Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 2, 2026

Development and Validation of a Quantitative PCR Method for Equid Herpesvirus-2 Diagnostics in Respiratory Fluids
Published on: March 17, 2016
EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection in vaccinated mares and their foals
C E Foote1, D N Love, J R Gilkerson
1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
Abstract:
A silent cycle of equine herpesvirus 1 infection was described following epidemiological studies of unvaccinated mares and foals on a Hunter Valley stud farm. Following the introduction of routine vaccination with an inactivated whole virus equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) vaccine in 1997, a subsequent study identified excretion of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in nasal swab samples tested by PCR from vaccinated mares and their unweaned, unvaccinated foals. The current sero-epidemiological investigation of vaccinated mares and their young foals found serological evidence of EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection in mares and foals in the first 5 weeks of life. The results further support that EHV-1 and EHV-4 circulate in vaccinated populations of mares and their unweaned foals and confirms the continuation of the cycle of EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection.
Related Concept Videos
Vaccinations
Poliomyelitis
Arboviral Encephalitis
Cytomegalovirus Disease
Genital Herpes
Encephalitis ll: Pathophysiology

