Investigation of Equine Influenza Cases Exhibiting Neurological Disease: Coincidence or Association?

Equine influenza is usually a transient and self-limiting disease. However, during an outbreak of equine influenza in the UK in 2003 there were reports of unusually severe clinical signs among unvaccinated animals. Two influenza-infected horses developed neurological signs, and one was subjected to euthanasia. Post-mortem examination of the brain revealed viral-type non-suppurative encephalitis, and influenza virus antigen was demonstrated by immunolabelling of sections of nasal mucosa. A syndrome known as influenza-associated encephalopathy has been described in man. Although not proved, the data suggest that similar disease mechanisms may operate in horses, and that equine influenza virus infection can result in encephalitis in the natural host, perhaps due to an aberrant host immune response.