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.
Busechian S, Marchesi MC, Vuerich M, Corsalini J, Nannarone S, Arcelli R, Ortolani F, Rueca F, Gialletti R.Ureteral endoscopy is a routine procedure in human medicine, whereas the reports of this procedure on horses are few and far between. The aim of this paper is to describe the endoscopic technique to evaluate the ureters in standing, sedated horses. An endoscopy of the ureters and lower urinary tract was performed using flexible endoscopes on 4 horses, 3 mares and one gelding. The animals were sedated with alpha-2-agonists and an epidural anaesthesia was given. An endoscopy of the ureter in the horse is easy to perform, causes the animal no adverse effects and could provide significant informat...
Huang YH, Lyle JV, Ab Razak AS, Nandi M, Marr CM, Huang CL, Aston PJ, Jeevaratnam K.Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia in both human and equine populations. It is associated with adverse outcomes in humans and decreased athletic performance in both populations. Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) presents with intermittent, self-terminating AF episodes, and is difficult to diagnose once sinus rhythm resumes. Unassigned: We aimed to detect PAF subjects from normal sinus rhythm equine electrocardiograms (ECGs) using the Symmetric Projection Attractor Reconstruction (SPAR) method to encapsulate the waveform morphology and variability as the basis of a machi...
Cianci JM, Wulster KB, Richardson DW, Stefanovski D, Ortved KF.To investigate the effects of fracture characteristics and concurrent subchondral bone pathology identified with computed tomography (CT) on the racing performance of Thoroughbred racehorses with fractures of the MC3/MT3 lateral condyle. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses (n = 50) with a fracture of the MC3/MT3 lateral condyle, which had preoperative CT and internal fixation performed. Methods: Medical records were reviewed for age, sex, limb, and surgical treatment. Computed tomography scans were evaluated to determine fracture characteristics including le...
Rivolta AA, Pittman DC, Kappes AJ, Stancil RK, Kogan C, Sanz MG.The efficacy of Rhodococcus equi-specific hyperimmune plasma (HIP) is usually evaluated in vitro. Anticoagulants (AC) used for plasma collection can negatively impact bacterial replication but their effect on R. equi growth has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to establish the effect that AC routinely used in veterinary medicine (ACD, KEDTA, Li Heparin, and Na Citrate) have on in vitro R. equi growth. To assess this, in vitro assays commonly used to test HIP efficacy (direct effect on microorganism and macrophage infection), were performed using each AC and non-treated bacteria. R...
Onyiche TE, Igwenagu E, Malgwi SA, Omeh IJ, Biu AA, Thekisoe O.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease of equines with resultant economic consequences. To date, little information is available regarding the effects of EP on the health of equids in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was carried out to ascertain the effects of natural sub-clinical infection with T. equi on the hematology and biochemical profiles of horses and donkeys. Blood and serum samples were subjected to hematology and serum biochemistry analyses, respectively. Data corresponding to PCR-positive (infected) and PCR-negative (uninfected) was computed to ascertain changes in any of ...
Ekstrand C, Nostell K, Gehring R, Bondesson U, Bröjer J.Septicaemia in the neonatal foal is caused by both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The life-threatening nature of this condition requires treatment to be initiated with broad spectrum antimicrobial drugs pending antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Potentiated sulphonamides, for example, trimethoprim combined with sulfadiazine, could be clinically relevant options but their pharmacokinetics in the neonatal foal are unknown. To describe the plasma disposition of trimethoprim and sulfadiazine in neonatal foals and to relate the results to patterns in the minimum inhibitory concentrati...
Kondo T, Sato F, Tsuzuki N, Chen CJ, Yamada K.Computed tomographic myelography can be a useful tool for evaluating vertebral canal stenosis. However, an index of spinal cord compression is yet to be established. This observational descriptive study aimed to establish an index for spinal cord compression using computed tomography (CT). Twenty-three Thoroughbred horses (age, 155-717 days; weight, 205-523 kg) with suspected cervical vertebral malformation were subjected to computed tomographic myelography in dorsal recumbency using large-bore gantry CT to define the entire cervical vertebrae from C1 to C7. Subsequently, the height of the sp...
