Journal of Dairy & Veterinary Sciences - Juniper Publishers Abstract African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious and non-contagious disease of equidae transmitted mainly by Culicoides species. The disease is caused by AHS virus (AHSV), a linear dsRNA virus, within the genus Orbivirus of the Reoviridae family, having 9 different serotypes. Kenya has experience death of horses due to AHS, despite vaccination. The vaccine used has two parts, administered 2-3 weeks apart. Part 1 is trivalent, while part 2 is tetravalent, however, it lacks serotypes 5 and 9. The objective of this study was to determine AHSV serotypes circulating in Kenya to inform the best vaccine and control strategies for AHS. Samples were collected from 37 horses (24 dead, 13 live) in different regions in Kenya including Nanyuki (n=14), Nairobi (n=6), Nakuru/Naivasha (n=14) and Kisumu (n=3). Majority of horses showed different clinical signs characteristic of the acute pulmonary form, however, some showed the...
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