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Antibody Response in Horses Following Experimental Infection with West Nile Virus Lineages 1 and 2
Author(s) -
CastilloOlivares J.,
Mansfield K. L.,
Phipps L. P.,
Johnson N.,
Tearle J.,
Fooks A. R.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
transboundary and emerging diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.392
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1865-1682
pISSN - 1865-1674
DOI - 10.1111/j.1865-1682.2010.01197.x
Subject(s) - west nile virus , biology , virology , antibody , lineage (genetic) , virus , neutralizing antibody , pathogen , immunology , gene , genetics
Summary West Nile virus (WNV) has re‐emerged as an important pathogen for humans and horses, which are considered to be incidental ‘dead‐end’ hosts. We have demonstrated that horses are susceptible to experimental infection with WNV and that horses infected with either WNV lineage 1 or lineage 2 elicit a similar antibody profile in serum samples. These data suggest that virus‐neutralizing antibody responses persist for longer than WNV‐specific IgM levels in serum and that there are not any notable differences in the antibody profile following experimental infection of horses with either WNV lineage 1 and lineage 2 viruses. Furthermore, the duration of IgM appears to be short‐lived in horses and may be useful for identifying and differentiating recent infections from previously exposed animals.