InhaltsangabeEpidemiology.- Taxonomy of African horse sickness viruses.- Epidemiology of African horse sickness and the role of the zebra in South Africa.- Transmission and distribution of African horse sickness virus serotypes in South African zebra.- Serological and virological responses in mules and donkeys following inoculation with African horse sickness virus serotype 4.- Donkeys as reservoirs of African horse sickness virus.- Clinical, virological and immune responses of normal and immunosuppressed donkeys (Equus asinus africanus) after inoculation with African horse sickness virus.- Immunohistochemical demonstration of African horse sickness viral antigen in tissues of experimentally infected equines.- Entomology.- The 1996 outbreak of African horse sickness in South Africa - the entomological perspective.- The seasonal and geographical distribution of Culicoides imicola, C. pulicaris group and C. obsoletus group biting midges in central and southern Spain.- The relationship between climate and the distribution of Culicoides imicola in Iberia.- Simulation studies of African horse sickness in Spain.- The Culicoides vectors of African horse sickness virus in Morocco: distribution and epidemiological implications.- Studies of the mortality rate of Culicoides imicola in Morocco.- Modelling the distribution and abundance of Culicoides imicola in Morocco and Iberia using climatic data and satellite imagery.- Effect of temperature on African horse sickness virus infection in Culicoides.- Duration of repellency of various synthetic and plant-derived preparations for Culicoides imicola, the vector of African horse sickness virus.- Molecular biology.- New generation of African horse sickness virus vaccines based on structural and molecular studies of the virus particles.- Expression of the major core structural proteins VP3 and VP7 of African horse sickness virus, and production of core-like particles.- VP7 from African horse sickness virus serotype 9 protects mice against a lethal, heterologous serotype challenge.- Molecular epidemiology of African horse sickness virus based on analyses and comparisons of genome segments 7 and 10.- Structural studies of orbivirus particles.- Characterization of two African horse sickness virus nonstructural proteins, NS1 and NS3.- Development of a mouse model system, coding assignments and identification of the genome segments controlling virulence of African horse sickness virus serotypes 3 and 8.- Phylogenetic analysis of African horse sickness virus segment 10: sequence variation, virulence characteristics and cell exit.- Vaccines and diagnosis.- Future international management of African horse sickness vaccines.- Application of an indirect fluorescent antibody assay for the detection of African horse sickness virus antibodies.- Validation of ELISA for the detection of African horse sickness virus antigens and antibodies.- Use of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and dot-blot hybridisation for the detection and identification of African horse sickness virus nucleic acids.- Western immunoblotting as a method for the detection of African horse sickness virus protein-specific antibodies: Differentiation between infected and vaccinated horses.- Conclusions and recommendations of the meeting.