Disease control in horses encompasses the strategies and measures implemented to prevent, manage, and eradicate infectious and non-infectious diseases within equine populations. This field involves the study of pathogen transmission, host-pathogen interactions, and the development of effective vaccination and biosecurity protocols. Disease control also includes monitoring and surveillance of equine health to identify outbreaks and implement timely interventions. Key aspects of disease control in horses involve understanding the epidemiology of equine diseases, improving diagnostic techniques, and enhancing treatment options. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various methodologies, technologies, and practices aimed at controlling diseases in horses, with a focus on improving overall equine health and welfare.
Hess IM, Massey PD, Walker B, Middleton DJ, Wright TM.Hendra virus infection is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood. Most cases of Hendra virus infection have occurred in Queensland, with one case in a horse in NSW. Hendra virus infection has a high mortality rate in horses and humans and as cases could occur anywhere in Australia it is important to be ready for prompt action should an outbreak occur in NSW. This paper: reviews the current knowledge on Hendra virus infection including methods for preventing the disease; explains the animal health and human health response for an outbreak within NSW; and discusses possible f...
Pathania VP, Sharma AK, Joshi GR, John JT.India accounts for approximately 10 million orthopaedically handicapped children and adults with limb deformity. Ilizarov ring fixator could treat most of these deformities. Methods: Twenty cases of deformities of lower limb managed with Ilizarov technique during period between March 2001 and February 2003 were studied. Results: 55% were in the age group of 11-30 years. Out of the 20 cases studied, 6 were congenital talipes equino varus, 8 were fixed flexion deformity of knee, 4 were equines deformity of the ankle and 2 were malunited fracture shaft of tibia.4 patients who had recurrence were ...
de Almeida GL, Santurio JM, Filho JO, Zanette RA, Camillo G, Flores AG, da Silva JH, de la Rue ML.Biological control is an alternative method to reduce the population of parasites through natural predators. A promising option of biological control in the reduction of infective larvae on pasture is the use of nematophagous fungi. In this study, the efficacy of the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans in controlling gastrointestinal nematode parasites in field-raised horses was tested. Ten foals with an average age of 12 months were divided in two groups: five males constituted the treated group and five females constituted the control group. Each group was introduced in a field of mix...
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Hogsette JA, Geden CJ, Tenbroeck SH.Beginning in November 2007 and continuing until December 2009, weekly stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), surveillance was conducted at four equine facilities near Ocala, FL, by using alsynite sticky traps for adults and by searching immature developmental sites for pupae. Adult stable fly trap captures were highly variable throughout the year, ranging from 0 to 1,400 flies per trap per farm. The greatest adult stable fly activity was observed during the spring months of March and April, with weekly three-trap means of 121 and 136 flies per farm, respectively. The importance of cultural cont...
Sergeant ES, Stone M, Moloney BJ, Arthur R.Simulation models were developed to quantify the likelihood of equine influenza virus infection entering pre-movement isolation, persisting through pre- and post-movement isolation periods without being detected by scheduled laboratory testing, and escaping to infect susceptible horses at a destination. The mean probability of escape ranged from 1 in 1,200,000 to 1 in 600,000 depending on lot size. For 95% of iterations the probability of escape was less than 1 in 200,000, regardless of lot size. For a large group of 600 horses processed as multiple separate lots, the mean probability of escap...
Wilson G, Cooper K, Williams J, Eastwood S, Peake C.The 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak in New South Wales (NSW) consisted of a central infected area that extended south from the lower New England Tableland, across the Hunter Valley, Central Coast and the Sydney basin, and a series of isolated clusters outside this area across rural NSW. The central area was assigned the status of a Purple Zone (Special Restricted Area, SRA) approximately 1 month after the outbreak commenced. Within this SRA, the eradication program's focus was to increase the proportion of horses immune to EI via vaccination, thus reducing the susceptible proportion to a l...
Gilchrist P, Sergeant ES.Australia has the world's largest population of wild equids and equine influenza (EI) was confirmed on several properties in New South Wales (NSW) close to uncontrolled areas of land during the 2007 outbreak. Likelihood and risk management assessments were carried out to determine the risk of EI infection of the wild horse populations. The likelihood of spread to the wild horse population was determined to be extremely low, but the likelihood of spread from an established wild horse reservoir back to domestic horses was considered high. The most effective mechanism of control was determined to...