Colmer SF, Wulster K, Johnson AL, Levine DG, Underwood C, Watkins TW, Van Eps AW.A 15-year-old Miniature Horse mare with persistently increased plasma calcium (total and ionized) and serum parathyroid hormone concentrations was presented for suspected primary hyperparathyroidism. Ultrasonography of the thyroid region identified an enlarged heterogeneous mass axial to the right thyroid lobe suggestive of an enlarged parathyroid gland, which was further confirmed using sestamibi nuclear scintigraphy and 3-phase computed tomography. Percutaneous ultrasound-guided ethanol ablation of the mass, a method not previously described in the horse, was performed under general anesthes...
Hinkle FE, Selberg KT, Frisbie DD, Barrett MF.Comparison of radiography to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help objectively assess the value and limitations of radiographs in orthopaedic disease processes. The tarsus and proximal suspensory origin of the metatarsus are commonly imaged regions for lameness. The knowledge gained by comparison between imaging modalities will aid in improving accuracy of radiographic interpretation. Objective: To compare the radiographic and MRI findings of the proximal third metatarsal bone (MTIII) and proximal suspensory ligament using MRI as the gold standard. Methods: Retrospective observational stud...
Domańska D, Trela M, Pawliński B, Podeszewski B, Domino M.The somatic cell count in milk (SCC) and electrical conductivity of milk (ECM) are indicators of the health status of the mammary gland. Among somatic cells, mainly polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), macrophages (MAC), and lymphocytes (LYM) are rated. This study aimed to determine the SCC, PMN, MAC, LYM, ECM, and bacteriological index (BII) in milk collected from mares with (CM) and without (NCM) clinical symptoms of mastitis concerning mares with (SM) and without (NSM) subclinical mastitis. Milk samples were collected from 27 mares divided into NCM (n = 12) and CM (n = 15) groups. In sample...
Tahoun A, Elnafarawy HK, El-Sharkawy H, Rizk AM, Alorabi M, El-Shehawi AM, Youssef MA, Ibrahim HMM, El-Khodery S.This work aimed to characterize S. aureus isolates from the eyes of healthy and clinically affected equines in the Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt. A total of 110 animals were examined for the presence of S. aureus, which was isolated from 33 animals with ophthalmic lesions and 77 healthy animals. We also investigated the antimicrobial resistance profile, oxacillin resistance mechanism, and the major virulence factors implicated in many studies of the ocular pathology of pathogenic S. aureus. The association between S. aureus eye infections and potential risk factors was also investigated. The...
Henker LC, Lorenzett MP, Piva MM, Wronski JG, de Andrade DGA, Borges AS, Driemeier D, Oliveira-Filho JP, Pavarini SP.Holoprosencephaly is a central nervous system malformation, characterized by incomplete or total lack of division of prosencephalon hemispheres, which is commonly accompanied by craniofacial malformations. A 9-month-gestation aborted American Quarter Horse fetus was submitted for postmortem examination. The fetus lacked haircoat and had severe facial malformations including marked shortening/absence of the maxillary, incisive and nasal bones, bilateral anophthalmia, and pre-maxillary agenesis. The prosencephalon was small and nearly spherical, represented by a single lobe, with no visible sepa...
Leclere M, Chevalier Z, Dubuc V, Beauchamp G, Bédard C.The amount of thrombin generated reflects the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), which depends on the balance of pro- and anticoagulant factors. The calibrated automated thrombogram (CAT) allows for the direct measurement of thrombin generation during the clotting process. Objective: (1) To describe the results of the CAT assay in horses, (2) to establish intra-assay and intra- and interindividual variation of thrombin generation in healthy horses, and (3) to compare in vitro low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) sensitivity between healthy and sick horses. The hypothesis for the last objectiv...
Ter Woort F, Dubois G, Tansley G, Didier M, Verdegaal L, Franklin S, Van Erck-Westergren E.Cardiac arrhythmias in exercising horses are the focus of much interest, both in terms of what is considered normal and potential associations with poor performance and sudden cardiac death. One barrier to performing large-scale studies is the lack of an easily applicable device, to allow recording of large numbers of high-quality exercising electrocardiograms (ECGs). The Equimetre is a new wearable device which records a single lead ECG, amongst other parameters. Validation of such wearable devices is essential before further studies are undertaken. Objective: To evaluate the quality of ECG u...
