Clinical, virological and serological responses of donkeys to intranasal inoculation with the KY-84 strain of equine arteritis virus

The clinical, virological and serological responses of seven female donkeys ( Equus asinus) to inoculation with the KY-84 strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV), a strain that causes moderate to severe clinical signs in horses, was investigated. In the donkeys, the only clinical signs observed were fever (mainly 3–9 days after inoculation), mild depression in four animals, and a slight nasal or ocular discharge in three. All of the donkeys became infected with EAV as shown by recovery of the virus for periods of up to 14 days from the nasopharynx and buffy coat and, in three out of four donkeys sampled, from the cervix or vagina. Virus replication in the donkey appeared to mirror that previously described for the horse. The donkeys had “seroconverted” to EAV by the 10th day after inoculation. Additional studies are needed to obtain a better understanding of the pathogenesis of EAV in donkeys.