article · Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
Equine coronavirus was previously documented only in the United States, France, and Japan, leaving its global distribution poorly mapped. Testing of nasal swabs, rectal swabs, and blood serum samples from apparently healthy horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman confirms the presence of coronavirus infections in the region. Molecular testing through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction detected both equine coronavirus and HKU23 coronavirus. The investigation found no conclusive proof of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus in the horses tested. Additionally, serological screening indicated that lineage A betacoronaviruses frequently infect horse populations across Saudi Arabia and Oman. Because antibodies against these viruses cross-react, serological examination alone cannot be relied upon to identify the specific coronaviruses driving these infections.
Identifying which coronaviruses circulate among domestic livestock is essential for animal health tracking and regional pathogen surveillance. By demonstrating that equine and HKU23 coronaviruses infect horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman, this work expands the known geographic distribution of these viruses and reveals diagnostic limitations caused by antibody cross-reactivity.
This is early-stage research relevant to veterinary diagnostic manufacturers and animal health authorities. The presence of antibody cross-reactivity indicates a need for more discriminative testing tools, such as targeted molecular assays or multiplex diagnostics, to reliably distinguish lineage A betacoronaviruses in equines. However, any translation into commercial diagnostic kits remains distant from immediate market use.
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Equine coronaviruses (ECoV) are the only coronavirus known to infect horses. So far, data on ECoV infection in horses remain limited to the USA, France and Japan and its geographic distribution is not well understood. We carried out RT-PCR on 306 nasal and 315 rectal swabs and tested 243 sera for antibodies to detect coronavirus infections in apparently healthy horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman. We document evidence of infection with ECoV and HKU23 coronavirus by RT-PCR. There was no conclusive evidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in horses. Serological data suggest that lineage A betacoronavirus infections are commonly infecting horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman but antibody cross-reactivities between these viruses do not permit us to use serological data alone to identify which coronaviruses are causing these infections.
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DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12630
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