Disease diagnosis in horses involves the identification and characterization of illnesses through various diagnostic methods and tools. This process is essential for effective veterinary care and management of equine health. Techniques used in diagnosing diseases in horses include clinical examinations, laboratory tests, imaging modalities such as ultrasonography and radiography, and molecular diagnostics. Blood tests are frequently utilized to assess parameters such as complete blood count and biochemical profiles, which can indicate underlying health issues. Additionally, advancements in genetic testing and biomarker identification have enhanced the ability to detect specific diseases early. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore diagnostic methodologies, their applications, and their impact on equine health management.
Finley MR, Rebhun WC, Dee A, Langsetmo I.An 8-year-old castrated male Paint Horse was referred because of generalized pruritus, alopecia, and intermittent fever. Results of gross evaluation of the skin and microscopic evaluation of skin scrapings were inconclusive. Histologic examination of skin biopsy specimens revealed vasculitis. The horse had persistent hypercalcemia; therefore, lymphosarcoma was considered a possibility. Ultrasonography revealed hypoechoic nodules within the parenchyma of the spleen and liver. Results of microscopic evaluation of an aspirate from a splenic nodule were suggestive of lymphosarcoma. The condition o...
Ponce Gordo F, Cuesta Bandera C.The Spanish sheep and horse strains of Echinococcus granulosus possess several differential characteristics in their metacestode stage. Cysts from sheep vary widely in size and fertility, but they usually have a thin cyst wall and, when fertile, a whitish hydatid sand formed by brood capsules and protoscoleces. Two types of infections have been observed in horses: one resembling that of sheep, caused by small, non-fertile cysts with a thin wall, and a second type caused by medium to large, always fertile cysts with a thick wall. In this latter case, hydatid sand is always dark brown in color a...
McGorum BC, Dixon PM, Smith DG.Sixteen cases of acute idiopathic toxaemic colitis developed in a veterinary hospital over a period of three years. Before the onset of colitis, 15 horses had received antibiotics, 11 had undergone general anaesthesia and various surgical procedures, and 10 had been treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The horses had acute onset, profuse watery diarrhoea, profound depression, mild to moderate abdominal pain, reduced intestinal borborygmi, tachycardia, dehydration and endotoxic shock. Leucopenia, neutropenia and pyrexia were common early indicators of impending colitis. Metronida...
Avarzed A, Igarashi I, De Waal DT, Kawai S, Oomori Y, Inoue N, Maki Y, Omata Y, Saito A, Nagasawa H, Toyoda Y, Suzuki N.Monoclonal antibody (MAb) BEG3 was produced against Babesia equi parasites to define a species-specific antigen for diagnostic use. The MAb reacted with single, paired, and Maltese cross forms of B. equi, and no reaction was observed with this MAb on acetone-fixed Babesia caballi, Babesia ovata, or Babesia microti parasites in the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. Confocal laser and immunoelectron microscopic studies showed that the antigen which was recognized by this MAb was located on the surface of B. equi parasites. This MAb recognized a 19-kDa protein of B. equi antigen and did n...
Vidugiris GJ, Royer CA.The volume change for the transition from the native state of horse heart apomyoglobin to a pressure-induced intermediate with fluorescence properties similar to those of the well-established molten globule or I form was measured to be -70 ml/mol. Complete unfolding of the protein by pressure at pH 4.2 revealed an upper limit for the unfolding of the intermediate of -61 ml/mol. At 0.3 M guanidine hydrochloride, the entire transition from native to molten globule to unfolded state was observed in the available pressure range below 2.5 kbar. The volume change for the N-->I transition is relat...
Gottschalk RD, Reyers F, van den Berg SS.The effects of a commercially available equine hyperimmune anti-endotoxin serum on synovial fluid parameters were evaluated in an induced synovitis model in normal horses. Four groups of 3 horses each received lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus hyperimmune antiendotoxin (anti-LPS), LPS, anti-LPS, and Ringers lactate (control) respectively injected into the left intercarpal joint. Synovial fluid parameters were measured at 4, 8, 24 and 72 h. It was found that anti-LPS had no attenuating effect on the LPS and that it induced a synovitis almost equivalent to that induced by LPS alone. The introduction...
