Complement fixation is an immunological reaction involving the binding of complement proteins to antibodies that have attached to specific antigens. In horses, this process is part of the innate immune response, contributing to the identification and elimination of pathogens. The complement system consists of a series of proteins that, when activated, enhance the ability of antibodies and phagocytic cells to clear microbes and damaged cells. This system also promotes inflammation and attacks the pathogen's cell membrane. The complement fixation test is a diagnostic tool used to detect the presence of specific antigens or antibodies in equine serum by observing the consumption of complement proteins. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, regulation, and diagnostic applications of complement fixation in equine immunology.
Kay PH, Dawkins RL, Bowling AT, Bernoco D.Plasma or serum samples from 12 Arabian and 181 standardbred horses have been typed using an immunofixation technique to determine electrophoretic polymorphism of equine third complement component (C3). Six distinctly different electrophoretic patterns of equine C3 have been recognized thus far. SDS PAGE analysis of equine C3/anti C3 complexes revealed that the submolecular structure comprised an alpha chain and beta chain of molecular weights approximately 118,000 and 63,000 daltons respectively. The molecular weights of the alpha and beta chains were similar in all electrophoretic variants t...
Edington N, Bridges CG, Patel JR.Eight mares were infected with equid herpesvirus-1 subtype 1 isolated from a case of equine paresis. In two mares killed at 4 d.p.i. immunofluorescence showed endothelial cell infection together with thrombosis in the rete arteriosus of the nasal mucosa and also in the spinal cord of one of these mares. Circulating platelet counts in the other six mares fell as early as 2 d.p.i. and remained depressed for seven days. Circulating immune complexes started to appear at 2 d.p.i., reached maximum levels at 10 d.p.i., but were undetectable at 28 d.p.i. Three of the six remaining mares developed vary...
Brown AE, Hansen PJ, Asbury AC.Uterine flushings collected from mares before and after bacterial-induced inflammation were assayed for ability to opsonize Streptococcus zooepidemicus for phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Opsonization was measured as the peak phagocytic rate of bacteria preincubated with uterine flushings relative to the peak phagocytic rate of unopsonized bacteria. Flushings from four mares with noninfected uteri were unable to opsonize bacteria regardless of whether uteri were flushed at estrus or on day 10 postovulation. In a second experiment, 7 X 10(9) live S. zooepidemicus were inoculated i...
Herr S, Huchzermeyer HF, Te Brugge LA, Williamson CC, Roos JA, Schiele GJ.The same techniques may be used in the complement fixation test (CFT) for the serological diagnosis of bovine brucellosis, Johne's disease (paratuberculosis), dourine, equine piroplasmosis and Q fever (caused by Coxiella burnetii). The reproducibility of results is excellent, falling for the most part within the twofold range and never exceeding the fourfold range. Agreement with other laboratories is excellent (i.e. within twofold) in the case of brucellosis and equine piroplasmosis antibody titres. A good correlation between the occurrence of the disease and serological reactions is found on...
Vernon SD, Webb PA.We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that was capable of detecting immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in the sera of experimentally and naturally infected cattle and horses. The detection of IgM in the sera of these animals permitted an estimate of the recency of infection by VSV serotype New Jersey. A VSV serotype New Jersey epizootic strain isolated from a horse and passed once in an Aedes albopictus cell line was used to infect a horse and a calf. Sera from these animals were used to standardize the ELISA. This assay was used to test ser...
Edington N, Bridges CG, Huckle A.Eight ponies were experimentally infected with equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV 1) (subtype 1). All animals showed clinical and serological evidence of infection and virus was isolated from nasal swabs and leucocytes. These ponies were kept in isolation for a further three months during which time complement fixing antibody decreased at least four-fold. Following immunosuppression with dexamethasone and prednisolone subtype 1 virus was recovered from six of the eight animals within 14 days. Five of these six ponies were viraemic and three of them shed virus in nasal secretions; only four displayed sig...
Lynch JA, Binnington BD, Artsob H.A 4-fold or greater seroconversion to the snowshoe hare serotype of the California serogroup of viruses in a horse with acute encephalitis was demonstrated by hemagglutination-inhibition, complement-fixation, and neutralization tests. The horse had a mild fever, was ataxic, had a head tilt, and was observed to circle. Chloramphenicol, dexamethasone, and B complex vitamins were administered and the horse recovered. The snowshoe hare virus is a recognized human pathogen, but it has not been associated with disease in horses. It is unknown whether horses play a role as amplification hosts for the...
