Day: February 13, 2018

A new parvovirus has been identified which is capable of causing life-threatening liver disease in horses. Researchers focused on a horse that contracted equine serum hepatitis, also known as Theiler’s disease, after receiving a dose of equine-derived tetanus antitoxin. The horse in Nebraska died 65 days after treatment with the antitoxin. Dr Thomas Divers and his colleagues identified the previously unknown parvovirus in the serum and liver of the dead horse, as well as in the administered antitoxin. The equine parvovirus they discovered was genetically analysed and found to be a new species in the genus Copiparvovirus.