Webster WR.This section outlines the most important issues addressed in the management of the response in the two infected states, New South Wales and Queensland. There were differences in the management of the response between the states for logistic, geographic and organisation structural reasons. Issues included the use of control centres, information centres, the problems associated with the lack of trained staff to undertake all the roles, legislative issues, controls of horse movements, the availability of resources for adequate surveillance, the challenges of communication between disparate groups...
Taylor M, Agho K, Stevens G, Raphael B.This short report summarises data on the prevalence of high psychological distress in horse industry participants during the 2007 Australian equine influenza (EI) outbreak and the statistical analysis undertaken to identify the factors associated with this high psychological distress. In addition, follow-up data collected 1 year later are reported briefly.
Sergeant ES, Wilson G.To quantify the probability of freedom from equine influenza (EI) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, based on analysis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Methods: Testing in the infected areas of NSW during the period 1 January to 30 April 2008. Results: Data from the random survey were collated and analysed to provide estimates of the probability of detecting EI if it was present at a prevalence ranging from 0.01% to 0.5%. The sensitivity estimates were then combined with a prior estimate of the probability of freedom in a simulation model, to estimate the posterior probability of ...
Myers J.At the outbreak of equine influenza (EI) we chose to close our horse-based business, as we did not want to risk our horses contracting the disease and the demand for our services ceased. We report our experiences of the outbreak.
Ryan D.Outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) cause major disruption to the racing industry, resulting in cessation of racing until affected horses have recovered from the disease. The introduction of EI to a large population of Thoroughbred horses stabled at a Sydney racecourse provided the opportunity to observe clinical signs and monitor the spread of EI in this predominantly naïve population and to assist in determining an endpoint to infection spread to allow resumption of racing events.
Kirkland PD, Delbridge G.An important consideration in the selection of a vaccine during the Australian equine influenza (EI) outbreak in 2007 was the ability to differentiate between infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). A blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) targeted for the nucleoprotein of influenza A viruses was developed to differentiate between naturally infected horses and horses vaccinated with the ProteqFlu® vaccine, which only induces a response to viral haemagglutinin. This bELISA assay met the DIVA requirements and was used extensively during the EI control and eradication programs and '...
Smyth GB, Dagley K.Anecdotally, some sections of the horse community were under the impression that there was a high mortality rate in horses in 2007 because of the EI epidemic. A survey of horse deaths in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales (NSW) in 2007 indicated that there were few infections and deaths attributable to equine influenza (EI) infections in foals, but other authors found a very high seroprevalence across all age classes. This study aimed to generate objective information on mortality and morbidity rates associated with EI in Australian horses during the 2007 epidemic.
Kung N, Mackenzie S, Pitt D, Robinson B, Perkins NR.An outbreak of equine influenza (EI) caused by influenza A H3N8 subtype virus occurred in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales in August 2007. Infection in the Australian horse population was associated with the introduction of infection by horses from overseas. The first case of EI in Queensland was detected on 25 August 2007 at an equestrian sporting event. Infection subsequently spread locally and to other clusters through horse movements prior to the implementation of an official standstill. There were five main clusters of infected properties during this outbreak and se...
Moloney BJ.This overview of the equine influenza (EI) epidemic as it occurred in two Australian states, New South Wales and Queensland, in 2007 describes the functions and activities of the epidemiology teams that were engaged during the outbreak and also identifies key features of the epidemiology of EI during the outbreak.
Paskin R.The equine influenza outbreak detected in August 2007 in New South Wales and Queensland did not enter Victoria, which was, however, considered at risk because of its sizable border with New South Wales. Accordingly, Victoria implemented a response plan to prevent disease entry and enable early detection of any disease. Horse movement restrictions, surveillance strategies and public awareness formed a large part of this response.
Scott-Orr H.The challenges faced in demonstrating Australia's freedom from equine influenza following the outbreak in 2007-08 and the responding strategy developed by the Proof of Freedom Working Group are presented.
