Topic:Biosecurity
Biosecurity in horses involves a set of management practices aimed at preventing the introduction and spread of infectious diseases within equine populations. These practices encompass measures such as quarantine protocols, vaccination schedules, sanitation procedures, and the control of animal and human movement on equine facilities. Biosecurity strategies are designed to minimize the risk of disease transmission through direct contact, fomites, vectors, and environmental exposure. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the implementation, effectiveness, and challenges of biosecurity measures in equine management.
Evaluation of the effects of footwear hygiene protocols on nonspecific bacterial contamination of floor surfaces in an equine hospital. To evaluate the effects of footwear hygiene protocols on bacterial contamination of floor surfaces in an equine hospital. Methods: Field trial. Methods: Footwear hygiene protocols evaluated included use of rubber overboots with footbaths and footmats containing a quaternary ammonium disinfectant, rubber overboots with footbaths and footmats containing a peroxygen disinfectant, and no restrictions on footwear type but mandatory use of footbaths and footmats containing a peroxygen disinfectant. Nonspecific aerobic bacterial counts were determined via 2 procedures for sample collection and bacter...
Hendra and Nipah viruses: pathogenesis and therapeutics. Within the past decade a number of new zoonotic paramyxoviruses emerged from flying foxes to cause serious disease outbreaks in man and livestock. Hendra virus was the cause of fatal infections of horses and man in Australia in 1994, 1999 and 2004. Nipah virus caused encephalitis in humans both in Malaysia in 1998/99, following silent spread of the virus in the pig population, and in Bangladesh from 2001 to 2004 probably as a result of direct bat to human transmission and spread within the human population. Hendra and Nipah viruses are highly pathogenic in humans with case fatality rates of 40...
Attempted eradication of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus colonisation in horses on two farms. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging equine and zoonotic pathogen. Infection control protocols can be used to control MRSA in human hospitals, but measures to eradicate MRSA on horse farms have not been evaluated. Objective: To describe an MRSA eradication programme that was used to attempt to eliminate MRSA colonisation among horses and horse personnel on 2 equine farms. Methods: Active surveillance cultures and infection control protocols were implemented on 2 farms with endemic MRSA. Results: Active screening and strict implementation of infection control protoc...
Optimization of equine infectious anemia derived vectors for hematopoietic cell lineage gene transfer. Gene transfer into hematopoietic cells may allow correction of a variety of hematopoietic and metabolic disorders. Optimized HIV-1 based lentiviral vectors have been developed for improved gene transfer and transgene expression into hematopoietic cells. However, the use of HIV-1 based vectors for human gene therapy may be limited due to ethical and biosafety issues. We report that vectors based on the non-primate equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) transduce a variety of human hematopoietic cell lines and primary blood cells. To investigate optimization of gene expression in hematopoietic ce...
An overview of infection control strategies for equine facilities, with an emphasis on veterinary hospitals. Infection control entails preventing or minimizing exposure to infectious agents or optimizing resistance to infection at the individual and population levels should exposure occur. The degree to which each of these strategies is applied varies according to the attributes of the disease agent and the population at risk. In developing an infection control, biosecurity, or biocontainment plan, it is important to decide which agent or agents are to be controlled, the method by which they might be introduced to the individual or population, and methods by which they might spread once at a farm or ...
Horses and the risk of zoonotic infections. Infectious agents are insidious, often changing to adapt to host defenses or treatment advances. Because these challenges will continue, the need to apply standard and transmission-based precautions is important not only in the human hospital setting but in the veterinary clinic setting. In addition, to prevent human infection and potential liability, clinics need to establish program algorithms to prevent disease spread for specific agents or planned procedures to respond to potential nosocomial and zoonotic disease events. These need to be done proactively. Furthermore, more money needs to b...
Environmental disinfection to control equine infectious diseases. Cleaning and disinfection are essential to the environmental control of infectious diseases of all animals. By understanding the types of pathogens, environment, and disinfection process, success can be attained in effectively stopping disease outbreaks.
Surveillance for nosocomial infections in veterinary hospitals. Surveillance for nosocomial infection and disease is a critical component in an integrated and highly effective infection control program. Surveillance activities provide a sensory role to guide ongoing control practices so that they are focused and efficient. Without input from surveillance results, infection control practices are likely to be guided more by emotion and opinion than by data and evidence. This article discusses issues to be considered when developing effective nosocomial infection surveillance programs as well as the historical perspective of surveillance efforts for nosocomia...
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in horses and horse personnel. Fortunately, MRSA infection and colonization are currently uncommon in veterinary medicine. Nevertheless, the increasing reports of the occurrence of MRSA infection in horses, veterinarians, and equine personnel dictate that serious consideration be given to the control of this pathogen in veterinary hospitals as well as in the equine community. It is unclear whether extrapolation from human hospitals and people in the community is appropriate; however, given the rapid increase in nosocomial MRSA in human hospitals and the recent shift of certain clones of MRSA into the community, it would be ...
Clostridium difficile diarrhea: infection control in horses. C difficile has emerged as an important cause of diarrheic disease in horses. C difficile diarrhea is usually diagnosed in mature horses, mostly when they are treated with antimicrobials and hospitalized. It is important for clinicians at veterinary hospitals to have knowledge about the organism and the infection. To prevent C difficile diarrhea, judicious use of antimicrobials is important, as is minimizing different stress factors at the animal hospital or clinic. Infected horses must be isolated. Routine examination for C difficile and toxin A or B is recommended in horses with antibiotic-a...
