The ISU VDL offers PCR assays for detection of equine viruses associated with respiratory disease, abortion and equine herpes myeloencephalopathy.
| Pathogen & PCR test | Disease | Speciment type |
| EAdV1 - Equine adenovirus 1 |
Respiratory disease, foal pneumonia | Nasal swab, conjunctival swab, tracheal aspirates, lung |
| EAV - Equine arteritis virus |
Respiratory disease, abortion, persistent infection, foal pneumonia/enteritis | Nasal swab, EDTA blood, lung, semen, fetal tissues (lung, liver, kidney, thymus, spleen, placenta) |
| EHV1 neuropathotyping | Respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal foal death, myeloencephalopathy | Nasal swab, EDTA blood, lung, brain, cerebral spinal fluid, fetal tissues (lung, liver, kidney, thymus, spleen, placenta) |
| EHV1&4 - Equine herpesvirus type 1&4 (multiplex PCR) |
Respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal foal death, myeloencephalopathy | Nasal swab, EDTA blood, lung, brain, cerebral spinal fluid, fetal tissues (lung, liver, kidney, thymus, spleen, placenta) |
| EHV2 - Equine herpesvirus type 2 |
Implicated in respiratory disease with pneumonia and pharyngitis, kerotoconjunctivitis | Nasal swab, conjunctival swab, tracheal aspirates, lung |
| EHV3 - Equine herpesvirus type3 |
Equine coital exanthema | Nasal swab/scraping from reproductive tract |
| EIV - Equine influenza virus | Respiratory disease | Nasal swab, tracheal washings, lung |
| ERAV & ERBV - Equine rhinitis A and B virus (multiplex PCR) |
Respiratory disease |
Nasal swab, conjunctival swab, tracheal aspirates, urine |
The most important viral respiratory diseases affecting horses are equine herpesvirus, equine influenza, and equine viral arteritis. Equine rhinitis virus and equine adenovirus-1 infection can be a cause of equine respiratory disease too.
The ISU VDL offers PCR assays for detecting all of these respiratory viruses. EHV-1, EHV-4 and EAV are also the most common viral causative agents for equine abortion. Equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM) outbreaks have increased in recent years. The EHV1 neuropathotyping PCR is able to differentiate DNApol (ORF30) D/N752 strains; the D752 strains are strongly associated with EHM occurrence. EHV-3 is the etiologic agent of the reproductive disease - equine coital exanthema.
The ISU VDL also offers virus isolation for the above listed equine viruses.
See a listing of fees and days tested here.
For more information or questions related to testing, please contact:
Dr. Jianqiang Zhang 515-294-8024 jqzhang@iastate.edu
For information or questions related to equine medicine, please contact:
Dr. Brett Sponseller 515-294-2237 baspon@iastate.edu
Dr. David Wong 515-294-2199 dwong@iastate.edu