Update on Infectious Diseases Affecting the Equine Nervous System

West Nile Virus State of the Art Report of MALWEST Project

“…Furthermore, the biochemical and cytological examination of CSF from diseased animals has no diagnostic value, because in many cases abnormal features are not found. Ante mortem diagnosis is most commonly achieved by detecting WNV-specific lgM antibodies, using an IgM capture ELISA (MAC-ELISA) [36,215,216,227]. …”

“…No antiviral therapies with documented efficacy against this virus are currently available [222,227]. The supportive care is not always successful [213] .…”

“…However, recent studies have documented clinical improvement in neurologic signs when intravenous immune globulin containing specific antibodies against WNV was administered post infection. The efficacy in animal models appears to be dose dependent; but efficacy studies in naturally occurring equine infections have not been performed [227]. In horses that survive, the period of recovery from the signs until the full clinical cure can last up to two months [36].…”

“…Prevention against WNV infections in horses includes two main actions: to control the mosquito population in the animal environment and to implement vaccination programmes [220,225,227]. …”

Evolving views on enteric viral infections of equines: an appraisal of key pathogens

“…Close proximity of horses to human settlements and to other domestic animals pose the threat of infectious diseases spread to humans/animals and vice-versa. Zoonotic pathogens such as Alphaviruses, Hendra virus, Influenza A virus, Rabies virus and West Nile virus are reported to infect horses (Johnson, 2011;Cullinane & Newton, 2013;Onmaz et al, 2013;Slater, 2013). It is therefore noteworthy that horse diseases are not only of veterinary importance but also pose potential threat of zoonosis/reverse zoonosis (Khurana et al, 2015;Mukarim et al, 2015) and are among important factors from human public health perspective.…”