Schulman ML, Bolton LA.A sunflower-based feed supplement grossly contaminated with the seed of a Datura sp. resulted in severe signs of poisoning in 2 horses. One horse died peracutely of acute gastric dilatation and rupture following ingestion of the contaminated feed. The 2nd horse developed unresponsive paralytic ileus that led to euthanasia. Examination of the feed and gastrointestinal contents of both horses showed a high proportion of the characteristic Datura sp. seeds. The clinical signs and pathology in both cases were consistent with intoxication by the parasympatholytic alkaloid components of Datura sp.
Teifke JP, Schmidt E, Traenckner CM, Bauer C.Therapy resistant swellings of the maxillary region and unilateral nasal discharge in older horses are mainly thought to be consequences of neoplasias of the oral cavity, especially of the gingiva and the teeth, or to develop from tumours of the nasal cavity. We report an unilateral swelling of the left nasal and buccal region in a 13-year-old gelding, which was accompanied by an aggressive destruction of involved osseous tissue due to a severe proliferative granulomatous inflammation. The granuloma was caused by the nematode Halicephalobus (syn. Micronema) deletrix. This nematode infection is...
Takai S, Vigo G, Ikushima H, Higuchi T, Hagiwara S, Hashikura S, Sasaki Y, Tsubaki S, Anzai T, Kamada M.Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays were developed to detect virulent Rhodococcus equi in transtracheal aspirate samples from sick foals showing respiratory signs. An oligonucleotide primer pair from the sequence of the virulence-associated 15- to 17-kDa antigen gene of the virulence plasmid in virulent R. equi was used to amplify a 564 bp region by PCR, and the result was confirmed by Southern blot hybridization. No positive reaction was seen in DNA from 13 different microorganisms typically found in the respiratory tract. In tracheal aspirates seeded with virulent R. equi, a visible...
Scholl PJ, Chapman MR, French DD, Klei TR.In a trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of the recommended dosage of moxidectin 2% oral gel against the gastric stages of Gasterophilus spp., 14 ponies were selected from a herd on the basis of the inclusion criterion of the presence of Gasterophilus spp. eggs attached to their hair coats. After random allocation, the ponies were treated with 1 of 2 treatments, moxidectin 2% equine gel in a single dose at the commercial dosage of 400 microg moxidectin/kg body weight or placebo gel. The animals were necropsied 14 days posttreatment. Efficacies against second- and third-instar Gasterophilus...
Ilobi CP, Nicolson C, Taylor J, Mumford JA, Wood JM, Robertson JS.Equine influenza viruses propagated in the laboratory in alternate hosts such as embryonated hens' eggs or mammalian cell culture have been analysed by HA sequencing and antigenically and their sequence compared to the original virus present in clinical material. In contrast to clinically derived human influenza virus which generally grows in MDCK cells without change, the data for equine influenza virus were less clear in that variants of equine virus were derived in both eggs and cells. The study indicated that the current use of eggs for equine influenza virus surveillance and vaccine produ...
Brasch J, Fölster-Holst R, Christophers E.We report on the first human infection with Trichophyton equinum in Germany, which was transmitted from an infected pony to a 12-year old girl. Trichophyton equinum was identified by its morphology, dependency on nicotinic acid, hair perforation, and enzyme production. A noteworthy new observation was the development of white pleomorphic tufts on the surface of thalli grown on potatoe-dextrose agar. The girl's tinea was non-inflammatory and responded promptly to topical treatment, whereas the pony's strongly inflammatory lesions persisted for months. In supernatants of cultures supplemented wi...
Moretti A, Boncio L, Pasquali P, Fioretti DP.Ringworm infections in the principal domestic animals are a major public and veterinary health problem. The aetiology, epidemiology and symptomatology of these mycoses are quite heterogeneous and complex. In this context, the AA carried out an epidemiological study to investigate the prevalence of dermatophytes in two different animal species, horses (n = 200) belonging to 10 private stables and cattle (n = 1900) belonging to farms with different breeding purposes and management. With regard to horses the results showed a positive level of 9% and Trichophyton equinum was the major organism iso...