Boch J.Babesia infections serologically diagnosed in horses, cattle and dogs in Southern Germany during the last few years are described. 321 sera of horses were examined for specific antibodies to Babesia by means of CFT and IIF in 1984; 18 sera reacted to Babesia equi and 4 to Babesia caballi antigen. In a cattle breeding area in the Western Allgäu 13% of 1616 cattle reacted positive to Babesia divergens antigen using IIF and ELISA; during the grazing season 1982 new latent infections were observed in 25 of 266 calves and heifers. Cases of introduced canine babesiosis are more frequent; 10 of 34 s...
Mettler NE, Fernández AS, Di Santo MI, Pardo DA.Sera from 282 equines from Tandil country and surroundings were investigated searching for hemagglutination inhibition (HI), Complement fixation (CF), and Neutralizing (NT) antibodies against three flavivirus:Ilheus, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Yellow Fever from the Togaviridae family. Sera were collected between 3-20-79 and 11-25-80 from 10 different places in Tandil and Ayacucho countries. Animals ranged from 45 days to 27 years old. Forty nine of them reacted with one or more flavivirus by HI and/or CF tes representing a prevalence of 17.4% for this antigenic complex. Twenty four of them ne...
Mumford JA, Bates J.Serological responses following two and three doses of an inactivated equid herpesvirus 1 ( EHV -1) vaccine containing a subtype 1 strain were examined in yearling ponies. Complement fixing antibody responses were significantly higher against the subtype 1 vaccine strain than against a subtype 2 virus. Complement fixing antibody responses declined rapidly after the second dose of vaccine and had returned to almost pre-vaccination levels eight weeks after the second dose of vaccine. Complement fixing antibody titres to the heterologous subtype 2 strain increased after each successive dose of va...
Asbury AC, Gorman NT, Foster GW.The addition of serum to uterine secretions was shown to opsonize Streptococcus zooepidemicus and significantly enhance bacterial phagocytosis by equine neutrophils. Treatment of serum by heat inactivation at 56 degrees C, EDTA treatment, and C3 consumption reduced phagocytosis and therefore demonstrated that the process was complement-dependent. The amount of C3 present in uterine secretions was measured in a series of 14 mares infected with Streptococcus zooepidemicus . Ten of the 14 mares had detectable amounts of C3; however, the C3 had been cleaved and rendered nonfunctional. The importan...
Dolan M, Cargill C, Martin F, Davenport P, Franks D, Lightfoot J.A bacteriological and serological survey for evidence of contagious equine metritis (CEM) was made during the 1980 breeding season on 3 horse studs in South Australia with a history of previous infection. Swabs from the clitoral sinus and the cervix were cultured for Haemophilus equigenitalis and serum was screened for antibody using the complement fixation test (CFT) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The specificity of both tests was greater than 0.99 but the ELISA was more sensitive in detecting antibody in infected mares. On the evidence presented it was concluded that H. e...
Metenier L, Grosclaude J, Meriaux JC.The chief application of blood typing in domestic animals is in the verification of parentage. However, the acquisition of good standardized reagents in sufficient quantity remains an obstacle for the development of this work. The production of monoclonal antibodies directed against blood group determinants offers an attractive means of improving both the quality and quantity of serological reagents, and could facilitate the definition of new specificities. Fusions between a mouse myeloma line and splenocytes from mice immunized with horse red cells have resulted in four hybridomas producing a...
Calisher CH, Emerson JK, Muth DJ, Lazuick JS, Monath TP.Sera from horses and human beings with clinically diagnosed western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus infections were tested for hemagglutination-inhibition (HI), complement-fixation (CF), and neutralizing (N) antibody to WEE virus. These tests confirmed infection in 43.8% (HI), 56.3% (CF), and 80.4% (N) of horses and 54.5% (HI), 59.1% (CF), and 77.3% (N) of human beings. Use of the N test as an adjunct to the HI and CF tests increased the likelihood of serologic confirmation to 91.7%. In both horses and human beings, N antibody increased steeply at the end of the 1st week after onset. The resul...