Kannegieter NJ, Frogley A, Crispe E, Kirkland PD.As part of the control measures of the equine influenza (EI) outbreak, in addition to the strategic use of vaccination to provide buffer zones around infected populations, approval was obtained to vaccinate Thoroughbred racing horses. We review the clinical expression of the disease and virus excretion in a population of racehorses that were exposed to EI approximately 7 days after administration of a single dose of the canarypox-vectored recombinant compared with a similar unvaccinated population of horses at a nearby racetrack. Although this study was undertaken opportunistically and under t...
Glanville RJ, Christie B.The equine influenza (EI) outbreak presented many challenges that required high-level coordination and decision making, as well as the development of new approaches for satisfactory and consistent resolution. This paper outlines the elements of the national coordination arrangements, preparatory arrangements in place prior to the outbreak that facilitated national coordination, and some of the issues faced and resolved in the response.
Drury M.Participants in the 1- and 2-day Tamworth Dressage Club (TDC) annual dressage championships arrived in Moonbi, New South Wales (NSW) as reports of the equine influenza outbreak surfaced on 25 August 2007. Three horses who had attended a competition in Maitland the weekend before had been showing flu-like symptoms and the next day the site was declared a suspect premise. On 27 August, infection was confirmed and the site was placed in total quarantine. Although most participants had travelled long distances to compete and did not have provisions for them or their horses, the quarantine was not ...
Arthur RJ, Suann CJ.Three biosecurity and relief-and-recovery initiatives adopted by the NSW horse racing industries reduced the economic and social disruption caused by the disease and subsequent movement controls during the 2007 Australian equine influenza (EI) incursion. The first was the creation of biosecure horse training and racing precincts around the Sydney area to permit racing to continue with healthy horses. Infection was excluded for 3-5 weeks and race meetings were conducted safely during this period. The second was a vaccination program of racehorses at these and other precincts to maintain an ongo...
Frazer JL, Perkins NR, Pitt D.During the 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak, infected horses were quarantined at Morgan Park Recreational Grounds (MPRG) near Warwick, Queensland. Some individuals caring for horses were reported to have made return journeys between MPRG and home properties containing other horses during the time there was active infection at MPRG. Objective: A retrospective cohort study to assess the biosecurity and hygiene measures undertaken and their outcomes. Methods: All individuals recorded as being responsible for caring for one or more horses at MPRG, and who were also recorded on entry and exit lo...
Garner MG, Cowled B, East IJ, Moloney BJ, Kung N.To use modelling and epidemiological analyses to assess the effectiveness of control strategies employed during the equine influenza outbreak and determine if early vaccination might have had a beneficial effect. Methods: Transmission of infection was modelled using stochastic, spatial simulation, based on data from 16 regions in New South Wales and Queensland over the first month of the outbreak. Results: The model accurately represented the spread of infection in both space and time and showed that vaccination strategies would have reduced new infections by ∼60% and reduced the size of the...
Happold J, Rubira R.This study included 10 large Thoroughbred horse studs in the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales and in southeast Queensland, Australia. The aims were to describe the EI epidemic in studs in the Special Restricted Area (Purple Zone) of NSW, to estimate seroprevalence among different groups of horses on these studs and to look for evidence of exposure to EI virus in horses on 'vaccinated' studs in southeast Queensland that were thought to have remained free of infection. As serology results from Queensland suggest that vaccination may have reduced the sensitivity of clinical surveillance to ...
Perkins NR, Webster WR, Wright T, Denney I, Links I.At the time of the initial notification of the occurrence of equine influenza (EI) in Australia in August 2007, vaccination was restricted to horses for which it was an import requirement and only with the approval of the state or territory Chief Veterinary Officer. This paper describes the complexities involved in the selection of a vaccine and its distribution. A combination of ring, predictive and blanket vaccination was implemented during the response. The specific vaccination programs, including its use in buffer zones and for movement of horses, the performance of the vaccine, any advers...
Smyth GB, Dagley K, Tainsh J.We estimate and describe the financial costs of the equine influenza (EI) outbreak in Australia, including the costs of emergency response measures and lost income/assets to businesses, associations and private horse owners. Costs to associations, governments and industry are discussed. We identify a lack of reliable data about the financial costs of the EI outbreak to the non-racing sectors of the horse industry.
