title: African Horse Sickness Virus: History, Transmission, and Current Status.
abstract: African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is a lethal arbovirus of equids that is transmitted between hosts primarily by biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). AHSV affects draft, thoroughbred, and companion horses and donkeys in Africa, Asia, and Europe. In this review, we examine the impact of AHSV critically and discuss entomological studies that have been conducted to improve understanding of its epidemiology and control. The transmission of AHSV remains a major research focus and we critically review studies that have implicated both Culicoides and other blood-feeding arthropods in this process. We explore AHSV both as an epidemic pathogen and within its endemic range as a barrier to development, an area of interest that has been underrepresented in studies of the virus to date. By discussing AHSV transmission in the African republics of South Africa and Senegal, we provide a more balanced view of the virus as a threat to equids in a diverse range of settings, thus leading to a discussion of key areas in which our knowledge of transmission could be improved. The use of entomological data to detect, predict and control AHSV is also examined, including reference to existing studies carried out during unprecedented outbreaks of bluetongue virus in Europe, an arbovirus of wild and domestic ruminants also transmitted by Culicoides.
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Diseases Program, Pirbright Institute, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, United Kingdom; email: simon.carpenter@pirbright.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Vector-borne Viral Diseases Program, Pirbright Institute, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, United Kingdom; email: simon.carpenter@pirbright.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Philip S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Mellor
authors.affiliation: ISRA-LNERV, BP 3120 Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Assane G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fall
authors.affiliation: Cirad UMR15 CMAEE, 34398 Montpellier, Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Garros
authors.affiliation: Parasites, Vectors, and Vector-Borne Diseases, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.|Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Gert J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Venter
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000355:African Horse Sickness / Q000266:history* / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D000356:African Horse Sickness Virus; D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000821:virology*; D018397:Equidae; D005060:Europe; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000266:history* / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D006736:Horses; D012675:Senegal; D013019:South Africa
keywords: AHSV; Equidae; arbovirus; environmental change; vectorial capacity