Netherwood T, Wood JL, Mumford JA, Chanter N.During an epidemiological study of foal diarrhoea, over half of the cases yielded Clostridium perfringens which was significantly associated with disease (Netherwood et al., 1996b). However, the association could not be accounted for by enterotoxigenic isolates which had a low prevalence (Netherwood et al., 1997). Nonetheless, we have hypothesized that the association may be caused by a pathogenic sub-population which would be significantly more common amongst C. perfringens-positive cases compared with C. perfringens-positive healthy controls if it acted as a pathogen when present. Conversely...
Peauroi JR, Fisher DJ, Mohr FC, Vivrette SL.A 14-year-old Arabian gelding had weight loss and anorexia of 3 weeks' duration. Results of repeated laboratory tests revealed persistent hypercalcemia and serum phosphorus concentration that was within or less than the reference range. Parathyroid hormone concentration was high. Histologic examination of specimens obtained at necropsy revealed parathyroid adenoma. A diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism attributable to a functional parathyroid adenoma was made. Abnormalities in calcium and phosphorus concentrations were similar to those seen with primary hyperparathyroidism in dogs, in whi...
Lunn DP, Holmes MA, Antczak DF, Agerwal N, Baker J, Bendali-Ahcene S, Blanchard-Channell M, Byrne KM, Cannizzo K, Davis W, Hamilton MJ, Hannant D....The final assignment of antibody clusters for leucocyte antigens and immunoglobulins, as described in detail in Sections 3 and 4, is summarized in Table 4. Together with other mAbs developed outside of ELAW II (Table 9) this pool of reagents represent a powerful array of tools for the study of equine immunity. The Second Equine Leucocyte Antigen Workshop made considerable advances in pursuing the objectives of establishing the specificities of mAbs and achieving consensus on the nomenclature for equine leucocyte and immunoglobulin molecules. Of equal importance, several productive collaboratio...
Pellegrini A, Kalkinc M, Hermann M, Grünig B, Winder C, Von Fellenberg R.Equinins are a closely related group of proteins found in equine neutrophil granules. They demonstrate proteinase inhibiting activity restricted to microbial proteinase K and subtilisin, and they also possess antibacterial and antiviral properties. Antiproteinase K activity was measured in tracheobronchial secretions (TBS) of horses with mild (n = 15), moderate (n = 30) and severe (n = 16) chronic pulmonary disease, to determine its usefulness as an indicator of severity of disease and to measure neutrophil content. Determination of proteinase K inhibiting activity was based on a colorimetric ...
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...
Van Andel AE, Magnarelli LA, Heimer R, Wilson ML.To characterize antibody response in horses with clinical signs of Ehrlichia equi infection. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: 13 horses with confirmed acute E equi infection. Methods: Sequential serum sampling was performed in Connecticut and New York during 1995 and 1996 to identify horses with naturally acquired equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (EGE). Horses with clinical signs of EGE (i.e., fever without respiratory involvement) were confirmed as having E equi infection by polymerase chain reaction detection of ehrlichial DNA and by a minimum fourfold increase in total antibody titer by...
Sheoran AS, Lunn DP, Holmes MA.This paper describes the production of a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) identifying the four recognised equine IgG subisotypes IgG, IgGa, IgGb, IgGc and IgG(T). Pure preparations of the subisotypes for use in immunisations and testing were produced using a combination of gel filtration, salt precipitation, ion exchange chromatography and protein A and Protein G affinity chromatography. The specificity of mAbs for the IgG subisotypes was confirmed using ELISA assays, by characterisation of affinity purified proteins recognised by the mAbs, and by Western blotting of equine serum proteins...
Rolfe PF, Dawson KL, Holm-Martin M.To compare the efficacy of moxidectin to ivermectin, oxibendazole and morantel against some gastrointestinal nematodes in horses. Methods: Faecal egg count reduction after treatment. Methods: A farm was selected where the population of small strongyles in horses was known to be resistant to oxibendazole. Horses were allocated to treatment groups based on faecal egg counts. After treatment, faecal samples were taken up to 109 days after treatment and faecal egg counts estimated. Faecal cultures were used to estimate the contribution of small and large strongyles to the faecal egg counts at each...