Barrier precautions, isolation protocols, and personal hygiene in veterinary hospitals. Because nosocomial and zoonotic diseases are inherent and ever-present risks in veterinary hospitals, proactive policies should be in place to reduce the risk of sporadic cases and outbreaks. Policies should ideally be put in place before disease issues arise, and policies should be effectively conveyed to all relevant personnel. Written policies are required for practical and liability reasons and should be reviewed regularly. Although no infection control program can eliminate disease concerns, proper implementation of barrier precautions and isolation can reduce the exposure of hospitalized...
Isolation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from the environment in a veterinary teaching hospital. After recognition of a cluster of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in horses and humans at the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital, environmental contamination with MRSA was evaluated. A total of 260 environmental surfaces were sampled during periods when MRSA-infected horses were hospitalized, and MRSA was isolated from 25/260 sites (9.6%). The most commonly contaminated sites were stalls housing MRSA-positive horses, but other stalls, medical equipment, personal items, and equine restraint devices also were contaminated. The role of the environ...
Design and organization of an equine intensive care unit. Careful planning and design of a new ICU are warranted to maximize use of the facility, minimize the risk of hospital-acquired infection, and improve overall patient outcome. In addition, personnel satisfaction improves with an improved work environment. A functional equine ICU is also tailored to the geographic area, local needs of the practice, and anticipated investment.
Detection of Salmonella organisms and assessment of a protocol for removal of contamination in horse stalls at a veterinary teaching hospital. To assess methods of detecting environmental contamination with Salmonella organisms and evaluate a cleaning and disinfection protocol for horse stalls in a veterinary teaching hospital. Methods: Original study. Methods: 37 horses with diarrhea likely to be caused by Salmonella infection and their stall environments. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from horses daily during hospitalization; samples were obtained from stall sites after cleaning and application of disinfectants. Fecal and environmental samples were cultured for Salmonella spp and tested via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a...
Risk factors for fecal shedding of Salmonella from horses in a veterinary teaching hospital. Identification of risk factors for horses shedding Salmonella in their feces helps identify patients at-risk of infection and protect the overall population through heightened biosecurity. Fecal samples from 230 hospitalized horses were cultured for Salmonella spp. Historical data were collected on 21 putative risk factors and assessed for association with the risk of a horse being culture positive using forwards stepwise logistic regression. Salmonella was isolated from 13 horses--most commonly from either the first (n=5) or second (n=4) sample collected. Only presenting complaint (confounded...
Helminth control used by trainers of thoroughbreds in England. A telephone survey was conducted of the methods used to control parasitic worms at 106 thoroughbred training yards. Most of the horses were allowed access to grass and were therefore at risk of infection. The control methods relied primarily on the use of anthelmintics and appeared reasonably successful because only 44 per cent of trainers reported observing clinical signs of nematode infections. They dosed their horses frequently, 40 per cent treating every four to six weeks and 25 per cent treating every seven to eight weeks. New arrivals on yards were usually treated with anthelmintic but t...
Transmission of opportunistic pathogens in a veterinary teaching hospital. Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, and Staphylococcus intermedius isolates from infected surgical wounds and other types of infections in a veterinary teaching hospital were typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. A first cluster of infections with a multiresistant A. baumannii strain was observed in dogs and cats in 1998-1999. This strain disappeared after cleaning and disinfection of the companion animals intensive care unit. It was followed in 2000 by a second multiresistant strain, which caused another cluster of infections and was also transmitted to ...
Use of a bioabsorbable implant for the repair of severed digital flexor tendons in four horses. A new bioabsorbable implant composed of poly-L-lactic acid was used to repair the severed digital flexor tendons of four horses. The limbs were immobilised with distal casts which were changed after six to eight weeks and removed after 12 to 16 weeks. The horses were followed clinically and ultrasonographically for from seven to 19 months after the surgery. The ultrasonographic examination after the cast had been removed showed that the implants had been well incorporated into scar tissue. Two of the horses were mildly lame at the trot seven months after the surgery, but had returned to work a...
Risk factors to tick infestations and their occurrence on horses in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. From December 1998 to March 1999, 40 stud farms were studied in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. During visits to farms, horses reared under grazing conditions were examined for the presence of ticks. On each farm visit, horse pastures were closely inspected and a questionnaire was given to the farm supervisor with the purpose of gaining information about ecological and management variables (independent variables) that could be associated with the presence and infestation levels of ticks on the farm (dependent variables). Three tick species were found during the study. Anocentor nitens, Amblyo...
Identification of sources of Salmonella organisms in a veterinary teaching hospital and evaluation of the effects of disinfectants on detection of Salmonella organisms on surface materials. To determine sources of Salmonella organisms in a veterinary teaching hospital, compare bacterial culture with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for detection of Salmonella organisms in environmental samples, and evaluate the effects of various disinfectants on detection of Salmonella organisms on surface materials. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: Fecal samples from 638 hospitalized horses and 783 environmental samples. Methods: Standard bacterial culture techniques were used; the PCR test amplified a segment of the Salmonella DNA. Five disinfectants were mixed with Salmonella suspe...
Control of strangles outbreaks by isolation of guttural pouch carriers identified using PCR and culture of Streptococcus equi. Previous use of repeated nasopharyngeal swabbing and culture of Streptococcus equi showed that healthy carriers developed in more than 50% of 'strangles' outbreaks. The guttural pouches were the only detectable site of S. equi colonisation on endoscopic examination of horses during one of these outbreaks and S. equi was sometimes not detected by culture of nasopharyngeal swabs from carriers for up to 2 or 3 months before nasal shedding resumed sporadically. A more sensitive way of detecting S. equi on swabs from established guttural pouch carriers was therefore required. Conveniently selected ...