Thomson K, Eskola K, Eklund M, Suominen K, Määttä M, Junnila J, Nykäsenoja S, Niinistö K, Grönthal T, Rantala M.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) are important causative agents for infections in humans and animals. At the Equine Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Helsinki, the first infections caused by ESBL-E were observed at the end of 2011 leading to enhanced infection surveillance. Contact patients were screened for ESBL-E by culturing infection sites and rectal screening. This study was focused on describing the epidemiology and microbiological characteristics of ESBL-E from equine patients of the EVTH during 2011-2014, and analysing putative risk fac...
Ahedor B, Kothalawala H, Kanagaratnam R, Vimalakumar SC, Otgonsuren D, Tuvshintulga B, Batmagnai E, Silva SSP, Sivakumar T, Yokoyama N.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in equids, including horses, donkeys, zebras, and mules. It is globally endemic with significant economic impact on the equine industry. Infected animals may serve as carriers, and they may be a source of infection for ticks, thereby posing a great challenge for disease management. Sri Lanka is a tropical country, where infections by various tick-borne parasites are common among livestock animals. However, infections by T. equi and B. caballi remain unstudied in Sri Lanka. Therefore, in the present s...
Nielsen MK, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Kuzmina TA, van Doorn DCK, Meana A, Rehbein S, Elliott T, Reinemeyer CR.This guideline have been developed to assist in the design, execution, and interpretation of studies to assess the efficacy of anthelmintic drugs against internal parasites of equines, including nematodes, cestodes, and larval instars of Gasterophilus spp. The design and execution of critical and controlled studies are outlined, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Unique considerations for specific target parasites are included. Information is also provided on selection of animals, procedures for randomization, housing, feeding, dosage titration, dosage confirmation and field...
Steuer AE, Anderson HP, Shepherd T, Clark M, Scare JA, Gravatte HS, Nielsen MK.Horses are host to a plethora of parasites. Knowledge of the seasonality of parasite egg shedding and transmission is important for constructing parasite control programs. However, studies describing these patterns are sparse, and have largely been conducted only in the United Kingdom. This study evaluated strongylid egg shedding patterns and transmission dynamics of Strongylus vulgaris in naturally infected and untreated mares and foals through one calendar year in Kentucky, USA. The study also investigated the existence of a peri-parturient rise (PPR) in strongylid egg counts in foaling mare...
Wollanke B, Gerhards H, Ackermann K.Uveitis is a sight-threatening eye disease in equids known worldwide that leads to considerable pain and suffering. By far the most common type of uveitis in Germany and neighboring countries is classical equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), which is caused by chronic intraocular leptospiral infection and is the main cause of infectious uveitis in horses. Other infectious causes are extremely rare and are usually clinically distinguishable from ERU. ERU can be treated very effectively by vitreous cavity lavage (vitrectomy). For proper indications of this demanding surgery, it is necessary to differ...
Bolt DM, Carrier ME, Sheridan KS, Manso-Diaz G, Berner D.Foot imbalance and malalignment of the digits are common in horses. Angle and distance measurements performed on bones, joints and hoof wall on radiographs provide essential guidance for precise corrective trimming and shoeing. This study aimed to investigate, if selected standing low-field magnetic resonance (MR) images can be used to accurately measure dorsopalmar and lateromedial foot conformation parameters in comparison to the radiographic gold standard. Images of 100 horses referred for standing low-field MR examination were selected. Foot conformation angles and distances were measured ...
Lotfi Z, Pourmahdi Borujeni M, Ghorbanpoor M, Ghadrdan Mashhadi AR.Brucellosis, as a zoonotic disease, mainly occurs in horses by Brucella abortus, Brucella canis and Brucella suis. The disease in equines is often asymptomatic, but the clinical signs in horses are mostly characterized by bursitis, arthritis and tenosynovitis. This study, thus, aimed to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis and its associated risk factors in the Arabian horses of Khuzestan province, South-west Iran. To that end, the blood samples randomly collected from 180 Arabian horses were analyzed for the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), serum a...