Cybinski DH, Zakrzewski H.CSIRO 368 virus was isolated from blood collected in the Northern Territory from a healthy cow and electron microscope studies showed that the isolate had rhabdovirus morphology. Fluorescent antibody studies and complement fixation tests related the virus to bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) virus. Neutralization tests in both suckling mice and Vero cells showed that the virus was not BEF virus. Antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were found in cattle sera from northern and eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea. Antibodies were found in 16 out of 45 buffalo, some of which also had antibodies to BEF viru...
Dyer RM, Leid RW.Isolated equine alveolar macrophages obtained by bronchopulmonary lavage of four live ponies demonstrated surface receptors for equine IgG, equine IgM, and complement-coated sheep red blood cells, but not equine IgM or complement-coated erythrocytes alone. In addition, demonstration of IgG receptors was found to depend on the level of erythrocyte sensitization and could not be demonstrated by red blood cell rosetting techniques at low levels of sensitization. Demonstration of receptors for equine complement by red cell rosetting techniques required the presence of both IgM antibody and serum d...
Rehbein G, Heidrich-Joswig S.Eight ponies infected with Babesia equi were investigated for their serological response to B. equi schizont and piroplasm antigen with the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and complement fixation test (CFT). Piroplasm antigen was prepared from an infected splenectomized pony, while schizont antigen was produced from cultured lymphoid cells which contained B. equi macroschizonts. The IFAT detected a rise in antibody titres to schizont antigen as well as to piroplasm antigen, but differences were obtained in the duration of antibody detection. Significant antibody titres to piroplasm a...
Camp CJ, Leid HW.Extracts of Onchocerca cervicalis, an equine parasite, were incubated with radiolabeled equine neutrophils and neutrophil migration was assessed for factors derived from the parasite itself or for host-derived factors after incubation of these same parasite extracts with equine serum. No stimulus for cell migration was observed in saline extracts of adult worms, uterine microfilariae, or skin microfilariae at any dosage tested. However, after incubation of saline extracts with fresh normal equine sera a marked stimulus for neutrophil migration was observed. Ablation of this biologic activity w...
Suzuki T, Ueda S, Samejima T.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was elaborated for the detection of specific antibody to equine infectious anemia (EIA) antigen. Sera from horses experimentally infected with EIA virus were assayed by ELISA, complement fixation (CF) and immunodiffusion (ID) tests for antibody to EIA antigen. The ELISA technique was found to be much more sensitive than CF and ID tests. In addition, EIA specific antibody could be detected by ELISA at an earlier stage of infection than by CF or ID techniques. The applicability of the technique to diagnosis of EIA is discussed.
Kirchhoff H, Ammar AM, Heitmann J, Dubenkropp H, Schmidt R.Sera from horses with respiratory disease (RD) have been investigated using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test, enzyme immune assay, and the metabolic inhibition test, and sera from mares after abortion, using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test and enzyme immune assay, for antibodies against Mycoplasma equirhinis, M subdolum, M. equigenitalium, M. pulmonis, M. felis, Acholeplasma laidlawii, A. hippikon and A. equifetale. Antibodies were found against all mycoplasma and acholeplasma species tested, more often against acholeplasmas. The antibod...
McChesney SL, England JJ, McChesney AE.An agent lethal to embryonated chicken eggs was isolated from lung tissues of a quarter horse mare with a fatal respiratory disease. The lesions induced in embryonated chicken eggs, the tinctoral properties, the ultrastructural morphology, the resistance of the organism to sodium sulfadiazine, and the presence of a chlamydial complement fixing antigen, identify this isolate as a member of the family Chlamydiaceae and suggest the agent to be Chlamydia psittaci. Two Shetland ponies experimentally infected with the isolated agent developed subclinical infection as demonstrated by an increase in c...
Anderson LW, Banks KL.Equine macrophages were obtained from female Shetland ponies by injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide through the lactiferous ducts of the mammary gland. After 6 to 11 days, balanced salt solution was injected into the mammary gland to wash out accumulated cells. Harvested cells contained a mixture of macrophages, lymphocytes, and neutrophils, with the majority of the cells of mononuclear type. In culture, cells adherent after 24 hours were characterized as macrophages by morphologic features, nonspecific esterase staining, and by the presence of complement and immunoglobulin recept...