Raabe MR, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) has been shown to infect cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. These primary cells are intrinsically difficult to obtain, to purify and to culture in vitro for extended periods of time. As a result, most in vitro studies concerning this lentivirus make use of primary equine fibroblasts or transformed canine or feline cell lines. We describe methods that yield reproducibly pure cultures of equine blood monocytes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The in vitro differentiation of these cells into mature equine macrophage was verified using various cytoc...
Fey K, Jonigkeit E, Moritz A.Equine and canine Cushing's syndrome, both of which are the result of elevated cortisol levels, show some different pathogenetical and clinical features and require different therapeutical approaches. In older horses the equine Cushing's syndrome (ECS) is not uncommon. Nearly all cases result from excessive hormone production in cells of the pars intermedia of the pituitary. Besides elevated levels of adrenocorticotrope hormone (ACTH), high peripheral levels of pro-opiomelanocortin, beta-endorphines and alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone can be measured. In middle-aged and geriatric dogs, Cu...
Granier T, Comberton G, Gallois B, d'Estaintot BL, Dautant A, Crichton RR, Précigoux G.We refined the structure of the tetragonal form of recombinant horse L-chain apoferritin to 2.0 A and we compared it with that of the cubic form previously refined to the same resolution. The major differences between the two structures concern the cadmium ions bound to the residues E130 at the threefold axes of the molecule. Taking advantage of the significant anomalous signal (f" = 3.6 e-) of cadmium at 1.375 A, the wavelength used here, we performed anomalous Fourier difference maps with the refined model phases. These maps reveal the positions of anomalous scatterers at different locations...
Yang GC, Croaker D, Zhang AL, Manglick P, Cartmill T, Cass D.Lethal white foal syndrome (LWFS) is a congenital anomaly of horses characterized by a white coat colour and aganglionosis of the bowel, which is similar to Hirschsprung disease (HSCR). We decided to investigate possible mutations of the endothelin-B receptor gene ( EDNRB ) in LWFS as recent studies in mutant rodents and some patients have demonstrated EDNRB defects. First, we identified a full-length cDNA for horse EDNRB . This cDNA fragment contained a 1329 bp open reading frame which encoded 443 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence was 89, 91 and 85% identical to human, bo...
Yang GC, Croaker D, Zhang AL, Manglick P, Cartmill T, Cass D.Lethal white foal syndrome (LWFS) is a congenital anomaly of horses characterized by a white coat colour and aganglionosis of the bowel, which is similar to Hirschsprung disease (HSCR). We decided to investigate possible mutations of the endothelin-B receptor gene ( EDNRB ) in LWFS as recent studies in mutant rodents and some patients have demonstrated EDNRB defects. First, we identified a full-length cDNA for horse EDNRB . This cDNA fragment contained a 1329 bp open reading frame which encoded 443 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence was 89, 91 and 85% identical to human, bo...
Seahorn TL, Beadle RE.Medical records of 21 horses with summer pasture-associated obstructive pulmonary disease were reviewed, and history, signalment, clinical signs, radiographic signs, clinicopathologic data, and therapeutic response were determined. Most affected horses were used as pleasure horses, and for the most part, remained at pasture when not in use. The mean age (+/- SD) was 13.7 +/- 3.6 years. Clinical signs included intermittent nasal discharge, cough, tachypnea, labored expiratory effort, and crackles and wheezes on auscultation. Radiography frequently revealed interstitial patterns in the lung fiel...
Ross SE, Duz M, Rendle DI.Antimicrobial stewardship within the veterinary profession is recognised by governing and professional bodies as being important; the attitudes and behaviour of veterinary surgeons merit investigation. Objective: To investigate levels of protected antimicrobial use and accuracy of antimicrobial dosing in a common clinical scenario in equine practice. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Antimicrobial use was evaluated retrospectively in 113 cases subsequently referred to a single referral hospital for the treatment of limb wounds over a 20-month period. Antimicrobial classification (f...
