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Disease suspected to be caused by Ross River virus infection of horses
Author(s) -
ElHage CM,
McCluskey MJ,
Azuolas JK
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2008.00339.x
Subject(s) - ross river virus , serology , outbreak , virology , virus , medicine , disease , veterinary medicine , pathology , immunology , antibody , alphavirus
Ross River Virus (RRV) was believed to be the cause of acute illness in four horses around the Bellarine peninsula in south‐west Victoria, Australia. The horses presented with clinical signs including petechial haemorrhages, lymphadenopathy, distal limb swelling and reluctance to move. Fibrinogen was also elevated in three of the four horses. Whilst no virus was isolated, serological testing revealed elevated RRV IgM titres in all horses indicating acute infection. The outbreak occurred at a time when a known RRV vector, the mosquito Aedes camptorhynchus was recorded at very high levels in the region. This report is one of very few to attribute specific signs of disease to RRV in horses in conjunction with serological evidence of infection.