Which disease requires an arthropod vector for transmission?

Which disease requires an arthropod vector for transmission?

• A. Equine influenza
• B. African horse sickness
• C. Hendra
• D. Equine herpesvirus 4

Answer: (B)

Vector-borne transmission relies on an arthropod carrying the pathogen between hosts. African horse sickness fits this because its causative virus is transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides). The virus cycles through the midge population and is passed to horses when a bite occurs, so control of the insect vector is crucial to prevent spread. The other diseases do not require an arthropod vector: equine influenza spreads by respiratory droplets and close contact; Hendra virus mainly spills over from flying-foxes to horses via bat secretions, not through insects; equine herpesvirus 4 transmits via direct horse-to-horse contact and aerosols without an insect intermediary.

Vector-borne transmission relies on an arthropod carrying the pathogen between hosts. African horse sickness fits this because its causative virus is transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides). The virus cycles through the midge population and is passed to horses when a bite occurs, so control of the insect vector is crucial to prevent spread. The other diseases do not require an arthropod vector: equine influenza spreads by respiratory droplets and close contact; Hendra virus mainly spills over from flying-foxes to horses via bat secretions, not through insects; equine herpesvirus 4 transmits via direct horse-to-horse contact and aerosols without an insect intermediary.