Guan F, You Y, Li X, Robinson MA.α-Cobratoxin (CTX) is a large peptide (71 amino acids) with strong analgesic effect and may be misused in sports such as horse racing. To prevent such misuse, a sensitive method is required for detection and confirmation of the toxin in equine samples. CTX was extracted from equine plasma using an optimized mixed-mode solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure. Extracted CTX was reduced with dithiothreitol and alkylated with iodoacetamide, and then was digested by trypsin at 56°C for 30min. The digest was analysed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and trypt...
Nobre D, Dagli ML, Haraguchi M.Twenty horses died 30 d after being fed a diet containing 40% of tritured Crotalaria juncea seeds. Before death, they had staggering, dyspnea and fever. At necropsy the most evident lesions were areas of lung parenchyma consolidation and enlarged and congested livers. Histopathological examination revealed diffuse fibrosing alveolitis with hyaline membranes, suggesting a blood-borne insult, and passive congestion in the liver with compression of the hepatocyte trabecules. To confirm the diagnosis, guinea pigs were given 60% of a commercial diet + 40% tritured C juncea seeds. After 4 mo of feed...
Crowhurst RC, Simpson DJ, McEnery RJ, Greenwood RE.Intestinal surgery in the foal is seldom necessary but some conditions in which it is essential are well recognized. The foal is a good surgical subject but success depends mainly on operating promptly before irreversible degenerative changes take place. Exploratory laparatomy is recommended whenever mechanical obstruction is suspected. Indications fall broadly into two main categories: 1. Cases arising from congenital defects. These form a miscellaneous group and present considerable difficulties in diagnosis and effective treatment. 2. Cases related to acute onset of obstruction, mainly due ...
Pietra M, Morini M, Perfetti G, Spadari A, Vigo P, Peli A.In recent years, gastric ulceration has been recognized as a common, possibly performance-limiting disease, of adult horses. The aim of this study was to compare endoscopic features, histological diagnosis, and mRNA levels of various cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IL-13) from horse gastric biopsies. Eleven horses suffering from equine gastric ulcer syndrome and seven horses with normal histological gastric features were assessed. No correlation between endoscopic features and histology (i.e., the gold standard) was observed. Based on histological diagnosis, a significant (p < 0.05) increa...
Ryu SH, Koo HC, Park YK, Kim JM, Jung WK, Davis WC, Park YH, Lee CW.Equine respiratory disease is a common cause of poor performance and training interruptions. The higher incidence rate of infectious upper respiratory disease (IURD) in thoroughbred racehorses at the Seoul Race Park coincided with the frequent stabling season, shorter stabling periods, and younger ages in this study. Incidence rates were also correlated with significantly lower proportions of cells expressing MHC class II-, CD2 antigen-, CD4+- or CD8+-T lymphocyte-, and B lymphocyte in IURD patients compared with healthy control groups in the summer and fall and in 2-and-3-year-old groups. The...
Wu MJ, Feldman BF, Zinkl JG, Jain NC.Red blood cell creatine concentration was examined to determine its association with the equine erythropoietic response. Studies were conducted on 9 healthy horses, 4 healthy ponies, 24 anemia horses, and 2 horses in which anemia was experimentally induced. A modified Jaffe reaction was used to measure RBC creatine concentration. The mean RBC creatine concentration of the 9 healthy horses was 5.72 +/- 0.42 mg/dl, and that of the 4 healthy ponies was 2.59 +/- 0.31 mg/dl. Density-separation of erythrocytes from the healthy horses revealed significantly higher (P less than 0.001) creatine content...
Chen F, Gao J, Wu D, Xu L, Han W, Zhang D, Bi X, He M, Pan Y.Previous studies have shown that selenium (Se) deficiency is associated with nutritional myopathy, known as white muscle disease (WMD), in horses. However, correlations between Se deficiency and clinical findings, such as hematologic biochemical values and pathological features, have not been evaluated in captive plains zebras. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the clinical and pathologic features that may be caused by a Se deficiency in the captive plains zebra. Clinical findings, feed analyses, hematologic biochemical analyses, response to treatment, and pathologic examinat...