Jaimes-Dueñez J, Jiménez-Leaño Á, Enrique-Niño S, Arias-Landazábal N, Bedoya-Ríos M, Rangel-Pachón D.Piroplasmosis and trypanosomiasis are debilitating diseases of great economic impact on the equine industry of Latin America. Considering the lack of studies in the northeastern part of Colombia, this study aimed to determine the epidemiological, clinical and genetic features associated with infection of the Babesia, Theileria, and Trypanosoma species in horses from this geographical area. Two hundred and eighty horses from the Arauca, Meta, and Santander departments were molecularly analyzed for infection with Babesia caballi, Theileria equi, Trypanosoma evansi, and Trypanosoma vivax. Further...
Smith MA, Nolan TJ, Rieger R, Aceto H, Levine DG, Nolen-Walston R, Smith BI.In the last decade there have been numerous reports of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomins in many parts of the world. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the commercially available anthelmintics against cyathostomin egg shedding in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A total of 989 horses from 67 different farms located in southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and northeastern Maryland were treated with fenbendazole, oxibendazole, pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin, or moxidectin at their recommended dosages. Fecal egg count reduction testing was us...
Rosas CT, Goodman LB, von Einem J, Osterrieder N.Infections of horses with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) have garnered new attention over the last few years. Devastating outbreaks occurring worldwide, primarily of the neurologic form of the disease, have resulted in a reassessment of the control strategies, and particularly the prophylactic measures, that are necessary to keep the infection and spread of disease in check. Most of the available EHV-1 vaccines are based on preparations of inactivated virus, which are applied monovalently for prevention of EHV-1-caused abortion in pregnant mares or as part of multivalent vaccines to prevent...
Hess IM, Massey PD, Walker B, Middleton DJ, Wright TM.Hendra virus infection is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood. Most cases of Hendra virus infection have occurred in Queensland, with one case in a horse in NSW. Hendra virus infection has a high mortality rate in horses and humans and as cases could occur anywhere in Australia it is important to be ready for prompt action should an outbreak occur in NSW. This paper: reviews the current knowledge on Hendra virus infection including methods for preventing the disease; explains the animal health and human health response for an outbreak within NSW; and discusses possible f...
Jones RL.Equine clostridial enterocolitis is being recognized with increasing frequency. It has been identified in foals with diarrhea, antibiotic-associated enterocolitis, or nosocomial enterocolitis. The sporadic occurrence of clostridial enterocolitis, the variety of types of clostridia involved, and the difficulty of experimentally reproducing the disease suggest that it is a poorly defined multifactorial syndrome. The risk factors associated with susceptibility to colonization and progressive infection are largely based on anecdotal observations and extrapolation from human studies. Quantitative s...
Sewgobind S, Johnson N, Mansfield KL.Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an infection that occurs predominantly in Asia and the Pacific Islands. It is transmitted by mosquito bites, with the main vector being Culex tritaeniorhynchus, and is maintained in enzootic cycles involving pigs, wild birds and mosquitoes. JE is caused by infection with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a zoonotic pathogen that also causes disease in mammals such as pigs and horses. In humans, most symptoms are mild or flu-like but can progress to encephalitis. Pigs are considered amplification hosts, and sows may have gestational complications. Horses may exhib...
Holm-Martin M, Levot GW, Dawson KL.A gel formulation containing moxidectin (20 g/kg) and praziquantel (125 g/kg) reduced the geometric mean faecal strongyle egg count in horses to below 100 eggs per gram of faeces (epg) for at least 12 weeks despite their being exposed continuously to reinfection from pasture grazed by treated and untreated horses. The geometric mean egg count of horses treated with a proprietary paste containing abamectin (3.7 g/kg) and praziquantel (46.2 g/kg) increased steadily from six weeks after the treatment, peaking at over 820 epg after 12 weeks. Relative to the efficacy of the abamectin/praziquantel t...
de Lemos ER, Machado RD, Coura JR, Guimarães MA, Chagas N.In order to obtain information on Brazilian spotted fever, a study in domestic animals was performed in the County of Pedreira, State of São Paulo, Brazil, where 17 human cases had been notified. Serum samples obtained from animals were tested by indirect immunofluorescence for detectable antibodies to spotted fever-group rickettsiae. Seropositivity was revealed in 12 (36.4%) of 33 dogs and seven (77.8%) of nine horses from the endemic area. For comparison, blood samples from dogs and horses from non endemic area were tested and four (12.9%) of 31 dogs and three (27.3%) of 11 horses were posi...
