Zika virus can affect horses, study finds

Horses can be infected with Zika and Dengue viruses, researchers who conducted a study in the South Pacific reported.

A significant proportion of horses tested in research in New Caledonia and French Polynesia have been shown to have developed an immune response against viruses.

The immune response to Zika virus was observed in 4.3% of horses tested in New Caledonia and 15.4% of those tested in French Polynesia.

The 163 horsepower blood in New Caledonia has been tested. Seven of them had developed an immune response to Zika and 130 had been tested in French Polynesia, of which 20 had given a positive result.

The study provided similar results for the dengue virus: 6.1% of horses in New Caledonia showed signs of increasing immune response and 7.7% in French Polynesia.

"This seroprevalence study in the horse population shows that horses can become infected with dengue and zika viruses and that these infections lead to seroconversions in horses", reported Cecile Beck and colleagues, in a journal in free access. PLOS Pathogens.

The consequences of these infections in horses and their role in the incidence, distribution and control of these diseases deserve further investigation, they wrote.

New Caledonia and French Polynesia are areas in which insect-transmitted viruses circulate widely.

The 13-person study team conducted a serological survey in both island groups to investigate the seroprevalence of flaviviruses in horses – the family of viruses, which includes several others.

The researchers used three methods to test the sera. Samples were screened for flaviviruses using a competitive baday for enzyme-linked immunosorbent (cELISA).

Positive specimens were then confirmed with the aid of a specific microsphere immunobaday (MIA) and serum neutralization of flaviviruses.

In total, 16.6% of horses in New Caledonia and 30.8% in French Polynesia were positive for flaviviruses using the cELISA test. However, the MIA technique, which targets only flaviviruses at the origin of neurological problems in humans and horses, ie West Nile virus, the virus of the Japanese encephalitis and tick-borne encephalitis virus [TBEV]) – showed negative results for more than 85% of cELISA positive animals.

The seroprevalence of Japanese encephalitis and West Nile flavivirus among the 293 samples from both island groups was comparatively much lower (less than 2%).

The authors indicated that a series of outbreaks caused by the four dengue virus serotypes had been documented in the Pacific Island over the past 50 years.

The Zika virus first appeared in the Yap Islands (Federated States of Micronesia) in 2007. It was only present in French Polynesia in October 2013, when the virus first appeared in French Polynesia. and caused a strong epidemic among the population. It was first seen in New Caledonia in 2014 and is widely used.

Zika usually causes little or no mild symptoms, similar to a mild case of dengue fever. Symptoms may include fever, red eyes, joint pain, headaches, and rashes. The greatest danger is that Zika can be transmitted from a pregnant woman to her baby, resulting in serious brain malformations and other conbad anomalies.

Discussing their findings, the researchers indicated that the presence of specific antibodies against Dengue and Zika viruses in horses Aedes the mosquitoes responsible for its spread feed on many mammals.

"In conclusion, our study clearly shows that horses can be infected with Aedes Mosquito-transmitted viruses, such as Dengue or Zika, which are known to have a reservoir of primates. "

They reported that, although the rates of dengue virus and Zika virus seropositivity are much higher in humans than in horses in the central region of the study, the results show the need for Learn more about the role of pets in the disease cycle of both viruses.

The members of the study team were: Cécile Beck, Isabelle Leparc-Goffart, Denise Desoutter, Estelle Debergé, Herve Bichet, Steeve Lowenski, Marine Dumarest, Gaelle Gonzalez, Camille Migne, Jessica Vanhomwegen, Stephan Zientara, Benoit Durand and Sylvie Lecollinet. institutions in France and in the South Pacific.

Beck C, Leparc-Goffart I, Desoutter D, Debergé E, Bichet H, Lowenski S, et al. (2019) Serological evidence of infection with dengue and Zika virus in horses from the French Pacific islands. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 13 (2): e0007162. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007162

The study, published under a Creative Commons License, can be read here. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007162

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