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Topic:Disease Diagnosis
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.
Mutational changes in the hemagglutinin of equine H3 influenza viruses result in the introduction of a glycosylation site which enhances the infectivity of the viruses. The complete amino acid sequences of the hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein of three equine-2 influenza viruses from tropical Africa are presented in comparison with that of a well characterized European equine-2 virus (Suffolk/89) and a consensus sequence from the database. The sequences of the tropical African viruses were deduced from the complete nucleotide sequences of their HA genes reported earlier. Mutational changes in the nucleotide sequences resulted in amino acid changes in the HA which led to the introduction of a new asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation site in two viruses. Th...
cDNA cloning and sequencing reveal the major horse allergen Equ c1 to be a glycoprotein member of the lipocalin superfamily. The gene encoding the major horse allergen, designated Equus caballus allergen 1 (Equ c1), was cloned from total cDNA of sublingual salivary glands by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using synthetic degenerate oligonucleotides deduced from N-terminal and internal peptide sequences of the glycosylated hair dandruff protein. A recombinant form of the protein, with a polyhistidine tail, was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The recombinant protein is able to induce a passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction in rat, and it behave...
Study on the gastrointestinal parasite fauna of ponies in northern Germany. Quantitative faecal and post-mortem examinations of 16 ponies, 1 to 2 1/2 years of age, originating from 3 farms in northern Germany were performed in February 1995 to determine the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites in these animals. A total of 33 species of metazoan parasites was recovered: three tapeworm species (Anoplocephala perfoliata, A. magna, Paranoplocephala mamillana), Strongylus vulgaris, S. edentatus, small strongyles (including four Triodontophorus spp., Craterostomum acuticaudatum and 19 cyathostome species), Oxyuris equi, Parascaris equorum, Habronema majus ...
Evaluation of young or unproven horses for potential exercise intolerance. The determination of poor performance in the young or unproven horse can be a difficult experience for the practitioner. This article describes an incremental exercise test that may be helpful in determining the cause of poor performance in horses when a complete physical examination and a lameness examination fail to elucidate the causes of poor performance. Included are values from normal yearling and 2-year-old horses that have undergone the incremental exercise test.
[Observations of Setaria equina (Nematoda: Setariidae) with the optical microscope and scanning electron microscope]. Adults of S. equina (Spirurida, Setariidae), 1 male and 2 females, collected from vaginal sac of stallion, were studied by soanning electron microscopy (SEM). The amphids, cephalic and cervical papillae, peribuccal ring, fine transverse bands and bosses of the cuticle, as well as caudal papillae were visualized clearly at this examination. The results of the present survey contribute towards the identification of S. equina, improve the definition of the characters which are demonstrated by common light microscopy and give the exact number of male caudal papillae including the lateral cloacal r...
Testing methods for exercise intolerance in horses. The many testing methods available and the increasing sophistication of diagnostic equipment have enhanced greatly our capabilities to diagnose causes of exercise intolerance in the equine athlete during the last several years. High-speed treadmill examination has become the focus of this form of evaluation. Not all clinicians perform or have access to high-speed treadmill examinations. Testing methods that require the use of the high-speed treadmill, as well as methods that do not, are discussed.
Modified apparatus for collection of free-flow urine from mares. An apparatus for collection of free-flow urine from female horses is described. This apparatus is a modification of a similar device described previously. It allows the collection of voided urine from adult female horses without confining them to metabolic stables or resorting to invasive procedures like bladder catheterisation. It is relatively easy to use after a short adaptation period.
Neosporosis as a cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. Neosporosis was diagnosed in an 11-year-old Quarter Horse gelding with clinical signs and diagnostic test results compatible with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Presumptive postmortem diagnosis of EPM attributable to Sarcocystis neurona infection is generally made on the basis of detecting an antibody titer to S neurona in the CSF or characteristic histologic lesions, even when parasites have not been specifically identified. Neosporosis was confirmed in the horse described here by use of immunohistochemical examination, in vitro culturing, and ultrastructural and molecular characte...