Mondal SP, Cook RF, Chelvarajan RL, Henney PJ, Timoney PJ, Balasuriya UB.Strains of equine arteritis virus (EAV) differ in their virulence phenotypes, causing anywhere from subclinical infections to severe disease in horses. Here, we describe the in silico design and de novo synthesis of a full-length infectious cDNA clone of the horse-adapted virulent Bucyrus strain (VBS) of EAV encoding mCherry along with in vitro characterization of the progeny virions (EAV sVBSmCherry) in terms of host-cell tropism, replicative capacity and stability of the mCherry coding sequences following sequential passage in cell culture. The relative stability of the mCherry sequence duri...
El-Sayed SAE, AbouLaila M, ElKhatam A, Abdel-Wahab A, Rizk MA.In the present study, we conducted an epidemiological survey of Theileria equi, with sequencing analysis of the PCR product using blood-DNA samples collected from donkeys (n = 149) reared in different Egyptian provinces in Lower Egypt (Menoufia and Mersa Matruh) and middle Egypt (Giza). All animals were tested for the presence of T. equi parasite using species-specific PCR assay targeting the Equi merozoite antigen-1 (EMA-1). Nine- (6.04%) samples were positive for T. equi. The highest positive rate for infection was detected in Giza zoological garden (10.16%). Egyptian EMA-1 gene sequence e...
Aziz KJ, Al-Barwary LTO.Equine piroplasmosis is a major tick-borne disease that can lead to serious health problems and economic losses in horse industry. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of and in different species of Equus namely (Horse, mule, donkey and pony) by Giemsa stained blood films and competitive ELISA. Methods: This study was conducted at various geographic areas of Erbil governorate. A total of 349 blood samples from equine (209 horses, 62 mule, 57 donkey and 21 ponies) were collected to estimate the prevalence rate of and by using Giemsa stained blood smear and competitive ELISA. ...
Baudena MA, Chapman MR, French DD, Klei TR.Cyathostome development and survival on pasture in subtropical climates of the US have yet to be completely defined and available data on seasonal transmission are minimal. In an attempt to study this phenomenon, a group of pony mares and their foals was maintained on a naturally contaminated pasture in southern Louisiana. Fecal egg counts (FEC) and numbers of infective third stage larvae (L3) kg(-1) dry herbage were recorded biweekly during two time periods, from January 1986 through December 1988, and September 1996 through October 1997. A FEC rise occurred during the late summer-early autum...
Alemu T, Luckins AG, Phipps LP, Reid SW, Holmes PH.A field study involving 309 horses was undertaken in the provinces of Arsi and Bale in the Ethiopian highlands to investigate the prevalence of Trypanosoma equiperdum infections using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of both trypanosomal antigen and antibody. Adult horses of both sexes were examined for clinical signs of T. equiperdum infection and serum samples were collected for the assays. One hundred and one horses showed the presence of trypanosomal antibodies in their serum and 70 animals showed typical clinical signs of dourine. Nineteen horses showed the pr...
Liang W, Zhao S, Wang N, Tang Z, Zhao F, Liu M, Jin W, Meng Y, Jia L.Toxoplasma gondii, one of the important zoonotic parasites, has been detected in lots of hosts including humans, with a widespread prevalence. The products of equids, such as meat and milk, have been closely related to humans' life. As the intermediate hosts, little is known about equids toxoplasmosis in Jilin province. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infections in equids from Jilin, northeastern China. In this study, a total of 245 blood samples of equids (192 horses, 25 donkeys and 28 mules) were collected from six localitie...
Polley L.Each month for a 1-year period (October through September), equine fecal masses containing eggs of strongylid nematodes were placed outdoors on small grass plots in Saskatchewan, Canada. Thereafter, feces and grass from the plots were sampled after intervals of 1 week or longer, and the strongylid eggs and larvae recovered were counted. These observations were made over a 2-year period. Development of eggs to infective larvae occurred in all experiments, except those established in October, December, and January. Infective larvae from experiments set up in April through September survived that...
Mota RA, Junior JWP.Glanders is an infectious disease that causes serious damage to the equine production chain in countries where it occurs endemically and poses a risk to public health. This study aimed to conduct an integrative review of the advances in the knowledge of glanders in Brazil over the last three decades since its re-emergence. Documentary research was conducted for the period between the years 2000 and 2022. SCOPUS and PUBMED databases were used to search for scientific articles, dissertations, and thesis, in addition to the Brazilian Digital Library of Thesis and Dissertations (BDTD). A total of ...