The Journal of hygieneAugust 1, 1981
Volume 87, Issue 1 93-100 doi: 10.1017/s0022172400069278
Lemcke RM, Ernø H, Gupta U.Two unidentified mycoplasmas, N3 and N11, isolated from the respiratory tract of horses, were found to cross-react with strains of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides in indirect immunofluorescence tests, growth-inhibition tests carried out by the running drop/agar-well method, and in complement-fixation and double immunodiffusion tests. Serologically, the equine mycoplasmas were not completely identical with any of the reference strains of M. mycoides with which they were compared. Their cultural characteristics, ability to digest coagulated serum and casein, and survival at 45 degrees C, however, su...
Rommel FA, Sahu SP.Intrauterine inoculation of pony mares with the bacterium that is the causative agent of contagious equine metritis (CEM) resulted in clinical disease. A humoral immune response could be detected by agglutination and complement fixation (CF), and in some cases precipitating antibody was found by immunodiffusion tests. Agglutinating antibody was the most reliable serological indicator of overt infection and was detected in 8 ot 28 mares after initial intrauterine inoculation of 3-4 x 10(5) bacteria. Seventy percent of mares given a second inoculation and all mares given a third inoculation of 3...
Joyner LP, Donnelly J, Huck RA.The results of complement fixation (CF) test for equine piroplasmosis on sera from horses destined for international movement from Great Britain and Ireland are presented and analysed. No horses born and continuously resident in the British Isles were found carrying CF antibodies to either Babesia equi or B caballi. Positive animals were found to have association with the following countries where known tick vectors occur: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, France, Poland, USSR and Arabian Gulf countries. Data on the persistence of CF antibodies in animals subjected to repeated testing showed that some...
Snyder DB, Myrup AC, Dutta SK.Pony foals, negative for detectable serum-neutralizing antibody to equine herpesvirus 1 by the standard tube-culture virus neutralization test, were experimentally infected with equine herpesvirus 1. Complement-requiring (CR) and non-complement-requiring (NCR) serum-neutralizing antibodies were evaluated in preinfection and postinfection sera by means of a complement-enhanced plaque reduction assay. Low levels of CR antibodies were found in the preinfection sera of only group II ponies. Upon infection, CR antibodies were detected by day 2 postinfection and reached peak titers between 7 and 14 ...
Kirchhoff H, Ammar AM, Heitmann J, Dubenkropp H, Schmidt R.Sera from horses with respiratory disease (RD) have been investigated using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test, enzyme immune assay, and the metabolic inhibition test, and sera from mares after abortion, using the complement fixation test, indirect hemagglutination test and enzyme immune assay, for antibodies against Mycoplasma equirhinis, M subdolum, M. equigenitalium, M. pulmonis, M. felis, Acholeplasma laidlawii, A. hippikon and A. equifetale. Antibodies were found against all mycoplasma and acholeplasma species tested, more often against acholeplasmas. The antibod...
Asbury AC, Gorman NT, Foster GW.The addition of serum to uterine secretions was shown to opsonize Streptococcus zooepidemicus and significantly enhance bacterial phagocytosis by equine neutrophils. Treatment of serum by heat inactivation at 56 degrees C, EDTA treatment, and C3 consumption reduced phagocytosis and therefore demonstrated that the process was complement-dependent. The amount of C3 present in uterine secretions was measured in a series of 14 mares infected with Streptococcus zooepidemicus . Ten of the 14 mares had detectable amounts of C3; however, the C3 had been cleaved and rendered nonfunctional. The importan...
Bridges CG, Edington N.Six Welsh Mountain pony foals were experimentally infected with a subtype 2 isolate of Equid Herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and subsequently examined for T cell mediated cytotoxicity against both subtypes. Cytotoxicity was not observed at 3 or 7 days after primary exposure but virus-specific, and genetically restricted, cytotoxicity of EHV-1-labelled autologous skin fibroblasts could be demonstrated 7 and 21 days after the animals were given a second exposure to live virus. Killing of subtype 2 antigen-labelled targets was more efficient than subtype 1 coated cells. This finding was paralleled by the o...
Edington N, Bridges CG.Two groups each of six sibling ponies were exposed to sequential infections with equid herpesvirus 1 or 4 (EHV-1 or EHV-4) at four or five month intervals. Two exposures to EHV-4 did not significantly reduce virus shedding or pyrexia when the ponies were subsequently exposed to EHV-1. However, two sequential infections with EHV-1 completely protected against challenge with EHV-4. Virus neutralising antibody in each group did not increase until 21 days after primary exposure and was subtype specific. However, complement fixing antibody rose within seven days after inoculation with EHV-1, and 14...