Exercise intolerance and poor performance in western performance and sprint horses. This article deals with the presenting histories, clinical examinations, and therapies of the causes of poor performance and exercise intolerance in the western performance horse and the sprint racehorse. The veterinarian's ability to diagnose and treat various pathophysiologic conditions that affect these horses is crucial to the major goals of a return to optimal performance and a long athletic career. Although these horses are a significant portion of most veterinary practices, there exists a minimal amount of information on their clinical evaluation and treatment. This article intends to f...
A sero-epidemiological survey of equine piroplasmosis in the northern and eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Serum samples from yearling Thoroughbred horses (n = 176) in the magisterial districts of Colesberg, Venterstad, and Wodehouse in the Northern and Eastern Cape Provinces were collected between September and November 1995 to determine the prevalence of antibodies to Babesia equi and Babesia caballi in these regions. Samples were examined for specific antibodies using the indirect fluorescent antibody test. The 95% confidence intervals for the prevalence of serum antibodies in the 3 districts combined varied from 47% to 61% for B. equi and from 26% to 40% for B. caballi. Antibody prevalence did ...
Metabolic causes of equine exercise intolerance. Metabolic causes of exercise intolerance can be subtle and difficult to document in horses. Because of increased metabolic rate in exercising muscle, most metabolic causes of exercise intolerance are clinically manifested by muscle abnormalities such as ER. Newer causes of ER are being documented by current research and are summarized in the article on muscular causes of equine exercise intolerance. Endocrine causes of exercise intolerance have been poorly documented, but recent work has shown the detrimental effects of hypothyroidism on exercise tolerance in horses. Many metabolic manifestati...
A survey of horses with acute diarrhoea: diagnosis, assessment of the prognosis, and comparison of two antibiotic therapies. Twenty horses, ponies, and foals referred with acute diarrhoea were divided at random into two treatment groups. One group was treated intravenously with trimethoprim/ sulfadiazine and the other group with ampicillin/gentamicin. Both groups were given the same standardized symptomatic therapy. All animals were evaluated clinically and 5 variables (general impression, heart rate, rectal temperature, appetite, and consistency of the faeces) were estimated on a five point scale (0-4). Jugular blood samples were taken at admittance and at regular intervals for routine screening. Three blood variab...
Separation of equine IgG subclasses (IgGa, IgGb and IgG(T)) using their differential binding characteristics for staphylococcal protein A and streptococcal protein G. Equine IgG possesses four well-defined subisotypes, designated IgGa, IgGb, IgGc and IgG(T) on the basis of their increasing anodal mobility in electrophoresis. However, the preparation of IgGa and IgGb reference proteins has not previously been reported. Certain bacterial cell wall proteins, termed protein A and protein G, have been used for purification of IgG subisotypes from the serum of domestic animals which, combined with other techniques utilising differences in the physico-chemical properties of the proteins, has allowed the purification of Ig isotypes. This paper describes purificatio...
Skeletal origins of exercise intolerance in horses. Skeletal origins of exercise intolerance and performance failure can reside in multiple tissues. Diagnosis of injury that results in an ability to continue to exercise, yet inefficiently do so, requires familiarity with evaluation of subtle lameness and often with the specific demands of the different equine sports. Imaging is usually vital to diagnosis development and understanding of lesion influences on locomotion. Therapy is lesion dependent. Return to competitive exercise and performance is dictated by an understanding of skeletal tissue response to injury, rational progressive treatment,...
Direct detection of equine herpesvirus DNA in tissues of aborted equine fetuses. Restriction endonuclease analysis of equine herpesviruses 1 (EHV-1) and 4 has been investigated using cultured cells infected with these viruses. The DNA cleavage patterns of these viruses were observed in the intracellular DNA after digestion with Eco RI and electrophoresis. This procedure was applied to the diagnosis of equine herpesvirus infection in aborted equine fetuses. The characteristic Eco RI restriction pattern of EHV-1 DNA was directly detectable in the emulsion of lungs collected from aborted equine fetuses.
Endodontic therapy and surgical excision of a chronic suppurative osteomyelitic lesion in a horse: a case report. A 22-year-old thoroughbred gelding was presented for evaluation and treatment of chronic dental disease. The horse had a history of quidding and abnormal bite behavior. Intraoral examination revealed signs of chronic generalized gingival inflammation and severe dental caries affecting the maxillary and mandibular incisor teeth. Treatment was provided on two separate visits over an interval of four months. The first visit consisted of the surgical extraction of three unrestorable incisor teeth and restoration of six carious maxillary incisor teeth. The second visit consisted of conventional end...
