J Vet Med Sci 2006 Mar; 68(3): 293-5 (Read article online)

Yamanaka T, Tsujimura K, Kondo T, Yasuda W, Okada A, Noda K, Okumura T, Matsumura T

Japanese encephalitis (JE) developed in an unvaccinated half-bred horse kept in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The animal showed ataxia with pyrexia and low appetite, and ultimately died. A viral strain was isolated from the cerebrum of the horse and was identified as JE virus (JEV) by RT-PCR using JEV specific primers. The isolated JEV was classified into genotype I by nucleotide sequence analysis of the viral envelope gene. We believe that this is the first report of the genotype I strain being isolated from a horse.