Holman PJ, Becu T, Bakos E, Polledo G, Cruz D, Wagner GG.Babesia equi, a causative agent of equine piroplasmosis, was isolated from horses in the Chaco Province of Argentina, a known piroplasmosis endemic region. Fifteen B. equi field isolates were acquired by culture from 23 actively working horses from 2 ranches. The horses appeared healthy with no clinical signs or histories indicative of equine piroplasmosis. All 23 horses had B. equi-specific antibody activity by the indirect fluorescent antibody test and 18 were also complement fixation test positive for B. equi. Equine erythrocytes were prepared for parasite culture using a microcentrifuge tu...
Boulanger P, Bannister GL, Ruckerbauer GM, Corner AH.Clinical field cases of equine infectious anemia were studied and the disease was reproduced experimentally in horses. Attempts were made to adapt the complement-fixation test to the detection of antibodies in the serum of infected animals and to the demonstration of antigens in tissue extracts.A moderate complement-fixing antibody response was demonstrated in the serum of horses shortly after primary exposure to the infectious agent. However, this reactivity was of short duration and occurred with normal as well as with infected saline tissue extracts. It was therefore concluded that this rea...
Cohen ND, Cywes-Bentley C, Kahn SM, Bordin AI, Bray JM, Wehmeyer SG, Pier GB.Strangles is a common disease of horses with worldwide distribution caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (SEE). Although vaccines against strangles are available commercially, these products have limitations in safety and efficacy. The microbial surface antigen β 1→6 poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) is expressed by SEE. Here we show that intramuscular (IM) injection alone or a combination of IM plus intranasal (IN) immunization generated antibodies to PNAG that functioned to deposit complement and mediate opsonophagocytic killing of SEE ex vivo. However, immunization st...
Bernoco MM, Liu IK, Willits NH.Six foals were deprived of colostrum for the first 36 hours after birth and, instead, received reconstituted powdered milk. Five control foals suckled their dams naturally. Blood samples were obtained from all the foals after birth and at approximately weekly intervals until at least 5.5 months of age. Sera were analyzed for hemolytic complement activity, complement component C3, and correlating IgG concentration. Hemolytic complement (P = 0.0145) and C3 (P = 0.0002) values were significantly higher in colostrum-deprived foals (CDF) than in naturally nursed foals at 2 to 5 days of age. In addi...
Croxton-Smith P, Benson JA, Dawson FL, Powell DG.A complement fixation test (CFT) based on that used for brucellosis (Brinley Morgan and others 1971) has been developed for use on the sera of horses exposed to the contagious equine metritis (CEM) organism. None of 50 single samples from horses thought to be unexposed to the CEM organism was positive to the test, although five showed inconclusive reactions. Samples were examined from 41 mares either proved to be infected or from an infected stud. Of these 21 were positive, 11 were inconclusive and nine were negative. The relationship of the CFT to reactions in the other tests used in this con...
Hamblin C, Mellor PS, Graham SD, Hooghuis H, Montejano RC, Cubillo MA, Boned J.A total of 256 sera collected from three species of domesticated equidae in four different Spanish provinces were examined 1-4 months after the administration of attenuated monovalent African horse sickness virus (AHSV) serotype 4 vaccine. Approximately 10% of the sera were negative by ELISA, virus neutralization, agar gel immuno-diffusion and complement fixation tests. Similar negative reactions were recorded with sera from two ponies after experimental primary vaccination. The rapid rise in antibodies in sera from these two ponies, after a second dose of vaccine, suggested they would probabl...
Mettler NE, Fernández AS, Di Santo MI, Pardo DA.Sera from 282 equines from Tandil country and surroundings were investigated searching for hemagglutination inhibition (HI), Complement fixation (CF), and Neutralizing (NT) antibodies against three flavivirus:Ilheus, St. Louis Encephalitis, and Yellow Fever from the Togaviridae family. Sera were collected between 3-20-79 and 11-25-80 from 10 different places in Tandil and Ayacucho countries. Animals ranged from 45 days to 27 years old. Forty nine of them reacted with one or more flavivirus by HI and/or CF tes representing a prevalence of 17.4% for this antigenic complex. Twenty four of them ne...