Stucchi L, Ferrucci F, Bullone M, Dellacà RL, Lavoie JP.Oscillometry is a technique that measures the resistance (R) and the reactance (X) of the respiratory system. In humans, analysis of inspiratory and expiratory R and X allows to identify the presence of tidal expiratory flow limitation (EFLt). The aim of this study was to describe inspiratory and expiratory R and X measured by impulse oscillometry system (IOS) in horses with severe asthma (SEA) when in clinical remission ( = 7) or in exacerbation ( = 7) of the condition. Seven healthy, age-matched control horses were also studied. Data at 3, 5, and 7 Hz with coherence > 0.85 at 3 Hz and >...
Costa AJ, Barbosa OF, Moraes FR, Acuña AH, Rocha UF, Soares VE, Paullilo AC, Sanches A.A total of 24 male and female equines of mixed breed, 10-20 months of age and naturally infected with internal parasites was utilized in a controlled test to evaluate the efficacy of a moxidectin 2% gel formulation at the dosage of 0.4 mg moxidectin per kg of live weight and an ivermectin 1.87% commercial paste formulation at the dosage 0.2 mg ivermectin per kg applied orally. Animals were allocated into three groups of eight horses each based on pre-treatment eggs per gram (EPG) counts and treatments were randomized among the groups. One group was kept as untreated controls. One animal in the...
Bermúdez SE, Espinosa JD, Cielo AB, Clavel F, Subía J, Barrios S, Medianero E.We present the results of a study on myiasis in Panama during the first years of a Cochliomyia hominivorax eradication program (1998-2005), with the aim of investigating the behavior of the flies that produce myiasis in animals and human beings. The hosts that registered positive for myiasis were cattle (46.4%), dogs (15.3%), humans (14.7%), birds (12%), pigs (6%), horses (4%), and sheep (1%). Six fly species caused myiasis: Dermatobia hominis (58%), Phaenicia spp. (20%), Cochliomyia macellaria (19%), Chrysomya rufifacies (0.4%), and maggots of unidentified species belonging to the Sarcophagid...
Struchen R, Hadorn D, Wohlfender F, Balmer S, Süptitz S, Zinsstag J, Vial F.Clinical observations made by practitioners and reported using web- and mobile-based technologies may benefit disease surveillance by improving the timeliness of outbreak detection. Equinella is a voluntary electronic reporting and information system established for the early detection of infectious equine diseases in Switzerland. Sentinel veterinary practitioners have been able to report cases of non-notifiable diseases and clinical symptoms to an internet-based platform since November 2013. Telephone interviews were carried out during the first year to understand the motivating and constrain...
Bosco-Lauth AM, Bowen RA.West Nile virus (WNV) (Flaviviridae: Flavivirus) was discovered in Africa more than 80 yr ago and became recognized as an avian pathogen and a cause of neurologic disease in horses largely during periodic incursions into Europe. Introduction of WNV into North America stimulated great anxiety, particularly in the equine industry, but also for pet owners and livestock producers concerned about the effect of WNV on other domestic animals. Numerous subsequent studies of naturally occurring and experimentally induced disease greatly expanded our understanding of the host range and clinical conseque...
Rosanowski SM, Cogger N, Rogers CW, Stevenson MA.New Zealand has never experienced an equine influenza (EI) outbreak. The 2007 outbreak of EI in Australia showed that in a naïve population EI spreads rapidly and substantial efforts (in terms of movement restrictions, mass vaccination and post-vaccination surveillance) were required to achieve eradication. To control EI, it is essential that animal health authorities have well-defined strategies for containment, control and eradication in place before an incursion occurs. A spatially explicit stochastic simulation model, InterSpread Plus, was used to evaluate EI control strategies for the Ne...
You Y, Uboh CE, Soma LR, Guan F, Li X, Liu Y, Rudy JA, Chen J, Tsang D.The potential for using testosterone and nandrolone esters in racehorses to boost the biological concentrations of these steroids and enhance athletic performance is very compelling and should be seriously considered in formulating regulatory policies for doping control. In order to regulate the use of these esters in racehorses, a sensitive and validated method is needed. In this paper, we report such a method for simultaneous separation, screening, quantification and confirmation of 16 testosterone and nandrolone esters in equine plasma by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem ...
