Serosurveillance for Japanese encephalitis virus infection among equines in India

The seroprevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) among equines was evaluated from January 2006 to December 2009 in 13 different states of India by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and virus neutralization test (VNT). Antibodies against JEV were detected in 327 out of 3,286 (10%) equines with a maximum prevalence reported in the state of Manipur (91.7%) followed by Gujarat (18.5%), Madhya Pradesh (14.4%), and Uttar Pradesh (11.6%). Evidence of JEV infection was observed in equines in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) where a 4-fold or higher rise in antibody titer was observed in 21 out of 34 horses in November 2007 to October 2006. In March 2008, seven of these horses had a subsequent 4-fold rise in JEV antibody titers while this titer decreased in nine animals. JEV-positive horse sera had a JEV/WNV (West Nile virus) ratio over 2.0 according to the HI and/or VNT. These results indicated that JEV is endemic among equines in India.