Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection and vaccination with an inactivated EHV-1 vaccine

Abstract

Extract

Madam:- We have been investigating episodes of severe respiratory disease in foals during their first year of life in the Waikato district of New Zealand. Most foals are affected at six to ten weeks of age and again at weaning time ⁽⁴⁾ and the problem has been especially severe on one stud, ten foals having died of respiratory disease there in the past four years. Preliminary investigations on this stud have indicated that equine herpesviruse type 1 (EHV-1) and type 2 (EHV-2) were frequently isolated and might be the initiators of the respiratory disease observed. ⁽⁵⁾ As part of an attempt to control this problem, an inactivated vaccine ^* derived from EHV-1 abortifacient strain ⁽¹⁾ had been used since 1981. However, neither the epidemiology of these herpesviruses nor the efficacy of the vaccine has been thoroughly examined. In order to more clearly define the problem, an investigation was carried out to establish the patterns of EHV-1 and EHV-2 infections and to determine the effectiveness of the vaccination regime in preventing respiratory disease in foals.

Notes

^*Pneumabort-K, Fort Dodge Laboratories, Iowa, U.S.A.