Equine arteritis virus.

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory and reproductive disease of equids. There has been significant recent progress in understanding the molecular biology of EAV and the pathogenesis of its infection in horses. In particular, the use of contemporary genomic techniques, along with the development and reverse genetic manipulation of infectious cDNA clones of several strains of EAV, has generated significant novel information regarding the basic molecular biology of the virus. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize current understanding of EAV virion architecture, replication, evolution, molecular epidemiology and genetic variation, pathogenesis including the influence of host genetics on disease susceptibility, host immune response, and potential vaccination and treatment strategies.