Zhao Y, Zhu Y, Liu B, Mi J, Li N, Zhao W, Wu R, Holyoak GR, Li J, Liu D, Zeng S, Wang Y.Endometritis is a common reproductive disease in equine animals. No investigation about the bacterial characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of donkeys with endometritis has thus far been reported. Objective: To determine the common uterine bacterial isolates from donkeys with endometritis and to evaluate their susceptibility to antimicrobials used for the treatment thereof. Methods: Retrospective case-series. Methods: Medical records at an equine clinical diagnostic center were retrospectively reviewed to identify submissions from donkeys with bacterial endometritis between ...
Darmani Kuhi H, Hossein-Zadeh NG, France J, López S.A better knowledge of the growth of horses can facilitate sounder intervention in their health control, nutrition and management. This study compared five growth functions with either diminishing returns (monomolecular and Michaelis-Menten) or asymptotic sigmoidal (Gompertz, Richards and Lopez) behavior for describing the growth curves of horses, based on the relationship between a given somatic growth trait (body weight, withers height, or body weight to withers height ratio) and age. Data used in this study were those available in the literature for quarter horse males and thoroughbred foals...
Kozłowska N, Wierzbicka M, Jasiński T, Domino M.The horse, as a flight animal with a survival strategy involving rapid escape from predators, is a natural-born athlete with enormous functional plasticity of the respiratory system. Any respiratory dysfunction can cause a decline in ventilation and gas exchange. Therefore, respiratory diseases often lead to exercise intolerance and poor performance. This is one of the most frequent problems encountered by equine internists. Routine techniques used to evaluate respiratory tract diseases include clinical examination, endoscopic examination, radiographic and ultrasonographic imaging, cytological...
Nielsen SS, Bicout DJ, Calistri P, Canali E, Drewe JA, Garin-Bastuji B, Gonzales Rojas JL, Gortázar C, Herskin M, Michel V, Miranda Chueca MÁ.... () was identified among the most relevant antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria in the EU for horses in a previous scientific opinion. Thus, it has been assessed according to the criteria of the Animal Health Law (AHL), in particular criteria of Article 7 on disease profile and impacts, Article 5 on its eligibility to be listed, Annex IV for its categorisation according to disease prevention and control rules as in Article 9 and Article 8 for listing animal species related to the bacterium. The assessment has been performed following a methodology previously published. The outcome is the med...
Assefa A, Tibebu A, Bihon A, Dagnachew A, Muktar Y.African horse sickness is a vector-borne, non-contagious and highly infectious disease of equines caused by African horse sickness viruses (AHSv) that mainly affect horses. The occurrence of the disease causes huge economic impacts because of its high fatality rate, trade ban and disease control costs. In the planning of vectors and vector-borne diseases like AHS, the application of Ecological niche models (ENM) used an enormous contribution in precisely delineating the suitable habitats of the vector. We developed an ENM to delineate the global suitability of AHSv based on retrospective out...
Kaneene JB, Miller R, Ross WA, Gallagher K, Marteniuk J, Rook J.A population-based prospective epidemiological study was conducted to assess risk factors for equine colic. A stratified sample of 3925 equids in 138 randomly selected equine farms in the state of Michigan was monitored in two 12-month rounds of data collection. Incidence densities were used to describe the rate of development of colic in the study population. Mortality rates, case fatality rates and survival rates were used to describe the severity of colic on the study population. Multivariable logistic regressions with random effects (grouped according to farm) were used to identify risk fa...
Matsumura T, Kondo T, Sugita S, Damiani AM, O'Callaghan DJ, Imagawa H.The cell culture-adapted KyA strain of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been found to be attenuated in young horses (Matsumura et al., 1996, Vet. Microbiol. 48, 353-365). The KyA strain lacks at least six genes in its genome, including those encoding glycoproteins gE and gI. To elucidate whether EHV-1 glycoproteins gE and gI play a role in viral virulence, we have constructed an EHV-1 recombinant that has the genes encoding both gE and gI deleted from its genome and its revertant. Growth properties of the deletion mutant virus in vitro were compared with those of the parent and the revert...
