ABSTRACT
African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is the causal agent of African horse sickness (AHS), which is a highly infectious and deadly disease of horses, ponies, European donkeys, mules, camels, goats, and buffalo. The clinical presentations of AHS range from inappetence, severe pyrexia, widespread hemorrhages and edematous exudations, impaired respiratory and vascular functions, to death (with mortality as high as 95% in horses and 80% in mules). However, African donkeys and zebra are largely refractory to the devastating consequences of AHS and rarely show clinical signs. In addition, AHSV may infect carnivores such as dogs that ingest contaminated meat.
