A novel experimental treatment for equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) called RNA interference shows promise, but more research is needed before this technology becomes commercially available.

EHV-1 evades the horse's immune system during infection and can lie dormant in the horse's body. For these reasons, making an effective vaccine against EHV-1 has, and continues to be, a challenge.

While EHV-1 usually causes mild disease, reproductive losses, lost training and competition days, and death secondary to neurologic disease can also occur. To date, treatment remains largely supportive.

"The failure of conventional drugs and vaccines to produce the desired level of protection has led to the investigation of alternative technologies for preventing and treatment of EHV-1-associated clinical disease," reported a group of researchers led by Nikolaus Osterrieder, DVM, DVM Habilitation (equivalent to PhD), from the Institute of Virology at the Freie Universitat Berlin in Germany and the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine