Tiny chemical change in horse herpes virus can have lethal effect

Sometimes, a small change can make a big difference. Such is the case with the horse **herpes virus**: A change in just one amino acid can make all the difference between triggering a cold or a life-threatening neurological disorder. **Cornell microbiologists** have shown that a single amino acid variation in an enzyme that is part of the DNA copying process of equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) creates a different type of EHV-1, which causes the neurological disorders in horses. Both types of EHV-1 can also cause abortions. The horse herpes virus, a close relative of the **chickenpox virus** in humans, lives in horses' nostrils and is commonly spread by droplets in the air. And horses remain infected for life. Recently, veterinarians noticed a rise in outbreaks of the neurological form of EHV-1, which can devastate entire herds. Close to one-third of horses that develop the neurological disease end up dying or being euthanized. Whole article on "Bionity":[ http://www.bionity.com/news/e/74106/]

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