It may be possible to demonstrate viral nucleic acid on additional days, but this is only demonstrated as viable virus using hens’ eggs. signs were recorded in the control horses. Clinical signs were minimal in vaccinated horses. Clinical (P=0.0345) and total clinical scores (P=0.0180) were significantly lower in Nocodazole the vaccinated than in the control horses. Vaccination had a significant effect on indicators of viraemia C the extent (P=0.0006) and duration (P= 0.0001) of virus excretion and the total amount of virus excreted (AUC, P=0.0006). Vaccination also had a significant effect (P=0.0017) on whether a horse was positive or negative for virus excretion during the study. Further research is needed to fully understand the specific properties of this vaccine that may contribute to its cross-protective capacity. Introduction Equine influenza is a frequently occurring, contagious respiratory infection of horses caused by equine influenza virus C an orthomyxovirus of the genus influenza virus A. Outbreaks of equine influenza occur almost all over the world in the equine population C only Iceland and New Zealand are free of this virus (Anon 2012) C and incur significant economic losses due to the cost of treatment, disruption of the equine industry and limitations on the movement of horses. Surface glycoproteins (haemagglutinin and neuraminidase), which are used to subtype influenza A viruses, play an important role in establishing and spread of infection, as well as being the target for virus neutralising antibody. Haemagglutinin is the principal surface glycoprotein, controls the entry of virus into host cells, is a key immunogen for neutralising antibody and is used for virus typing. Neuraminidase controls the release of newly synthesised virus particles from infected cells and plays an increasingly recognised role as an immunogen, through reducing the amount of virus released from infected cells (Sylte and Suarez 2009). Random mutation leads to structural change of the surface glycoproteins, which is known as antigenic drift. Over time, if sufficient changes Nocodazole in amino acid composition have occurred, the invading virus may no longer be recognised by the primed immune system C the immune system of horses that Nocodazole have been vaccinated COLL6 or infected previously C and thus, would not be neutralised by antibody. However, the situation is complex. While circulating antibody to haemagluttinin appears to correlate with protection after vaccination, antibody titres in horses following natural infection are often low even though these horses are protected against infection (Cullinane and Newton 2013). The viruses currently circulating in horses are of the H3N8 antigenic Nocodazole subtype (Borchers while others 2005, Bryant and others 2009, Elton and Bryant 2011, Gildea and others 2012, Cullinane and Newton 2013). In fact, all influenza viruses isolated from horses in the last 30?years have belonged to this subtype suggesting that H7N7 viruses (ie, A/eq/Prague/56) are no longer circulating in the horse human population (Elton and Bryant 2011). In the mid-1980s, H3N8 viruses split into two unique lineages (American and Eurasian) (Endo while others 1992, Daly while others 1996). The situation has since become more complex (Daly while others 2011) with the American lineage split into three unique sublineages C South American, Kentucky and Florida (Lai while others 2004, Lewis while others 2011). The Florida sublineage is definitely split into two unique clades known as Florida 1 (eg, A/eq/South Africa/4/03) and Florida Nocodazole 2 (eg, A/eq/Newmarket/5/03, A/eq/Richmond/1/07) (Daly while others 2011, Lewis and others 2011, Cullinane and Newton 2013). In?samples from your field, Eurasian lineage strains are now isolated infrequently and American -lineage strains predominate (Daly while others 2011, Cullinane and Newton 2013). In Europe, the strains circulating currently are from Florida sublineage clade 2 (Barthold while others 2011, Cullinane and Newton 2013). A panel of specialists (expert surveillance panel (ESP)) appointed from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) make recommendations for equine influenza vaccines based on the worldwide equine influenza strain surveillance programme, in place since 1993. This programme relies on the analysis of antigenic variations between strains of equine influenza based on haemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays using post-infection ferret antisera. These assays are notoriously hard to interpret and serve as a guide (Daly while others 2011). For this reason, antigenic cartography of HI data and genetic sequencing of the haemagglutinin 1 (HA1) gene is also carried out. The pace of.