Persistence in nature of influenza virus A/eq/Praha/56 (Heq1Neq1).

Equine influenza occurred in Czechoslovakia 14 years after the last epizootic in horses that had returned from abroad. Six strains A (Heq1Neq1) antigenically related to, but not identical with, strain A/eq/Praha/56 were isolated from 10 washings. Seroconversion was demonstrated with paired sera, but the antibody increase was more marked against the newly isolated strain.

[Equine influenza in Czechoslovakia during the 1973 epizootic]. / Influenza koní v CSSR pri epizootii v roce 1973

During the epizootic spreading in Europe, equine influenza was brought in also into Czechoslovakia. The disease gradually spread from Slovakia (where horses were isolated after a trip abroad) to race horses throughout the country. The serological examination by the IH test showed that, again, the A equi 1/Praha 56 virus was the causative agent of the infection. The application of the Grippeguin vaccine from France was effective. No clinical manifestations of the disease were observed in two mares from one farm that had not been vaccinated although they had been in the focus of infection. However, these mares were housed together with one-year-old foals vaccinated against equine influenza before transport to the training stable in autumn 1972. In addition, the disease was not brought upon their two foals in the focus of infection (the age of these foals was three and five months).

[Various indices of microclimate in the newly built and re-adapted stables for race horses]. / Nekteré ukazatele mikroklimatu v nových a adaptovaných stájích sportovních koní

A study was performed to examine microclimate in 14 stables belonging to 10 horsemen's teams and clubs; five of these houses were new-built. In five race-horse stables housing 16 horses each, on an average, where the optimum air temperature ranged from 10 degrees C to 12 degrees C, measurements and examinations were performed in the winter period and the following results were obtained: space per 1 horse housed 42.9 plus or minus 8.7 m-3, relative air humidity 74.3 plus or minus 3.8%, CO2 concentration 0.175 plus or minus 0.027%, NH3 concentration 0.00135 plus or minus 0.00044%. A large majority of horse stables under our conditions lack suitable ventilating equipment for winter and for cold periods. Together with the present-day building technology and with excessive space of box-type houses, this implies that microclimate conditions are unsuitable and harmful to health; in particular, this is true of cold and wet conditions. In the existing stables this problem can be solved by additional heating, preferably with the hot-air system. It is necessary that horse stables should have good thermal-insulation characteristics, with plastered brick walls 45 cm in thickness and with thermally insulated loft. Floors must be solid, hard, and plane. Modern building technology and new materials must secure all the required parameters, with due respect to all factors constituting microclimate and to purposeful layout of race horse stables. It appears desirable to issue a state standard for the construction of horse stables.