Duncan ID, Griffiths IR, Madrid RE.A study has been made of the pathological changes in the recurrent laryngeal nerves from horses with clinical and sub-clinical idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia. Qualitative and quantitative studies showed in clinical cases there was a progressive distal loss of large myelinated fibres in the left recurrent nerve. Regenerating clusters and onion bulbs were frequently seen in affected nerves both at proximal and distal levels. Degenerating axons were characterized by collections of organelles, and denervated bands of Bungner were common. Similar but less severe changes were seen in the left recur...
Veraa S, Bergmann W, van den Belt AJ, Wijnberg I, Back W.Diagnostic imaging is one of the pillars in the clinical workup of horses with clinical signs of cervical spinal disease. An improved awareness of morphologic variations in equine cervical vertebrae would be helpful for interpreting findings. The aim of this anatomic study was to describe CT variations in left-right symmetry and morphology of the cervical and cervicothoracic vertebrae in a sample of horses. Postmortem CT examinations of the cervical spine for horses without congenital growth disorders were prospectively and retrospectively recruited. A total of 78 horses (27 foals, 51 mature h...
Lopez J, Copps J, Wilhelmsen C, Moore R, Kubay J, St-Jacques M, Halayko S, Kranendonk C, Toback S, DeShazer D, Fritz DL, Tom M, Woods DE.Considerable advances in understanding of the disease caused by Burkholderia mallei have been made employing a combination of tools including genetic techniques and animal infection models. The development of small animal models has allowed us to assess the role of a number of putative virulence determinants in the pathogenesis of disease due to B. mallei. Due to the difficulties in performing active immunization studies in small animals, and due to the fact that the horse is the target mammalian species for glanders, we have initiated experimental studies on glanders in horses. Intratracheal ...
Gardiner DW, Lunn DP, Goehring LS, Chiang YW, Cook C, Osterrieder N, McCue P, Del Piero F, Hussey SB, Hussey GS.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) continues to cause both sporadic and epidemic abortions despite extensive vaccination. Lack of progress in the development of protective vaccines may be hindered by the lack of equine abortion models that employ contemporary EHV-1 strains. The objective of our experiments was to compare a contemporary EHV-1 strain with a previously described challenge strain, and to quantify EHV-1 loads in various maternal and fetal tissues. Infection experiments were performed in two groups of 7 pregnant pony mares at 270-290 days of gestation with a contemporary EHV-1 strain (Uni...
Butler CM, Houwers DJ, Jongejan F, van der Kolk JH.This review discusses the literature on B. burgdorferi infections in view of the rising incidence of this infection in general and the increasing concerns of horse owners and equine practitioners. Lyme disease, the clinical expression of Borrelia infections in man is an important health problem. The geographic distribution of B. burgdorferi infections in equidae should resemble that of human cases because the vector tick involved, Ixodes ricinus, feeds on both species and, indeed, the infection has been established many times in horses. However, a definite diagnosis of the disease "Lyme borrel...
Austin SM, Foreman JH, Hungerford LL.Risk factors for development of pleuropneumonia were determined by reviewing medical records of 45 horses with pleuropneumonia and 180 control horses examined between Jan 1, 1980 and Jan 1, 1990. Factors considered included age, breed, sex, occupation, transport farther than 500 miles within the previous week, racing within the previous 48 hours, viral respiratory tract infection or exposure to horses with viral respiratory tract disease within the previous 2 weeks, and vaccination against influenza or rhinopneumonitis within the previous 6 months. Results indicated that Thoroughbreds were at ...
Meehan M, Lynagh Y, Woods C, Owen P.The major cell-wall-associated protein of the equine pathogen Streptococcus equi subsp. equi is an M-like fibrinogen-binding protein (FgBP) which binds equine fibrinogen (Fg) avidly, through residues located at the extreme N-terminus of the molecule. In this study, it is shown that FgBP additionally binds equine IgG-Fc. When tested against polyclonal IgG from ten other animal species, it was found that FgBP binds human, rabbit, pig and cat IgG, but does not bind mouse, rat, goat, sheep, cow or chicken IgG. Through the use of a panel of recombinant FgBP truncates containing defined deletions of...
