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.
Dunuwille WMB, YousefiMashouf N, Balasuriya UBR, Pusterla N, Bailey E.Equid herpesvirus (EHV-1) infections in horses can lead to equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), characterised by neurological clinical signs. The sporadic occurrence of the disease in horse herds suggests a host genetic component. A recent study reported an association between the occurrence of EHM and genetic markers on horse chromosome 6 (ECA6). Objective: To investigate the association of EHM with genetic host factors, especially with reference to the association reported for ECA6. Methods: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted based on 94 horses that had EHV-1 infecti...
Schöniger S, Schoon HA.Mares are seasonally polyestric. The breeding season in spring and summer and the winter anestrus are flanked by transitional periods. Endometrial diseases are a frequent cause of subfertility and have an economic impact on the horse breeding industry. They include different forms of endometrosis, endometritis, glandular maldifferentiation, and angiosis. Except for suppurative endometritis, these are subclinical and can only be diagnosed by the microscopic examination of an endometrial biopsy. Endometrosis is characterized by periglandular fibrosis and nonsuppurative endometritis by stromal in...
The Journal of heredityApril 4, 2020
Volume 111, Issue 3 287-293 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esaa009
Magdesian KG, Tanaka J, Bellone RR.Splashed white is a coat color pattern in horses characterized by extensive white patterning on the legs, belly, and face often accompanied by blue eyes and deafness. Three mutations in microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) and two mutations in Paired Box 3 (PAX3) have been identified that explain splashed white patterns (SW1-SW5). An American Paint Horse stallion with a splashed white phenotype and blue eyes, whose parents were not white patterned, was negative for the 5 known splashed white variants and other known white spotting alleles. This novel splashed white phenotype (...
Date T, Sugiyama M, Lkhagvasuren D, Wakita T, Oyunsuren T, Mizokami M.Equine hepacivirus (EHV) belongs to the hepacivirus A and is related to hepatitis C virus (HCV). This virus shows hepatic tropism and is known to chronically infect horses. EHV has been reported from various countries, but the prevalence in Mongolia, where large horse populations are pastured, remains unknown. This study collected serum samples from horses in six areas across Mongolia, in order to investigate the status of infection. The possibility of human infection was also examined. The results showed an infection rate among horses of about 40 % in all regions. However, no evidence of EHV ...
We found a male Hyalomma rufipes Koch, 1844 tick feeding on a horse grazing near Valtice, south Moravia, Czech Republic on October 24, 2019. The horse was born in Czechland and did not leave the country at least during the last five years. Relevant findings of Hyalomma ticks in other parts of central Europe are reviewed, including also records of pre-imaginal Hyalomma marginatum complex ticks on migrating birds all over Europe.
Shono S, Gin A, Minowa F, Okubo K, Mochizuki M.Diacron-reactive oxygen metabolite (d-ROM) and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) levels in the serum of horses were measured (ponies, = 15; thoroughbred, = 31; other full-sized horses, = 7). The mean d-ROM levels in horses were significantly higher ( < 0.001) than those in dairy cattle ( = 25) and dogs ( = 31). However, d-ROM levels in horses were lower than the standard levels reported in humans. When d-ROM and BAP levels were plotted graphically, the points for horses with a disease (ringbone in 1 Japanese sports horse, cellulitis in 1 thoroughbred, melanoma in 1 Lipizzaner) fell ...
Graubner C, Bergmann W, Gerber V, Veraa S, Oevermann A, Wijnberg I.Aims: To determine the relation between quantitative electromyography (QEMG) of the cervical ventral serratus muscle, radiographic findings and post-mortem gross and histopathological examination in order to calculate the ability of QEMG to localize the region of cervical compressive neuropathy and myelopathy in horses. Methods: In this clinical, non-randomised, partially blinded study (QEMG and histology), 36 warmblood horses with clinical suspicion of cervical spine disease were examined with QEMG in different segments of the ventral serratus muscle. Results were compared to normative data. ...
