ROTAVIRUS INFECTION IN FOALS

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 41  (10) , 1699-1703
Abstract
Fecal samples from 86 foals with diarrhea were examined by EM during 2.5 yr. Of these, 26 (30%) were positive for rotavirus. All of the cases were found in epizootic areas. The disease was produced in an experimental foal by inoculation via stomach tube of a bacteria-free fecal filtrate containing rotavirus. Examination of postmortem tissues from the duodenum and jejunum of 2 naturally infected foals and an experimentally infected foal revealed replicating virus in the intestinal epithelial cells. A limited survey of complement-fixing antibody to rotavirus in horses from Kentucky, Virginia [USA] and France indicated that all horses had antibody to the virus. The sole exception was 1 foal from which blood samples were collected prior to suckling. These results were presumptive evidence that rotavirus is a major cause of diarrhea in foals, and the presence of antibody in horses from diverse areas is evidence for the ubiquitousness of this infection.