Jaffer O, Abdishakur F, Hakimuddin F, Riya A, Wernery U, Schuster RK.A total of 105 serum samples from endurance horses from different stables in Dubai were examined for the presence of antibodies against Theileria equi and Babesia caballi using immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). A TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect DNA of piroplasms in specimens of clotted blood or EDTA blood samples of the same animals. Out of the 105 serum samples, the IFAT detected antibodies against T. equi in 35 (33.3%) cases while the cELISA gave 34 (32.4%) positive results. Eleven (10.5%) o...
Hannant D, Jessett DM, O'Neill T, Dolby CA, Cook RF, Mumford JA.An experimental (ISCOM) vaccine previously shown to protect hamsters from lethal challenge with equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), was tested in horses. Vaccination with EHV-1 ISCOMs induced serum antibodies to the major virus glycoproteins gp10, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 21/22a, whereas antibody responses to gp2 were weak or absent. High levels of virus neutralising antibody of long duration were induced, but did not prevent challenge infection with virus of the homologous strain. However, in the vaccinated ponies there was a significant reduction in clinical signs, nasal virus excretion and cell associat...
Dowdall SM, Matthews JB, Mair T, Murphy D, Love S, Proudman CJ.Equine clinical larval cyathostominosis is caused by simultaneous mass emergence of previously inhibited larvae from the mucosa of the colon. Clinical signs include diarrhoea, colic, weight loss and malaise, and in up to 50% of cases, the disease results in death. Cyathostominae spend a large part of their life cycle as larval stages in the intestinal mucosa. Definitive diagnosis is difficult due to the lack of diagnostic methods for pre-patent infection. In the present study, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to investigate isotype responses to larval cyathostominae somat...
Wen B, Rikihisa Y, Fuerst PA, Chaichanasiriwithaya W.Ehrlichia risticii is the causative agent of Potomac horse fever. Variations among the major antigens of different local E. risticii strains have been detected previously. To further assess genetic variability in this species or species complex, the sequences of the 16S rRNA genes of several isolates obtained from sick horses diagnosed as having Potomac horse fever were determined. The sequences of six isolates obtained from Ohio and three isolates obtained from Kentucky were amplified by PCR. Three groups of sequences were identified. The sequences of five of the Ohio isolates were identical ...
Hellberg W, Wilson AD, Mellor P, Doherr MG, Torsteinsdottir S, Zurbriggen A, Jungi T, Marti E.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by IgE-mediated reactions to bites of Culicoides and sometimes Simulium spp. The allergens causing IBH are probably salivary gland proteins from these insects, but they have not yet been identified. The aim of our study was to identify the number and molecular weight of salivary gland extract (SGE) proteins derived from Culicoides nubeculosus which are able to bind IgE antibodies (ab) from the sera of IBH-affected horses. Additionally, we sought to investigate the IgG subclass (IgGa, IgGb and IgGT) reactivity to thes...
McCue PM, Ferris RA.An understanding of the normal events of foaling, causes of dystocia and clinical outcomes is important for equine practitioners. Objective: The goals of the present study were to: 1) evaluate factors that influence gestation length; 2) report duration of Stage II labour; 3) determine the frequency of dystocia and premature placental separation; and 4) determine the relationship between problems at foaling and foal survival. Methods: Foaling records of 1047 mare births were evaluated. Results: The average gestation length was 342.7 days [corrected] +/- 0.4 days, with no effect of mare age or b...
Guedes A, Galuppo L, Hood D, Hwang SH, Morisseau C, Hammock BD.The roles of soluble epoxide hydrolase and lipid mediators in inflammatory and neuropathic pain could be relevant in laminitis pain management. Objective: To determine soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) activity in the digital laminae, sEH inhibitor potency in vitro, and efficacy of a sEH inhibitor as an adjunct analgesic therapy in chronic laminitic horses. Methods: In vitro experiments and clinical case series. Methods: sEH activity was measured in digital laminae from euthanised healthy and laminitic horses (n = 5-6/group). Potency of 7 synthetic sEH inhibitors was determined in vitro using eq...