Muhktar MM, Timoney JF.Streptococcus equi infection in horses is characterised by intense infiltration of lymph nodes by polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) suggesting a potent chemotactic response to the organism or its products. Equine PMNs were separated using Ficoll-Hypaque medium and used in an assay of chemotaxis under agarose to study the components of S equi involved in this response. Results showed that complement-derived chemotactic factors generated by activation of the alternative complement pathway were important in chemotactic responses to S equi. Both whole bacteria and peptidoglycan preparations were...
Hassanain MM.Investigation studies on inactivated African horsesickness vaccine using binary ethyleneimine were conducted. The inactivation process of virulent type-9 strain using the above inactivant revealed complete virus inactivation at 18, 48 and 84 h post-treatment with inactivant concentrations of 0.004, 0.003 and 0.002M, respectively, without detection of residual virus. An inactivant concentration of 0.003M is recommended and no changes in viral antigenic properties were noticed in complement fixation test. The physical parameters in oil-emulsion vaccine using the incomplete Freund's adjuvant, wer...
Timoney PJ, O'Reilly PJ, McArdle JF, Ward J, Harrington AM, McCormack R.Reproduction of contagious equine metritis 1977 in Pony mares was achieved with cultures of an unclassified Gram-negative coccobacillus. Infected mares developed a vaginal discharge and associated inflammatory changes of the cervix and vagina. There was evidence of variation in pathogenicity between different strains of the organism. Although all infected mares made spontaneous clinical recoveries, the Gram-negative coccobacillus persisted in the genital tracts of a considerable proportion for a variable period after challenge. Recovery of the organism was not associated solely with the occurr...
Carrier SP, Bannister GL, Boulanger P.Twenty-nine lots of acetone-ether extracted liquid antigen were prepared from the pulp of 11 spleens collected from horses at the acute phase of experimental infection. The lots prepared from the highly reactive pulp resulted in general in a liquid antigen of greater activity than those extracted from weakly reactive pulps. Some variations in activity between lots of antigen prepared from the same spleen were also observed. No matter what the results, given a wide enough variation, all results were reproducible. The procedure permitted production of a greater number of antigen test doses from ...
Gutekunst DE, Malmquist WA, Becvar CS.Antiserums prepared in specific pathogen free (SPF) ponies were used in direct and indirect immunofluorescence, immunodiffusion, complement fixation and serum neutralization procedures to study the interrelationships of the three types of equine herpes viruses (EHV-1, EHV-2, and EHV-3). Equine cell cultures infected with each type virus fluoresced when stained with homologous conjugated antiserum. In reciprocal tests EHV-1 and EHV-3 cross-fluoresced, but EHV-2 did not cross-fluoresce. Non-infected cell cultures did not fluoresce when stained with the 3 conjugates. EHV-1 and EHV-3 cross-fluores...
Shakibamehr N, Mosavari N, Harzandi N, Mojgani N.Burkholderia mallei is the etiologic agent of glanders. It is difficult to diagnose this zoonotic disease in its early stages. Some methods such as the complement fixation test (CFT) cause some problems for veterinary authorities and financial losses to animal owners due to false-positive results. The mallein test requires appropriate laboratory equipment and skilled personnel. To quickly and accurately diagnose the disease, especially in areas where animals cannot be kept, new methods (such as the Western blot test [WBT]) should be used to identify the disease. This study designed and optimiz...
Ferguson JA, Reeves WC, Milby MM, Hardy JL.Of 359 horses vaccinated with attenuated Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) vaccine (strain TC-83), 87% developed hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) antibodies to VEE virus within 1 month. Blood from a subsample of 101 of the 359 horses was obtained over a 1-year period. Within 1 month after vaccination, 84% of the 101 horses had developed VEE HI antibodies, 87% had developed VEE-neutralizing (Nt) antibodies, and 78% had developed VEE complement-fixing (CF) antibodies. One year after vaccination, 58% of the horses had VEE HI antibodies and 73% had VEE Nt antibodies. The percentage of hors...
de Waal DT, van Heerden J, Potgieter FT.Serologically negative horses, as determined with the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA), were infected with Babesia equi and 60 days later with Babesia caballi. The only clinical signs of disease observed in these animals were a febrile reaction and slight icterus. Haematological changes included a drop in haematocrit and haemoglobin concentration, as well as lowered platelet counts. The serum concentrations of albumin, iron and phosphorus were lowered. Mildly elevated serum bilirubin and fibrinogen concentrations were observed. Antibody titres were determined with the IFA and complemen...