Measurement of extravascular lung water by the double indicator dilution method using heat and sodium in horses under general anesthesia. Rapid infusion is believed to be harmful to the lung, however, the pathological status of pulmonary edema resulting from excessive fluid therapy in horses has not been clarified because the quantitative diagnosis of pulmonary edema is impossible. To evaluate the precision of the double indicator dilution method using heat and sodium in horses, which allows the quantitative diagnosis of pulmonary edema, we compared extravascular lung water volume measured using a lung water computer based on the theory of the double indicator dilution method with that determined by the direct method. The value ...
Cardiovascular causes of exercise intolerance. Exercise intolerance, due to cardiovascular disease in horses, may be caused by cardiac arrhythmias, valvular regurgitation, congenital abnormalities, myocardial dysfunction, pericardial disease, and vascular thrombosis. The most common cardiovascular cause of exercise intolerance in horses is atrial fibrillation. Cardiovascular abnormalities such as cardiac arrhythmias or murmurs, however, are common in athletic horses and are not always associated with exercise intolerance. Use of an electrocardiography (during rest and exercise) and echocardiography may be necessary to better determine the ...
The equine periodic paralysis Na+ channel mutation alters molecular transitions between the open and inactivated states. 1. The Na+ channel mutation associated with equine hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HPP) affects a highly conserved phenylalanine residue in an unexplored region of the alpha-subunit. This mutation was introduced into the rat skeletal muscle Na+ channel gene at the corresponding location (i.e. F1412L) for functional expression and characterization in Xenopus oocytes. 2. In comparison with wild-type (WT) channels, equine HPP channels showed clear evidence for disruption of inactivation: increased time-to-peak current, slowed rates of whole-cell current decay, significant increases in sustained...
Muscular causes of exercise intolerance in horses. The muscular system of the horse is remarkable in its athletic scope and capacity to adapt to the demands placed on it. Muscular fatigue often causes exercise intolerance in horses as a primary muscular dysfunction or secondary to abnormalities in other integrated systems such as the cardiovascular, respiratory, or skeletal system. This article reviews basic muscular physiology leading to a discussion of the physiologic causes of muscular fatigue. In addition, a review of pathologic muscle disorders such as muscle strains and exertional myopathies that lead to poor performance is provided.
A missense mutation in the gene for melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MC1R) is associated with the chestnut coat color in horses. The melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor gene (MC1R) is the major candidate gene for the chestnut coat color in horses since it is assumed to be controlled by an allele at the extension locus. MC1R sequences were PCR amplified from chestnut (e/e) and non-chestnut (E/-) horses. A single-strand conformation polymorphism was found that showed a complete association to the chestnut coat color among 144 horses representing 12 breeds. Sequence analysis revealed a single missense mutation (83Ser-->Phe) in the MC1R allele associated with the chestnut color. The substitution occurs in the second ...
Distribution of penicillins into subcutaneous tissue chambers in ponies. The distribution of penicillins into a tissue chamber implanted subcutaneously in ponies was studied. Ampicillin sodium (equivalent to 15 mg/kg ampicillin) was administered intravenously. Pivampicillin, a prodrug of ampicillin, was administered by nasogastric tube to fed ponies at a dose of 19.9 mg/kg (equivalent to 15 mg/kg ampicillin). Procaine penicillin G was administered intramuscularly at a dose of 12 mg/kg (equivalent to 12000 IU/kg). Six ponies were used for each medication. Antibiotic concentrations in plasma and tissue chamber fluid (TCF) were measured for 24 h after administration. ...
Discospondylitis in an adult horse. Discospondylitis, of presumed bacterial origin, was diagnosed in an adult thoroughbred racehorse. The clinical signs were vague and associated with abnormal mobility of the neck and forelimbs. Clinical pathology showed only a non-specific inflammatory response. A scintigraphic examination revealed the site of the lesion and the diagnosis was confirmed by the identification of radiographic changes affecting two thoracic vertebrae. A prolonged course of antimicrobial agents produced a complete recovery and the horse returned to full athletic use.
