Topic:Antibiotics
Antibiotics are medications used to treat bacterial infections in horses. They work by either killing bacteria or inhibiting their growth, aiding the horse's immune system in overcoming the infection. Commonly used antibiotics in equine medicine include penicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and gentamicin. The selection of an antibiotic depends on factors such as the type of bacteria, the site of infection, and the horse's health status. Responsible use of antibiotics is essential to minimize the risk of resistance. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the efficacy, administration, and impact of antibiotics on equine health.
Ascending urinary tract infection in ponies. Two young ponies had the prescrotal portion of their penises accidentally amputated during castration. They both developed ascending urinary tract infections over the next 4 weeks. One pony had a necrotising cystitis and pyelonephritis, the other improved markedly after a urethrostomy had been performed but was destroyed several months later.
Serological response of patients with non-gonococcal urethritis to causative organism of contagious equine metritis 1977. The presence of allugtinins to the causative organism of contagious equine metritis (C.E.M.) in human serum has been confirmed. Agglutinins were found in the serum of 84 (37.6%) of 223 patients with non-gonococcal urethritis (N.G.U.), and in 12.5% of these patients there was a four-fold or greater rise in titre during the course of their illness. There was no evidence that these agglutinins were the result of infection by chlamydiae or ureaplasmas. Certain patients with these agglutinins seemed to respond better to therapy with antibiotics to which the C.E.M. bacterium is susceptible in vitro ...
Contagious equine metritis: a review. Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) is a highly contagious venereal disease of horses caused by a fastidious, Gram-negative coccobacillus which grows best on chocolate agar under microaerophilic conditions (5-10% CO2). Clinically, the disease is characterized by a copious watery-to-mucopurulent, vaginal discharge two to ten days after breeding by an infected stallion (11, 13). Shortened estrous cycle lengths are common and may be the only indication of endometritis in some instances (7). Inapparent carriers of the disease in both the mare and stallion make control of the disease more difficult. O...
Treatment of ringworm in horses with natamycin. A suspension based on the antibiotic, natamycin, was applied by sponging to 83 horses of various breeds and ages with signs of clinical ringworm. A number of different causative agents were involved of which Trichophyton equinum was the most common. Treatment successfully eliminated the disease within 4 weeks. After treatment the recovered animals did not show any evidence of re-infection for up to 6 months. The mycological clearance rate was 97 per cent and apart from the efficacy against ringworm, the preparation had the advantage of being non-irritant and odourless. It was also useful for t...
Fertility of prostaglandin-induced oestrus compared to normal post-partum oestrus. This study was undertaken to determine if fertility could be improved by increasing the interval from foaling to breeding. Forty-two mares, not bred during normal post-partum oestrus, were injected with a prostaglandin analogue on Day 6 or 7 following ovulation. Mares were mated artifically with antibiotic-treated semen during the resulting oestrus and, if necessary, for the following 4 cycles. Their fertility was compared, by cycles/pregnancy and rate of fetal loss, to mares bred by the same methods on 86 normal post-partum oestrous periods. The interval from foaling to the onset of breeding ...
The bacteriological culture of equine uterine contents, in-vitro sensitivity of organisms isolated and interpretation. A total of 19 pathogenic bacterial species was isolated from uterine swabs of 498 out of 1539 mares over 4 years. The swabs were taken by 5 veterinary clinicians using 2 different techniques. Bacterial contamination during swabbing was minimized by scrupulous attention to cleansing of the external genitalia and the perineal area, and in the handling of the culture specimen. The most prevalent organisms isolated were beta-haemolytic streptococcus (39%), Escherichia coli (27%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (7%). Interpretation of microbiological findings correlated well with clinical findings when n...
Survival of Haemophilus equigenitalis in different antibiotic-containing semen extenders. The ability of Haemophilus equigenitalis, the causal agent of contagious equine metritis 1977, to survive in various antibiotic-containing semen extenders was studied at different environmental temperatures. Gentamicin sulphate was found to be markedly superior to ampicillin or a combination of sodium benzyl penicillin and polymyxin B sulphate, Semen treated with the former antibiotic was either sterile at cultural examination or else yielded appreciably fewer colonies of H. equigenitalis than the untreated semen control. Ampicillin had no observable effect on the survival of this organism. Ge...
Transmissible drug resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from healthy dogs, cattle, sheep and horses. The antibiotic resistance patterns and the distribution of R-factors among Escherichia coli isolated from apparently healthy dogs, cattle, sheep and horses were studied. It was found that 102 strains (16.48 per cent) of a total of 619 isolates were resistant to one or more drugs. Twenty-six per cent (27 strains) of the resistant strains were capable of transferring either a part or the entire resistance patterns to the sensitive recipient strain. These results indicates that antibiotic resistance and R-factors are not particularly widespread among animals whose diet does not cotain antimicrobi...
Infective arthritis of the elbow joint in horses. Six horses were found to have infective arthritis of one elbow joint. The history, and presence of a small wound on the lateral aspect of the elbow suggested the condition was trauma induced. Two horses recovered following joint lavage under general anaesthesia and antibiotic therapy. The joint changes found post mortem in the others were characteristic of an infective arthritis.
Isolation of rotavirus from foals with diarrhoea. A rotavirus, morphologically similar to other known rotaviruses, was demonstrated in the faeces of 5 foals with diarrhoea on two properties. Four of these 5 samples produced specific intracytoplasmic fluorescence in cell culture when reacted with calf rotavirus antiserum conjugate. Sixteen affected foals from both properties were depressed, did not suckle and became recumbent. Most had a watery diarrhoea which lasted for 3 days and resulted in some dehydration and loss of body condition. Sick foals were separated from their mothers following the onset of diarrhoea and given fluid therapy and a...