Nagy A, Murray JK, Dyson S.Endurance is the fastest growing Féderation Équestre International (FEI) discipline and the large number of eliminations on veterinary grounds needs to be investigated. Objective: To document elimination rates and explore potential risk factors for elimination due to lameness or metabolic reasons in 9 countries representing 5 continents. Methods: Data for rides of ≥ 100 km ('elite endurance rides') in Australia, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK, Uruguay and USA were collected from the FEI website. Data were collected for all started horses on the country, ...
Koterba AM, Brewer BD, Tarplee FA.In an effort to identify improved methods for diagnosis of infection in the neonatal foal, clinical records from 38 septicaemic foals of less than one week of age were examined for trends in history, physical examination and clinicopathological findings. The survival rate of septicaemic foals, 26 per cent, was markedly less than the rate for all other foal admissions. Blood cultures were valuable in diagnosis and treatment of septicaemia and identified a preponderance of Gram-negative infection. Zinc sulphate turbidity test results were abnormally low in all septicaemic foals tested. The clini...
Pease A, Behan A, Bohart G.Horses with intracranial lesions and severe ataxia are not good anesthesia candidates; however, only one method to obtain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the cervical region in a standing horse has been reported. This method is not performed routinely due to the difficulty for sample acquisition. Our hypothesis is that standing cervical centesis can be performed in horses without complication. Ultrasound-guided centesis of the CSF between C1 and C2 in 11 clinically normal horses and two horses with neurologic signs were performed. Horses were sedated and ultrasound was used to identify the suba...
Dixon PM, Tremaine WH, Pickles K, Kuhns L, Hawe C, McCann J, McGorum BC, Railton DI, Brammer S.Of 400 horses referred because of dental disorders, 349 cases were diagnosed as suffering from primary disorders of their cheek teeth. Details of 104 of these cases are presented, including 44 cases with abnormalities of wear, 26 cases with traumatic damage, 24 cases with idiopathic fractures and 10 cases with miscellaneous cheek teeth disorders including oral tumours. The long-term response to treatment was excellent in most cases, even in cases with residual secondary periodontal disease.
Pascottini OB, Aurich C, England G, Grahofer A.Endometritis is a leading cause of sub- and infertility in domestic animal species. The healthy uterus is colonized by commensal bacteria, viruses and yeast/fungi that represent the nonpathogenic microbiota. A shift in the number or type of organisms accompanied by immune dysfunction, however, may trigger uterine infection and inflammation. Metritis is associated with inflammation of all uterine layers (endometrium, myometrium and perimetrium), whereas endometritis is a more superficial inflammation involving solely the endometrium. Endometritis generally occurs at two time points in domestic ...
Wood JL, Burrell MH, Roberts CA, Chanter N, Shaw Y.The likelihood of finding evidence of inflammation in 551 tracheal washes collected endoscopically from 278 Thoroughbred racehorses increased with the number of bacterial colony forming units (cfu) per ml of wash (P < 0.001). The aerobic bacteria Streptococcus zooepidemicus, Pasteurella/Actinobacillus-like species and Streptococcus pneumoniae were significantly associated with lower airway inflammation whereas coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp., alpha-haemolytic Streptococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., Bacillus spp., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, non-haemolytic Streptococcus spp...
Lilliehöök I, Tvedten H.The Sysmex XT-2000iV is a laser-based, flow cytometric hematology system that stains nucleic acids in leukocytes with a fluorescent dye. A 4-part differential is obtained using side fluorescence light and laser side scatter. Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate the Sysmex XT-2000iV for determining differential leukocyte counts in blood from ill dogs, cats, and horses. Methods: Blood samples from diseased animals (133 dogs, 65 cats, and 73 horses) were analyzed with the Sysmex XT-2000iV (Auto-diff) and the CELL-DYN 3500. Manual differentials were obtained by counting 100 leukocy...
