EIA study could help researchers understand HIV

Pullman, Wash.

- The equine infectious anemia (EIA) virus forces horses that acquire it to be quarantined for life or euthanized, but a new study being conducted at Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine could provide clues as to how the virus leads to life-long infection.

The study focuses on how the EIA virus, which is blood-borne and transmitted primarily by horseflies and deerflies, escapes detection by the immune system and settles into its host for life, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Since EIA, like HIV and similar human infections, is a lentivirus (in the retroviridae family of medium-sized enveloped viruses), researchers hope the study of the equine virus could one day help in the fight against human diseases like AIDS.

For more information, visit Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine Web site.