Kuttler KL, Goff WL, Gipson CA, Blackburn BO.Both the complement-fixation test (CFT) and the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) were conducted on weekly serum samples from nine Arab geldings for 28 days before and 256 days after their exposure to Babesia equi of European origin. On an average the IFAT became positive 8 days before the CFT and showed higher relative serum titer increases. Both test procedures successfully detected infection and neither showed an appreciable drop in titer during this time frame, with the exception of the CFT, which showed a transient drop immediately following treatment with imidocarb. A test conduc...
Watson ED, Stokes CR, Bourne FJ.Both random and directional migration of blood neutrophils from 9 mares susceptible to persistent endometritis were significantly less (p less than 0.05) than neutrophils from 8 resistant mares. Serum from susceptible mares had significantly more (p less than 0.01) chemotactic activity than serum from resistant mares. Although phagocytosis of yeast blastospores by blood neutrophils from 4 resistant and 3 susceptible mares was similar, uterine neutrophils from susceptible mares were significantly worse (p less than 0.01) at phagocytosis than uterine neutrophils from resistant mares. Uterine was...
Bonfini B, Semproni G, Savini G.A horse erythrocyte culture technique, partly modifying that originally developed by Holman, was used to detect the presence of Theileria equi strains in 12 horse and 2 mule blood samples. The animals were placed into four groups on the basis of their case history and laboratory test results: the mules and two horses were considered as infected and included in the 'recent infection' group, four horses with a history of past infection were included in the 'past infection' group and four animals subjected to anti-theileria treatment formed the 'treated animals' group. The final group consisted o...
Edwards JF, Yedloutschnig RJ, Dardiri AH, Callis JJ.Virus isolation was attempted from 262 field samples of vesicular material collected during the outbreaks of vesicular exanthema of swine in the U.S.A. from 1952-54. Using primary swine kidney culture, viral cytopathogenic agents were isolated from 76.3% of the samples. However, an overall recovery rate of 82.1% was obtained after samples negative in tissue culture were inoculated intradermally in susceptible swine. All vesicular exanthema of swine virus isolates were identified as serotype B51 using complement fixation and serum neutralization tests. Two isolates did not react with antisera t...
Müller F, Segerling M.Complement activity in the serum of eight species has been studied in two ways: by immobilization of sensitized with human or rabbit antibody and by haemolysis of sheep red cells sensitized with rabbit antibody. Serum of the pig, monkey and man was actively haemolytic but contained a heatlabile factor that immobilized unsensitized in the presence of guinea-pig complement and precluded the detection of immune immobilizing activity. Sera of other species, although without action on unsensitized treponemes, even with added guinea-pig complement, differed in their relative haemolytic and immobil...
Espinosa-López EM, Ortiz-Guisado B, Diez de Castro E, Durham A, Aguilera-Tejero E, Gómez-Baena G.Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is a multifactorial endocrine disorder characterized by obesity, insulin dysregulation (ID), and an increase in the risk of laminitis, a painful condition that can lead to euthanasia in severe cases. Diagnosing EMS is challenging and often relies on clinical history including obesity, difficulty in losing weight, and recurring episodes of laminitis. The gold standard for laboratory support of an EMS diagnosis is the identification of ID, with basal insulin being the simplest and most accessible method, especially in a field setting. However, various factors such...
Hébert L, Froger D, Madeline A, Lecouturier F, Lemans C, Zientara S.Dourine is a sexually transmitted parasitic disease affecting equids. Its causative agent is referred to as and the prescribed serodiagnosis method is the complement fixation test (CFT). In the context of our European Reference Laboratory mandate for equine diseases (excluding African horse sickness), we organised dourine CFT inter-laboratory proficiency tests (ILPTs) in 2015, 2018 and 2022 to evaluate the performance of the European Union network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for dourine. ILPT panels were composed of horse sera with or without antibodies against spp. originating...
Dehghan Rahimabadi P, Nazari A, Kamyabi M, Mosavari N.Glanders is the oldest and very contagious disease among horses caused by Burkholderia mallei. The disease occurs as a chronic form in horses. Hence, because of the prolonged shedding, numerous horses can potentially get infected by one horse with glanders. Glanders is endemic in Iran and this causes occasional occurrence in horse population of the country. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of B.mallei infection in horses in two central provinces of Iran. A total of 517 serum samples were collected from stable horses in Tehran and Alborz provinces. Among the studied horses, ...
