Detection of the epidemic of the H3N8 subtype of the equine influenza virus in large-scale donkey farms.

To monitor the occurrence of equine influenza in large-scale donkey farms in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, serological investigation and sequence analysis of HA/M protein gene of equine influenza virus (EIV) were carried out. Samples (n = 65) of the lung and nasal swab were collected in six different large-scale donkey farms and detected with RT-PCR for HA and M protein gene. The homology and evolution of HA and M genes were analysed with known sequences. Antibody titres of serum samples (n = 120, unvaccinated) level was determined by the HI test. The average seropositive rate was 32.5% (39/120) with great diversity among different populations. The positive rate of EIV HA/M protein gene was 21.5% (14/65) by RT-PCR. The equine influenza H3N8 virus was confirmed by gene sequencing, and the homology of the sequence was 99.77% with isolates from Northeast China (equine/heilongjiang/1/2010), consistent with the input of donkeys. This suggested that EIV has become an important threat to large-scale donkey farms in Liaocheng and threats from the input area must be vigilant.