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Coronavirus infections in horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman
Author(s) -
Hemida M. G.,
Chu D. K. W.,
Perera R. A. P. M.,
Ko R. L. W.,
So R. T. Y.,
Ng B. C. Y.,
Chan S. M. S.,
Chu S.,
Alnaeem A. A.,
Alhammadi M. A.,
Webby R. J.,
Poon L. L. M.,
Balasuriya U. B. R.,
Peiris M.
Publication year - 2017
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/tbed.12630
Subject(s) - coronavirus , serology , middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus , virology , betacoronavirus , pneumonia , antibody , coronaviridae , biology , immunology , covid-19 , medicine , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease
Summary Equine coronaviruses ( EC oV) are the only coronavirus known to infect horses. So far, data on EC oV infection in horses remain limited to the USA , France and Japan and its geographic distribution is not well understood. We carried out RT ‐ PCR on 306 nasal and 315 rectal swabs and tested 243 sera for antibodies to detect coronavirus infections in apparently healthy horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman. We document evidence of infection with EC oV and HKU 23 coronavirus by RT ‐ PCR . There was no conclusive evidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in horses. Serological data suggest that lineage A betacoronavirus infections are commonly infecting horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman but antibody cross‐reactivities between these viruses do not permit us to use serological data alone to identify which coronaviruses are causing these infections.