Plasma concentrations of sodium benzylpenicillin after intrauterine infusion in pony mares. Plasma concentrations of sodium benzylpenicillin were measured following intrauterine infusion at a dose rate of 22,000 u/kg (250,000 u/ml). The reproductive status of the mare at the time of infusion did not appear to influence plasma concentrations of penicillin, but preswabbing the endometrium for bacteriological culture resulted in peak plasma concentrations which were nearly twice those found in unswabbed mares.
Absorption of sodium benzylpenicillin from the equine uterus after local Lugol’s lodine treatment, compared with absorption after intramuscular injection. Plasma concentrations of sodium benzylpenicillin following intrauterine infusion were increased by reducing the volume of solution and expelling air from the vagina after infusion. Instillation of 10 per cent Lugol's iodine solution into the uterus before penicillin infusion further increased the absorption rate, although peak plasma levels of penicillin were less than half those which resulted from intramuscular injection of the same dose.
Surgical treatment of osteomyelitis in the metacarpal and metatarsal bones of the horse. The case histories of four horses with osteomyelitis involving the metacarpal and metatarsal bones are reviewed and the surgical treatments discussed. The horses recovered after curettage of all infected tissue and post operative drainage. The role of antibiotics in treatment is considered and reference is made to the acute treatment of deep wounds to avoid osteomyelitis.
Maintenance of foals with combined immunodeficiency: causes and control of secondary infections. Sixty-six cases of combined immunodeficiency (CID) in foals were studied to determine the most prevalent causes of infection and death. Lesions of the respiratory system were observed in 59 of the foals and were attributable to infection with equine adenovirus. Pneumocystis carinii, and bacteria. Significant lesions were also observed in liver, pancreas, intestines, heart, and kidneys. Maintenance of foals with CID for experimental purposes is directed at the prevention and control of these secondary infections. Adenovirus can be controlled by administration of horse plasma containing high tit...
[Effectiveness of coumaphos against chorioptes bovis in a horse with foot-mange (author’s transl)]. A horse with foot-mange failed to recover following a number of courses of treatment with coumaphos. Mites isolated from this horse were tested in vitro for their sensitivity to coumaphos and lindane. The mites were resistant to coumaphos and sensitive to lindane. Following treatment with lindane, the horse recovered within four weeks.
Listeriosis in an Arabian foal with combined immunodeficiency. A 1-month-old Arabian foal with signs of central nervous system disease was found to have combined (B- and T-lymphocyte) immunodeficiency. The foal died in spite of intensive antibiotic therapy. At necropsy, generalized lymphoid hypoplasia and acute necrotizing and granulomatous inflammation of the brain, heart, and adrenal glands were found. In addition, there were spinal meningitis and focal hepatic necrosis. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated on primary culture from the brain.
The mini-pig as a model for penetration of penicillins. To be active, antimicrobials must reach the bacteria in the infectious foci in adequate concentrations. Direct measurements of levels in the various foci are difficult to perform, but a number of animal models with artificial extravascular foci have been developed. In many ways, the physiology of pigs resemble that of humans. Consequently, it was thought that pigs might also parallel humans in the handling of penicillins. General pharmacokinetics of ampicillin and flucloxacillin and the penetration of the substances to subcutaneously implanted teflon tistisue chambers were investigated. Ampici...
Sensitivity of mycoplasmas of the respiratory tract of pigs and horses to erythromycin and its use in selective media. The ability of erythromycin in liquid medium to suppress the growth of eight species of acholeplasma and of 13 species of mycoplasma was tested. The Acholeplasma spp and two glycolytic Mycoplasma spp from horses--a slow glucose-metabolising (SGM) mycoplasma and a strain N3, related to M mycoides--were sensitive to erythromycin. Thus the growth of acholeplasmas can be suppressed when attempts are made to isolate pathogens from the porcine respiratory tract, but, in the case of horses, erythromycin would suppress not only Acholeplasma spp but also two Mycoplasma spp of unknown pathogenicity in t...
Special topics in clinical pathology. The following topics are discussed in this presentation: A. Recent advances in the use and interpretation and methodology of antibiotic susceptibility testing. B. Improvements in sample submittal to obtain accurate results from your laboratory. C. Staining blood, bone marrow, and cytology specimens in the office laboratory. D. Pathogenesis and differential diagnosis of lipemia. E. Differential diagnosis of abdominal effusions.
An epidemic of venereal infection in thoroughbreds. The clinical pattern, bacteriological investigation and subsequent treatment of a serious outbreak of venereal disease in stud farms on both sides of the Irish Sea is described. The consistency with which Bacillus proteus was isolated from infected mares and stallions was remarkable. Prompt treatment with ampicillin, to which the organism was sensitive in vitro, eradicated the disease. No local treatment was applied.
Joint-ill and other bacterial infections on thoroughbred studs. From a perinatal survey carried out on Thoroughbred studs, information was obtained on the incidence, mortality and long-term effects of joint-ill and other bacterial infections. Many of these infections occurred in foals with a history of other perinatal abnormalities, and in foals in which receipt of colostrum was delayed. There was no direct relationship between the incidence of infection and maternal age, but prenatal lactation and loss of colostrum were more frequent in older mares. There was a significant reduction in the incidence of infections in foals given neomycin and framomycin dur...