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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.
Hypersensitivity of horses in British Columbia to extracts of native and exotic species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Six horses from British Columbia severely affected by Culicoides hypersensitivity, a seasonal dermatitis caused by the bites of Culicoides spp., were inoculated intradermally with extracts of six species or forms of Culicoides from British Columbia, United States, and Israel. Two native and four exotic species were thought to cause the disease in their own geographical area. The horses developed large welts within 20 min after injection of any of the six extracts, indicating an immediate (type I) reaction. The skin reactions caused by each extract peaked at or after 24 h, indicating an additio...
Examination of frozen cross sections of cervical spinal intersegments in nine horses with cervical vertebral malformation: lesions associated with spinal cord compression. Nine horses with clinical and radiographic findings of cervical vertebral malformation that were necropsied and examined using frozen cervical spinal cord cross sections were reviewed. Only cases with actual distortion of the spinal cord due to compression were selected. The goal of the study was to determine the morphologic features responsible for narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of the spinal cord. In individual cases, bony changes are associated with osteochondrosis and osteomyelitis of the dorsal articular facets and osteosclerosis of the dorsal cervical lamina. Soft tissue p...
Development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of bovine, ovine, porcine, and equine antibodies to vesicular stomatitis virus. Two competitive (C) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed for the detection of antibodies to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in animal sera. The assays are based upon the availability of polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) from mouse ascitic fluids prepared against the New Jersey (NJ) and the Indiana (IN) VSV serotypes. The assays were performed by the immobilization of VSV-NJ and VSV-IN antigens on a solid phase (microtiter plate). Appropriately diluted test serum mixed with an equal volume of serotype-specific PAb was allowed to incubate in the presence of the relevant VSV ant...
Responses of horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to inhalation challenges with mould antigens. Eight control and 8 asymptomatic COPD-affected horses were given, on separate occasions, inhalation challenges with extracts of Micropolyspora faeni, Aspergillus fumigatus and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. All horses were also given nebulised phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) challenges and 'natural challenges' (NCs), i.e. exposure to hay and straw, as control challenges. Responses were assessed by clinical, pulmonary mechanics, arterial blood gas tensions, arterial blood pH and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytological examinations. PBS challenges had no effect on control or COPD-affected horses, ...
Effects of sample collection and handling on concentration of osteocalcin in equine serum. A commercially available radioimmunoassay kit for measurement of human osteocalcin was validated for use in horses. For accurate measurement of equine serum osteocalcin, blood samples may be collected at a temperature between 20 and 25 C, then centrifuged within 90 minutes; serum may be stored at -20 C in plastic tubes for up to 26 weeks. Serum may be thawed and refrozen up to 5 times without significant change in measured equine serum osteocalcin concentration. Assay sensitivity was 0.16 ng/ml. Recovery of bovine osteocalcin standard added to equine serum was linear. Intra-assay coefficient o...
Polycystic hepatic disease, thoracic granular cell tumor and secondary hypertrophic osteopathy in a horse. A 13-year-old American Saddlebred mare was presented with a 4-day history of anorexia. Physical examination revealed increased inspiratory effort and bony enlargement of the distal limbs. Radiographs indicated a thoracic mass and periosteal proliferations on the distal limbs consistent with hypertrophic osteopathy. Gastric endoscopy revealed distal esophageal and gastric ulceration, and functional pyloric stenosis. Abdominal ultrasonographic examination revealed multiple large, cystic structures associated with the liver. A percutaneous biopsy indicated the thoracic mass to be a granular cell ...
Lateral patellar luxation in miniature horses. Bilateral luxation of the patella in four Miniature Horses was corrected by a lateral release incision and medial imbrication of the parapatellar fascia to the tendon of the sartorius muscle. Before surgery, the four horses had a grade 3 to 4 lateral patellar luxation bilaterally and had difficulty walking. Trochlear ridge hypoplasia was evident on radiographs in each horse. Follow-up information varied from 11 months to 4 years after surgery. Three horses had no patellar luxation or lameness. The other horse had a normal right stifle, but patellar luxation (grade 3) had recurred on the left.
Phylogenetic position of Taylorella equigenitalis determined by analysis of amplified 16S ribosomal DNA sequences. The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence of Taylorella equigenitalis (formerly Haemophilus equigenitalis), the causative organism of contagious equine metritis, was determined. A phylogenetic analysis of this sequence revealed a phylogenetic position of T. equigenitalis in the beta subclass of the class Proteobacteria apart from the position of Haemophilus influenzae, which belongs to the gamma subclass of Proteobacteria. A close phylogenetic relationship among T. equigenitalis, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, and Bordetella bronchiseptica was detected; Spirillum volutans and Chromobacterium fluviatile (Iodob...