Heo EJ, Lee HS, Jeoung HY, Ko HR, Kweon CH, Ko YJ.A recombinant glycoprotein (R-GP) of vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSV-NJ) was expressed in insect cells by a baculovirus system. Its utility as a diagnostic antigen in a blocking ELISA was investigated as an alternative to the current native GP extracted from VSV-NJ. With the cut-off value of 73% inhibition, the R-GP ELISA exhibited 99.1% specificity for naive sera from cattle and horses. It did not cross-react with VSV-Indiana (VSV-IN) positive sera and differentiated from foot-and-mouth disease and swine vesicular disease. Taken together, this is the first report that the R-GP has ...
Obregón AM, Fernández C, Rodríguez I, Balbis Y, Martínez B, Rodríguez J.To assess the sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and stability of five latex agglutination systems for detecting antibodies against leptospira in human and animal sera, by using the Leptospira serotypes that are most widely prevalent in Cuba. Methods: We performed an analytic and descriptive study with 706 human sera (65 tested positive for antibodies against leptospira with microagglutination (MAT) and hemagglutination (HA) techniques; 156 sera that tested negative with MAT and HA); 485 sera from 424 patients who had clinical or epidemiologic signs of leptospirosis; and 29 animal sera...
Blackburn NK, Swanepoel R.Tests for neutralising (NT) antibodies to the nine serotypes of African horse sickness (AHS) virus on the sera of three groups of horses confirmed that an increasing number of immunisations with vaccine containing attenuated strains of serotypes 1 to 6 of the virus, leads to broader response to the various serotypes and to higher individual titres. Nevertheless some horses failed to respond to one or more serotypes despite receiving numerous immunisations and it was clear that vaccine containing only serotypes 1 to 6 could not be relied upon to induce adequate cross-immunity to serotypes 7 to ...
Gough MR, Munroe GA, Mayhew G.This paper tests the hypothesis that the local analgesic agent mepivacaine diffuses between adjacent equine synovial structures in the hindlimb and with greater frequency than latex, gelatine dye or contrast media. We report the incidence of diffusion of mepivacaine between the tarsometatarsal, centrodistal and tarsocrural joints, and the 3 synovial compartments of the stifle in 33 fresh equine cadavers. The tarsometatarsal joint and one synovial compartment of the stifle in the left limb and the centrodistal joint and a different synovial compartment of the stifle in the right limbs were inje...
Marr CM.Microwave thermographs were recorded from 77 normal horses. In 51% the lowest temperature was recorded in the mid-metacarpal region, and in 41% it was in the distal metacarpal region. The mean temperature of the normal limbs ranged from 25.04 to 37.4 degrees C. Maximum temperature differences between symmetrical points in both forelimbs ranged from 0 to 5.33 degrees C and differences in mean limb temperatures between both forelimbs ranged from 0 to 2.91 degrees C. In 48 horses with acute (less than 4 weeks' duration) injury of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) (36 unilateral, 12 bil...
Kingsley NB, Sandmeyer L, Norton EM, Speed D, Dwyer A, Lassaline M, McCue M, Bellone RR.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a blinding ocular disorder among horses, and the Appaloosa horse breed is disproportionally affected by a chronic form of this intraocular inflammatory disease known as insidious uveitis. Strong breed predisposition and previous investigations suggest that there is a genetic component to the pathology of insidious uveitis among Appaloosa horses; however, no estimates of the heritability of the disease have previously been determined. This study aimed to characterize the genetic underpinning of the disease by estimating the heritability for insidious uveitis am...
Elata A, Galon EM, Moumouni PFA, Ybanez RHD, Mossaad E, Salces CB, Bajenting GP, Ybanez AP, Xuan X, Inoue N, Suganuma K.Animal trypanosomosis is one of the most important parasitic diseases significantly affecting the Philippine economy. It is considered by the government to be the second most important disease of livestock after fasciolosis. A PCR-based molecular survey for trypanosomes in different animals in Bohol, Philippines, was performed to assess the prevalence of trypanosomosis in the area during the rainy and dry season. Methods: A total of 269 blood samples were collected in two batches in rainy and dry season from different animal species in Ubay Stock Farm in Ubay, Bohol, the Philippines, including...
