An existing equine Rotavirus A vaccine offers no protection.
A new Rotavirus not previously seen in horses is the culprit behind a rash of foal diarrhea cases seen during the first several months of the year at farms in Central Kentucky, according to researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
Because the virus is a different strain it could not be detected using existing diagnostic tests for equine Rotavirus A and also the currently available commercial vaccine does not provide any protection.
“This is not a mutation. This is a whole different virus for horses,” said Dr. David Horohov, chair of the Department of Veterinary Science and director of the Gluck Equine Research Center.
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