Leptospirosis in equine fetuses, stillborn foals, and placentas. Leptospirosis was diagnosed in 51 equine fetuses and 16 stillborn foals with gestational ages from 3 1/2 to 11 months. Diagnosis was based on one or more of the following: positive fetal antibody titer, positive fluorescent antibody test, demonstration of spirochetes in kidney and/or placental sections stained by the Warthin-Starry technique, high leptospiral titers in aborting mares, or isolation of Leptospira spp. from fetal organs. Gross lesions were observed in 80.3% of the fetuses, stillborn foals, and placentas. Gross placental lesions included nodular cystic allantoic masses, edema, are...
Evaluation of intradermal mould antigen testing in the diagnosis of equine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Intradermal end-point titres for commercial aqueous extracts of Micropolyspora faeni, Thermoactinomyces vulgaris and Aspergillus fumigatus were determined in control and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affected horses. The intradermal end-point titres of control and COPD-affected horses were not significantly different and values for individual horses for M. faeni, A. fumigatus and T. vulgaris were not correlated with the pulmonary dysfunction or with the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid neutrophilia which had been induced by previous inhalation challenges with these antigens and by '...
Host preferences of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis at an endemic focus of American visceral leishmaniasis in Colombia. Blood meals from 579 Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera:Psychodidae), collected in an endemic focus of American visceral leishmaniasis in Colombia, were identified by precipitin test. Sand fly collections were made during a 16-month period from the inside walls of two houses, a pigpen, and rock crevices in a small community (El Callejon) within the endemic area. Feeding patterns of the sand flies varied with locality and date of collection. Overall, bovine feedings predominated, but feedings were also recorded on pigs, equines, humans, dogs, opossums, birds, and reptiles. Calculation of the forage...
Effect of temperature, duration of storage and sampling procedure on ammonia concentration in equine blood plasma. The effect of storage duration at different storage temperatures on the plasma ammonia concentration of equine EDTA whole blood, EDTA plasma and heparin plasma samples was investigated. Further, the effect of jugular vein compression before and during blood sampling on the plasma ammonia values was evaluated. In EDTA whole blood kept at 4 degrees C there was no significant increase of ammonia content after 6 hours of storage, whereas the increase was already significant 3 hours after collection if the EDTA whole blood was kept at 20-22 degrees C. EDTA plasma samples stored at 20-22 degrees C, ...
Enteric neuropathy in horses with grass sickness. The degeneration of enteric neurones has been recorded in grass sickness, but the distribution of the lesions in the gut and their possible relationship with the severity of the clinical signs has not been established. Samples obtained from 11 anatomically defined sites along the gastrointestinal tract of eight control horses without gastrointestinal disease, five horses with acute grass sickness and three horses with chronic grass sickness were examined histologically. The organisation of the enteric ganglia was similar to that in other large mammalian species. Minor exceptions included the p...
[Selected ectoparasitoses in animals]. Selected ectoparasitoses of animals are reviewed with special reference to the situation in Switzerland. The review contains information on the parasitoses leishmaniasis of dogs, parafilariasis of equines and cattle, onchocercosis of cattle and horses, ixodiosis, demodicosis of dogs and scabies of domestic animals, fly infestation, myiasis, and infestation with fleas and black flies (simuliidiosis). In addition to information on prevalence, biology and pathogenic effects of ectoparasites, the review provides indications on diagnosis and control.
[Bilateral blindness after injury in a riding horse]. Bilateral blindness was diagnosed in a 5-year-old Hanoverian gelding presented for evaluation of a corneal opacity in one eye. About 12 months prior to the examination, the gelding had fallen head over, hitting his head and the cornea. Clinical and electroretinographic findings as well as pathohistologic and ultrastructural lesions of both eyes including the optic nerves are presented. Ophthalmoscopically visible pigment disruption of the non-tapetal fundus adjacent to the optic discs correlated morphologically with foci of degeneration and atrophy of the retina, whereas ophthalmoscopically vi...
Gastric pH monitoring in healthy, suckling pony foals. Gastric pH was monitored in neonatal foals from birth to 3 months of age. Background pH decreased, especially during the first week of life. Milk had complex effects that depended on pH prior to sucking, confounded by the age of the foal: nearly neutral background pH tended to be acidified after milk intake; moderately acid background pH tended to be neutralized; low background pH was only slightly increased by milk. Absolute magnitude of the effects of milk decreased with age. Existence of a proulcerative intragastric environment in preweaning foals is postulated, but this must be considered ...