Fischer EAJ, Martínez López EP, De Vos CJ, Faverjon C.Equine encephalosis is a midge-borne viral disease of equines caused by equine encephalosis virus (EEV, Orbivirus, Reoviridae), and closely related to African horse sickness virus (AHSV). EEV and AHSV share common vectors and show similar transmission patterns. Until now EEV has caused outbreaks in Africa and Israel. This study aimed to provide insight in the probability of an EEV outbreak in The Netherlands caused by infected vectors or hosts, the contribution of potential source areas (risk regions) to this probability, and the effectiveness of preventive measures (sanitary regimes). A stoch...
Kumar S, Garg R, Kumar S, Banerjee PS, Ram H, Prasad A.Benzimidazole resistance is a major hindrance to the control of equine cyathostominosis throughout the world. There is a paucity of knowledge on the level of benzimidazole resistance in small strongyles of horses in India. In the present study, allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) that detects F200Y mutation of the isotype 1 β-tubulin gene and faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) were used for detecting benzimidazole resistance in equine cyathostomin populations in different agro-climatic zones of Uttar Pradesh, India. Results of the FECRT revealed prevalence of benzimidazole resistance in cyathos...
Brightwell G, Brown JM, Coates DM.Rt-PCR probes targeted to different gene sequences of VEE (Venezuelan equine encephalitis) virus strain TC-83 were assessed for their sensitivity, specificity and non-specific cross-reactivity. A generic VEE virus amplimer (VNSP4F2/VNSP4R2), targeted against nsP4 was identified, which was sensitive (detected at least 10 pfu) and robust (worked over a wide range of salt concentrations and annealing temperatures). An E2 amplimer designed against TC-83, (VE2F/VE2R), identified VEE strains TRD (1AB), P676 (1C), 3880 (1D) Everglades (2) vRNA whilst a second E2 primer pair designed against strain 68...
Camire AC, O'Bier NS, Patel DT, Cramer NA, Straubinger RK, Breitschwerdt EB, Funk RA, Marconi RT.Lyme disease (LD) is a tick-transmitted bacterial infection caused by Borreliella burgdorferi and other closely related species collectively referred to as the LD spirochetes. The LD spirochetes encode an uncharacterized family of proteins originally designated rotein amily welve (PF12). In B. burgdorferi strain B31, PF12 consists of four plasmid-carried genes, encoding BBK01, BBG01, BBH37, and BBJ08. Henceforth, we designate the PF12 proteins amily welve ipoprotein (Ftl) (FtlA) (BBK01), FtlB (BBG01), FtlC (BBH37), and FtlD (BBJ08). The goal of this study was to assess the potential utility o...
Ogorek TJ, Golden JE.Venezuelan, western, and eastern equine encephalitic alphaviruses (VEEV, WEEV, and EEEV, respectively) are arboviruses that are highly pathogenic to equines and cause significant harm to infected humans. Currently, human alphavirus infection and the resulting diseases caused by them are unmitigated due to the absence of approved vaccines or therapeutics for general use. These circumstances, combined with the unpredictability of outbreaks-as exemplified by a 2019 EEE surge in the United States that claimed 19 patient lives-emphasize the risks posed by these viruses, especially for aerosolized V...
The National Reference Center for equine infectious anemia (EIA) validated a commercial ELISA (Eradikit EIAV Indirect ELISA, In3diagnostic, Turin, Italy) employing a chimeric recombinant gag and env peptide for the detection of EIA virus antibodies, following the guidelines of the World Organization for Animal Health. The validation parameters evaluated were: analytical sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp); diagnostic Se and Sp; precision, based on repeatability and reproducibility through the estimation of the standard deviation (SD) and the coefficient of variation (CV); accuracy, estimated...
Spier SJ.Salmonellosis is the most common infectious cause of diarrhea or colitis in horses. It can be associated with high fatality rates in patients with compromised host defenses. The increasing incidence of infection and antimicrobial resistance present a challenge for the practicing veterinarians. The epidemiology and pathogenesis of salmonellosis are reviewed. Diagnosis, treatment, and control of disease are discussed.
