Equine+Infectious+Anemia



A) Equine Infectious Anemia B) EIAV is caused by a Retrovirus - EIAV can be transmitted by large bitting insects such as horse flies and deer flies. It can also be transmitted by the reuse of contaminated syringes, blood, saliva, milk, and body secretions C) The affected cells are: Red Blood cells D) Historical Background: - Discovered in France in 1843 - First diagnosed in the United States in 1888 - First Lentivirus: Have a long incubation period and the ability to affect non-dividing cells. - First persistent virus in which antigenic drift was defined: Ability to change form so that it is no longer susceptible to the current antibodies - Dr. Leroy Coggins developed the current sensitive test for EIAV called a Coggins test - Horses must test negative for EIAV before they can travel within the state and out of the country E) Common Symptoms: __ Acute: __ - Non- specific symptoms - Rapid onset of symptoms  - Short-lived high fever  - Anemia  - Animals infected usually die within in 2-3 weeks of infection  - Hard to diagnose

__ Chronic: __

- High fever: May rise to 105-108˚ then return to normal - Petechial hemorrhages: Blood colored spots on mucous membranes - Depression - Weight loss/ Loss of appetite - Dependent Edema: Swelling from fluid build-up under the skin. Most commonly occurs on the underside of the horse. - Anemia: Marked drop in red blood count and blood may appear watery and thin - Irregular heartbeat F) Standard Treatments: There are currently no treatments for EIAV in the United States. Horses that have a positive Coggins (agar immunodiffusion) test can be quarantined or humanly euthanized. G) Current Research: - Successful use of a vaccine to prevent EIAV in China. ([|Yue-Zhi Lin], 2011). - Comparison of the four different strains of EIAV. ([|Xuefeng Wang], 2011). H) References:
 * APHIS (2008). Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Safeguarding American Agriculture
 * Yue-Zhi Lin, Xue-Zhi Cao, Liang Li, Li Li, Cheng-Gang Jiang, Xue-Feng Wang, Jian Ma, and Jian-Hua Zhou, (2011). The pathogenic and vaccine strains of equine infectious anemia virus differentially induce cytokine and chemokine expression and apoptosis in macrophages. Virus Research, 16(1-2):274-282.
 * [|Xuefeng Wang], [|Shuai Wang], [|Yuezhi Lin], [|Chenggang Jiang], [|Jian Ma], [|Liping Zhao], [|Xiaoling Lv], [|Fenglong Wang], [|Rongxian Shen], [|Xiangang Kong], and [|Jianhua Zhou], (2011). Genomic comparison between attenuated Chinese equine infectious anemia virus vaccine strains and their parental virulent strains. Archives of Virology, 156(2): 353-357.