Besnoitiosis in a horse. Besnoitiosis was confirmed in a pony which presented with inspiratory dyspnoea, scleroderma and ventral oedema. Numerous cysts were visible in the sclerae. Histological examination of the skin confirmed the presence of numerous cysts. The parasite could not be transmitted by subcutaneous injection of homogenised skin from the infected horse to rabbits and a horse. Ultrastructural morphology of the crescent-shaped bradyzoites was not compatable with Besnoitia besnoiti or B. jellisoni and it is proposed that the infection was caused by B. bennetti.
An occurrence of equine transport pneumonia caused by mixed infection with Pasteurella caballi, Streptococcus suis and Streptococcus zooepidemicus. An acute death occurred in a racehorse with pneumonia after long-distance transportation in December, 1990. Pasteurella caballi, Streptococcus suis and Streptococcus zooepidemicus were isolated from the lung at high rate. Specific antigens of these bacteria were also demonstrated immunohistologically in the pneumonic lesion. These findings indicated that the disease is equine transport pneumonia caused by a mixed infection of the three bacterial species. This is the first report on the isolation of P. caballi and S. suis from a racehorse in Japan.
Critical tests of thiabendazole, oxibendazole, and oxfendazole for drug resistance of population-B equine small strongyles (1989 and 1990). Critical tests were conducted in horses (n = 11) with naturally acquired infections of benzimidazole (BZ)-resistant population-B small strongyles in 1989 and 1990. Anthelmintics administered were thiabendazole (44 mg/kg of body weight, n = 4), oxibendazole (10 mg/kg, n = 3), and oxfendazole (OFZ, 10 mg/kg; n = 4). All compounds were paste formulations administered orally except for 1 of the OFZ treatments, which was a suspension formulation given by stomach tube. Aggregate mean efficacy was calculated for all species of small strongyles, drug-resistant and non-resistant. The highest efficacy w...
Surgical correction of an equine deviated anterior maxilla. The surgical correction of midfacial deformities of the horse have rarely been undertaken. This article describes the successful management of a submucous cleft of the maxilla in a young colt. Details of the operative and perioperative medical and surgical management are described. The horse, now 5 years of age, has sired eight normal progeny.
Equine influenza virus from the 1991 Swedish epizootic shows major genetic and antigenic divergence from the prototype virus. The antigenic properties of H3N8 equine influenza virus from the Swedish epizootic of 1991 differ from those of A/eq 2/Fontainebleau/79 (representative of the Swedish vaccine strain) in hemagglutination inhibition tests. The amino acid sequence of the hemagglutinin (HA) of an isolate from the 1991 outbreak was deduced from the nucleotide sequence and comparison was made to the A/eq 2/Fontainebleau/79 strain. Twenty-three amino acid substitutions were found, 10 mapping onto areas of the HA known to bind antibodies in human H3 influenza viruses. The amino acid changes together with the serologic...
Isolation of an inhibitor of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-mediated cytotoxicity liberated from chemotaxin-stimulated equine white blood cell populations. Objectives of this investigation were to extract and isolate protein fractions inhibitory to the cytotoxic properties of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). In this context, mixed populations of WBC were harvested from equine blood and were stimulated with a combination of a synthetic chemotactic peptide and a calcium ionophore. Several methods were subsequently applied for the initial preparation of cell-free crude protein extracts, including fractional precipitation with gradient concentrations of ammonium sulfate and preparative-scale isoelectric focusing. In addition, protein fraction...
[Foal diseases and foal loss]. An investigation was carried out upon occurrence and course of infectious and non infectious diseases as well as the mortality in foals born and raised at the State Stud Marbach/Lauter between 1982 and 1991. The foals have been investigated from birth to weaning, they consisted of 177 Thoroughbred Arabians and 285 German Warmblood foals (total 462 foals). The diseases were divided into pre-, peri- and postnatal according to their known or assumed cause and onset. There was a preponderance of prenatal diseases (11.25%) whereas the perinatal rate was 1.30% and the postnatal rate of diseases was ...
[Equine rhinopneumonitis: molecular epidemiology and diagnosis by molecular probes prepared from organs]. The authors briefly review the clinical forms of equine rhinopneumonitis and indicate changes in the nomenclature of equine herpesviral infections. The value of restriction profiles for epidemiological studies is described, taking as an example the strains of virus isolated in France. A technique is given for preparing molecular probes, as well as the application of these probes in direct diagnosis from biological specimens.