Dawson C, Dixon J, Lam R, Priestnall SL, Escanilla N.To describe the differential diagnoses, investigation, and management of a periocular swelling close to the nasolacrimal duct in a horse that was consistent with a nasolacrimal duct dacryops (lacrimal cyst). A 16-year-old gelding, Connemara cross presented with a history of a periocular swelling rostroventral medial to the right eye that had been sampled by the referring veterinary surgeon. A cystic lesion was diagnosed following standing computed tomography. Surgical removal of the cystic lesion was performed, and the tissue was submitted for histopathologic and immunohistochemical examinatio...
Stockenström S, Sydenham EW, Shephard GS.The widespread occurrence of F. moniliforme and the toxic effects of its secondary metabolites, the fumonisins B1(FB1), B2(FB2) and B3(FB3), make it imperative that fumonisin contamination of maize, a major constituent of animal feed as well as the staple diet of many populations, be closely monitored to reduce the risk of fumonisin exposure. Equine leukoencephalomalacia and porcine pulmonary oedema have been associated with the intake of feed heavily contaminated with fumonisins. In addition, high levels of fumonisins in the maize-based staple diets of certain populations have been linked to ...
Chang HC, Takashima I, Arikawa J, Hashimoto N.A biotin-labeled antigen (BLA) was adapted to a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (S-ELISA) for detection of Japanese encephalitis (JE) antibody in a variety of animal sera. JE antigen was fixed on the wells of a microplate and became bound to the specific antibody which could react with a peroxidase-labeled avidin conjugate and azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazolin sulfonic acid) (ABTS) as a substrate. The BLA-S-ELISA could simultaneously detect JE antibody in all hemagglutination inhibition (HI) positive sera from man, swine, monkey, horse, cattle, rabbit, rat, mouse and pigeon by using th...
Kalinová Z, Cisláková L, Halánová M.Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are zoonoses caused by bacteria from the family Anaplasmataceae, including human and animal pathogens. The human pathogens are Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the pathogen causing human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), E. ewingii and Neorickettsia sennetsu, granulocytotropic and monocytotropic Ehrlichia species, respectively. Ehrlichia spp. are small, gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacteria. They replicate in the cytoplasmic vacuoles of host cells, especially granulocytes and monoc...
Marsh AE, Mullins AL, Lakritz J.Parasite-specific incorporation of (3)H-uracil was used to assess the replication of Sarcocystis neurona, a protozoal parasite associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Anti-protozoal drugs, pyrimethamine (0.01, 0.1 and 1.0microg/ml PYR), sulfadiazine (5microg/ml; SDZ), sulfamethoxazole (5microg/ml; SMZ), diclazuril (100ng/ml; DCZ), atovaquone (0.04ng/ml; ATQ), tetracycline (5microg/ml; TET) and the herbicide glyphosate (1.5 and 4.5mM; GLY) were studied with varying S. neurona parasite densities (2x10(1)-1.2x10(6)merozoites/well). A microtiter plate format was used to test thes...
Chen Q, Klein JS, Gamsu G, Webb WR.High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) was performed in 21 isolated animal lungs, from 4 mammalian species (pigs, rabbits, dogs, sheep). Gross and subgross central and peripheral lung morphology was determined by HRCT. Three distinct types of lungs can be identified, principally based on the extent of interlobular septal development; the relationship of major vessels to airways; and the thickness of the visceral pleura. Type-I lung is found in pigs, sheep, and cattle; type-II lung is found in rabbits, dogs, cats, and monkeys; and type-III lung is found in human beings and horses. These mam...
Derse D, Dorn P, DaSilva L, Martarano L.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) encodes a tat gene which is closely related to the trans-activators encoded by the human and simian immunodeficiency viruses. Nucleotide sequence analysis of EIAV cDNA clones revealed that the tat message is composed of three exons; the first two encode tat and the third may encode rev.. Interestingly, EIAV tat translation is initiated at a non-AUG codon in the first exon of the message, perhaps allowing an additional level of gene regulation. The deduced amino acid sequence of EIAV tat, combined with functional analyses of tat cDNAs in transfected cells, ...