Turlej RK, Fiévez L, Sandersen CF, Dogné S, Kirschvink N, Lekeux P, Bureau F.As granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mediated delay of granulocyte apoptosis contributes to the accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of inflammation in many diseases, we sought to determine whether asthma is also associated with a GM-CSF dependent increase in lung granulocyte survival. Moreover, because GM-CSF mediates its effects through activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), we also investigated the potential role of STAT5 in allergic inflammation. Methods: Blood granulocytes were recovered from six healthy and six heaves a...
van der Meide NM, Roders N, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Schaap PJ, van Oers MM, Leibold W, Savelkoul HF, Tijhaar E.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated (Type I) hypersensitivity reaction induced by allergens from biting midges of the Culicoides spp. The aim of the present study was to identify, clone and express recombinant allergens from C. obsoletus, the main species found feeding on horses in the Netherlands, by sequence homology searches on the C. obsoletus specific RNA database, with previously described allergens from C. nubeculosus and C. sonorensis. BLAST searches with these described allergens resulted in similarity hits with 7 genes coding for C. obsoletus allergens. These allerg...
Hellander-Edman A, Makdoumi K, Mortensen J, Ekesten B.Corneal ulcers are one of the most common eye problems in the horse and can cause varying degrees of visual impairment. Secondary infection and protease activity causing melting of the corneal stroma are always concerns in patients with corneal ulcers. Corneal collagen cross-linking (CXL), induced by illumination of the corneal stroma with ultraviolet light (UVA) after instillation of riboflavin (vitamin B2) eye drops, introduces crosslinks which stabilize melting corneas, and has been used to successfully treat infectious ulcerative keratitis in human patients. Therefore we decided to study i...
Sears KP, Kappmeyer LS, Wise LN, Silva M, Ueti MW, White S, Reif KE, Knowles DP.Theileria equi infection, exotic to the United States has reemerged through intravenous (iatrogenic) and tick-borne transmission. Surveillance at the US-Mexico border identified a new species, Theileria haneyi, (T. haneyi) (EP = Eagle Pass, Texas) which warranted additional investigation due to inability to detect by PCR targeting of T. equi ema-1 and EMA-1-cELISA validated for T. equi. Infection dynamics of T. haneyi were evaluated, including ability to superinfect in the presence of T. equi-Texas (T. equi), the isolate responsible for the reemergence of T. equi in the U S. Experimental i...
Makrai L, Takai S, Tamura M, Tsukamoto A, Sekimoto R, Sasaki Y, Kakuda T, Tsubaki S, Varga J, Fodor L, Solymosi N, Major A.Rhodococcus equi isolates (204) obtained from foals (lung abscesses, lymph nodes, nasal discharge, rectal swabs) bred in 15 studs located throughout Hungary, isolates from soil samples, lymph nodes of pigs and from lesions of human patients were examined to determine genotypic diversity of virulence-associated plasmids. Isolates were tested for the presence of 15-17 kDa virulence-associated protein antigen (VapA) and 20k Da (VapB) genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Plasmid DNAs were isolated and analysed by digestion with restriction endonucleases for estimation of size and comparison o...
Wilson WD, Madigan JE.Diagnosis of bacterial septicemia was confirmed by results of bacteriologic culture of antemortem blood samples and/or necropsy specimens obtained from 47 foals up to 8 days old. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from all 47 foals, and mixed infections with more than one organism were involved in 26 (55%). Escherichia coli, Actinobacillus spp, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most frequent isolates, infecting 55, 34, and 23% of foals, respectively. Gram-positive bacteria and anaerobic bacteria were isolated only from foals with mixed infections with gram-negative organisms. Clostridium pe...
Yeh JY, Lee JH, Park JY, Seo HJ, Moon JS, Cho IS, Kim HP, Yang YJ, Ahn KM, Kyung SG, Choi IS, Lee JB.The detection of West Nile virus (WNV) in areas endemic for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is complicated by the extensive serological cross-reactivity between the two viruses. A testing algorithm was developed and employed for the detection of anti-WNV antibody in areas endemic for JEV. Using this differentiation algorithm, a serological survey of poultry (2004 through 2009) and horses (2007 through 2009) was performed. Among 2681 poultry sera, 125 samples were interpreted as being positive for antibodies against JEV, and 14 were suspected to be positive for antibodies against undetermined...
