CKE recommends the new ERAV Vaccine
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Mar 11, 2013
Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital is recommending the new ERAV Vaccine for horses under 3 years of age and for mature horses in high exposure environments. Horses that travel frequently or live where other horses come and go are at greatest risk for exposure to respiratory disease. The ERAV vaccine is one more tool towards prevention of respiratory disease, helping you avoid costly downtime in your competition or training schedule. Ask your Veterinarian if the ERAV vaccine would benefit your horse.
Boehringer Ingelheim Introduces Promising ERAV Vaccine
Product addresses equine respiratory disease that is difficult to diagnose.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (11-16-12) - Boehringer Ingelheim Vetemedica Inc. has introduced a new vaccine for Equine Rhinitis A Virus (ERAV). ERAV is a potentially overlooked causative agent of respiratory diseases affecting horses.
This disease, which affects both upper and lower airways, maybe spread by contact through nasal secretions and aerosol inhalation.
"We are excited to offer a safe vaccine option for veterinarians and horse owners," says John Tuttle, DVM, senior associate director, equine professional and technical services. "And as a worldwide leader in equine health-care solutions, we also have an obligation to help educate the industry about the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of this disease."
Widespread incidence
ERAV has been isolated from Thoroughbred horses with acute respiratory disease in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe, and it is emerging as an important disease in these regions.1 In a recent U.S. study, 73 percent of all sampled horses less than 3 years old exhibited serum-neutralizing (SN) antibodies to ERAV, and 90 percent of those 4 or older were positive.2
"Researchers are continuing to learn more about the prevalence of this disease," Tuttle says. "Performance horses that are co-mingled, stabled, entering training and 1 - 2 years of age or older appear to be at risk."
Early, specific diagnosis is the foundation of effective management of equine respiratory disease. Clinical signs associated with infection with ERAV may include fever, serous nasal discharge, coughing, abnormal lung sounds, anorexia, pharyngitis, lymphadenitis, increased tracheal mucus production, and occasionally, leg edema. Infection is accompanied by viremia that develops 3 - 7 days following infection and typically lasts for 4 - 5 days, with disappearance of virus from blood coinciding with onset of antibody production3. Veterinarians should be careful not to confuse ERAV with rhinopneumonitis, or "rhino" (Equine Herpes Virus 1 and 4).
"The role of ERAV in causing acute respiratory disease in horses may be underestimated due to the lack of sensitivity of traditional diagnostic testing," Tuttle says. "The virus can be detected from horses with acute, respiratory disease using virus isolation, PCR or paired SN assay testing."
Promising results
The USDA has granted BIVI a conditional license for Equine Rhinitis A Virus. A conditional license is eligible for consideration when it is demonstrated that there is a need in the field for such a product. Efficacy and potency test studies are in progress. A conditionally licensed vaccine may be distributed as authorized in each state, and used by, or under the supervision of veterinarians.
"Obviously, any number of factors can contribute to respiratory diseases in horses, which is why ERAV can be so difficult to diagnose," Tuttle says. "We are committed to helping veterinarians and horse owners understand this disease and learn more about the effectiveness of vaccination."
To find out more about ERAV vaccination for your horse, please contact Conley and Koontz Equine Hospital at 877-499-9909 or info@ckequinehospital.com.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (St. Joseph, Mo.), is a subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation based in Ridgefield, Conn., and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 42,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
References:
1 Warner S, Hartley CA, Stevenson RA, Ficorille N, Varrass A, Studdert MJ, and Crabb BS: Evidence that Equine Rhinitis A Virus VP1 Is a Target of Neutralizing Antibodies and Participates Directly in Receptor Binding, Journal of Virology, 75, 2001.
2 Holmes DF, Kemen MJ, Coggins L: Equine rhinovirus infection; serologic evidence of infection in selected United States horse populations, Princeton, NJ, 1978 Veterinary Publications.
3 Plummer G, Kerry JB: Studies on an equine respiratory virus, Vet Rec 74: 967 - 970, 1962.