Steinke SL, Montgomery JB, Barden JM.Quantitative tracking of equine movement during stall confinement has the potential to detect subtle changes in mobility due to injury. These changes may warn of potential complications, providing vital information to direct rehabilitation protocols. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are readily available and easily attached to a limb or surcingle to objectively record step count in horses. The objectives of this study were: (1) to compare IMU-based step counts to a visually-based criterion measure (video) for three different types of movements in a stall environment, and (2) to compare three ...
Osińska E, Golke A, Słońska A, Cymerys J, Bańbura MW, Dzieciatkowski T.Equid herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2) together with equid herpesvirus type 5 are members of Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily, genus Rhadinovirus. EHV-2 is one of major agents causing diseases of horses common worldwide. A possible role of EHV-2 in reactivating latent equid herpesvirus type-1 has been suggested, because reactivation of latent EHV-1 was always accompanied by EHV-2 replication. Variety techniques, including cell culture, PCR and its modifications, have been used to diagnose EHV-2 infections. The aim of this study was to develop, optimize and determine specificity of real-time PCR (qPCR) f...
McNabb L, Andiani A, Bulavaite A, Zvirbliene A, Sasnauskas K, Lunt R.Zoonotic transmission of Hendra virus (HeV) from primary hosts (pteropid bats) to horses, and, occasionally, onward adventitious spread to humans, is associated with high mortality rates in both affected secondary species. The introduction of an effective recombinant G protein vaccine for use in horses has been a major advance for the suppression of disease risk. However, equine HeV vaccination induces neutralising antibody that is indistinguishable from a post infection immune response when using most first line serology assays (eg. VNT and some ELISAs). We have constructed and evaluated an I...
Tainturier DJ, Delmas CF, Dabernat HJ.Seventeen strains of haemophilus equigenitalis isolated from the cervix, clitoris, and urethra of mares were biochemically characterized with the API 10E and APIZYM test kit systems, conventional biochemical tests, and the porphyrin test. Antisera were prepared in rabbits. All of the strains were positive to the porphyrin test, and the requirement for factor X (hemin) or V (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) was not shown. Catalase, oxidase, phosphatase, and phosphoamidase tests were positive with all of the strains. Aminopeptidase (arylamidase) activity has been detected on beta-naphthylamide...
Mathes RL, Paige Carmichael K, Peroni J, Anthony Moore P.A 5-year-old Draft Horse gelding presented for evaluation of a large, fleshy, ulcerated third eyelid mass OD of 3 weeks duration. Complete ophthalmic examination, ocular ultrasound and skull radiographs revealed a large soft-tissue mass involving the entire third eyelid OD and extending into the ventral right orbit to the level of the globe equator. No other abnormalities were noted on physical or ophthalmic examination. Surgical removal via exenteration was performed 3 months after initial presentation. A lacrimal adenocarcinoma of the third eyelid was diagnosed based on histopathology. Concu...
Geyer C, Hafner A, Pfleghaar S, Hermanns W.Six canine, one feline and one equine granular cell tumours (GCTs) were investigated electron microscopically and immunohistochemically. The tumours were tested for reactivity with monoclonal antibodies against vimentin and desmin and with polyclonal antibodies against cytokeratin, S-100 protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neuron specific enolase (NSE). All GCTs were characterized by their PAS positive cytoplasmic granules in light microscopy, which in electron microscopy appeared as lysosome-like granules. In each case two canine GCTs were stained by the antibody against cytok...
Tax WJ, Veerkamp JH.1. Activities of ADA and PNP were measured in erythrocytes and lymphocytes of man, horse and cattle. 2. In bovine hemolysates both enzyme activities are low when compared with activities in human hemolysates. In horse hemolysates both enzyme activities are virtually absent. 3. Enzyme activities are consistently lower (about 50%) in intact lymphocytes than in sonicated lymphocytes. This finding suggests that the uptake of nucleosides is rate-limiting for both enzymes in intact lymphocytes. 4. The activity of ADA in horse lymphocytes is comparable to that in lymphocytes of patients with severe c...
