Systematic Veterinary Virology

SYMPTOMS

• Influenza in horses is similar to "flu" in humans. The first symptoms are poor performance, letharginess, depression followed by a harsh cough, which usually lasts around 10 days.
• Other symptoms include a high temperature (38.9^ºC) lack of appetite and nasal discharge, which later turns into mucopurulent due to secondary bacterial infection. Watery eyes, enla
• rged lymph nodes between the mandibles, oedema and stiffness in the legs and breathing difficulty are also observed in affected horses. Horses with relatively mild cases of equine influenza usually recover in a week or so, but severely affected horses may require weeks to months to recover fully, especially if they are not allowed complete rest.
• Affected animals under stress, or ones not allowed to rest, may develop secondary pneumonia, a chronic cough, or inflammation of the heart muscle, sometimes resulting in death.