Abel Dorrego Rodríguez defended this presentation at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid in order to obtain the Master of Research

September 18^th, 2023

Equine herpesvirus type 1 is a highly contagious virus distributed globally that causes
respiratory, reproductive, and neurological disease in horses. It often presents itself in the form of outbreaks where rapid diagnosis is essential. The description of the virus`s presence in urine opens the door to its use as a diagnostic sample. This study was conducted in order to understand the behaviour of the virus in this fluid and to establish the most suitable preservation method. The virus was artificially inoculated into samples from 6 horses, assessing how the concentration varied over time and under different temperature conditions, with and without a commercial conditioning buffer.
The animals` urine was inoculated with 104 copies/μl of the virus, and it was kept at room temperature and refrigerated, with and without preservative, in a first trial. The samples were analyzed at six time points ranging from 0 hours to 30 days. In a second trial, samples without preservative were frozen and analyzed at four time points between 0 and 30 days. The virus was detected in all samples up to 30 days, with a significant decrease in the first 24 hours and then remaining stable. Freezing provided the best results in terms of virus preservation throughout the entire period. The use of a preservative did not improve the results, therefore its use would be optional. The results obtained are of great utility for the detection of equine herpesvirus type 1 in urine during outbreaks