Mondeville, France.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saegerman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006736:Horses; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: EHM; EHV; Horse; Neurology