Evaluating African horse sickness virus in horses and field-caught Culicoides biting midges on the East Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

A prospective study was undertaken during 2013 and 2014, to determine the prevalence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) in Culicoides midges and the incidence of infection caused by the virus in 28 vaccinated resident horses on two equine establishments on the East Rand, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Field caught Culicoides midges together with whole blood samples from participating horses were collected every two weeks at each establishment. Culicoides midges and blood samples were tested for the presence of AHSV RNA by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Nine immunised horses became infected with AHSV during the study period, although infections were subclinical. African horse sickness virus was also identified from a field-collected midge pool. The observations recapitulate previously published data in another setting, where further investigation is warranted to determine what role subclinical infection plays in the diseases epidemiology