Lhermie G, La Ragione RM, Weese JS, Olsen JE, Christensen JP, Guardabassi L.Among the measures taken to preserve the clinical efficacy of highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HP-CIAs), the WHO has recommended avoiding their use in food-producing animals. Little is known regarding the indications for which different antimicrobial classes are used in animals, even in countries where data on antimicrobial use are available. To outline, in a narrative review, the diseases for which HP-CIAs are used in veterinary medicine, highlighting incongruences with international guidelines and disease conditions where effective alternatives to HP-CIAs are missing. Sc...
van Proosdij R, Mulder C, Reijm M, Bontkes H, von Blomberg M, van der Kolk H.It has been suggested that gluten may play a role in equine inflammatory small bowel disease (ISBD). Previous work showed an association between equine gluten-sensitive enteropathy and IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase (TGA) in serum. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of IgA antibodies to TGA in a group of healthy non-gluten-free sport ponies and to present a case of tentative gluten-sensitive enteropathy and dermatitis in a horse. Blood samples were obtained from 40 healthy jumping ponies. The ponies comprised 12 mares, 8 stallions, and 20 geldings with an ave...
Fitzgerald DM, Spence RJ, Stewart ZK, Prentis PJ, Sillence MN, de Laat MA.The equine microbiome can change in response to dietary alteration and may play a role in insulin dysregulation. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of adding pasture to a hay diet on the faecal bacterial microbiome of both healthy and insulin-dysregulated ponies. Faecal samples were collected from 16 ponies before and after dietary change to enable bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing of the V3-V4 region. The dominant phyla in all samples were the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. The evenness of the bacterial populations decreased after grazing pasture, and when a pony was moderately insu...
Kilcoyne I, Nieto JE, Dechant JE.To assess the diagnostic value of plasma and peritoneal fluid procalcitonin concentrations for identification of horses with strangulating intestinal lesions. Methods: 65 horses with signs of colic of intestinal origin and 10 healthy (control) horses. Methods: For each horse, plasma and peritoneal fluid samples were obtained for a CBC and determination of total protein, procalcitonin, and lactate concentrations. Signalment and clinicopathologic findings were compared among control horses and horses with strangulating and nonstrangulating intestinal lesions. Results: Mean ± SD plasma (274.9 ±...
Bragança FMS, Brommer H, van den Belt AJM, Maree JTM, van Weeren PR, van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MMS.At Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) competitions, horses undergo veterinary inspection for judgement of 'fit-to-compete'. However, FEI Veterinary Delegates (VDs) often differ in opinion. The aim of the present study was to evaluate intra- and inter-observer agreements of fit-to-compete judgement and compare these with objective gait analysis measurements. Twelve horses were evaluated by three experienced VDs and one veterinary specialist and video-recorded for re-evaluation later. Simultaneously, quantitative gait analysis measurements were acquired. Inter-observer agreement during l...
Hordijk J, Farmakioti E, Smit LAM, Duim B, Graveland H, Theelen MJP, Wagenaar JA.A nationwide study on the occurrence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)/AmpC in nonhospitalized horses in the Netherlands was performed. Molecular characterization was done, and questionnaires were analyzed to identify factors associated with carriage. In total, 796 horse owners were approached; 281 of these submitted a fecal sample from their horse(s), resulting in 362 samples. All samples were cultured qualitatively in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth and subsequently on MacConkey agar, both supplemented with 1 mg/liter cefotaxime (LB+ and MC+). Positive samples were subsequently cultured qu...
Yongfeng Y, Xiaobo S, Nan X, Jingwen Z, Wenqiang L.To monitor the occurrence of equine influenza in large-scale donkey farms in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, serological investigation and sequence analysis of HA/M protein gene of equine influenza virus (EIV) were carried out. Samples (n = 65) of the lung and nasal swab were collected in six different large-scale donkey farms and detected with RT-PCR for HA and M protein gene. The homology and evolution of HA and M genes were analysed with known sequences. Antibody titres of serum samples (n = 120, unvaccinated) level was determined by the HI test. The average seropositive rate was 32....
Lambertini C, Bombardi C, Zannoni A, Bernardini C, Dondi F, Morini M, Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Romagnoli N.Proteinase activated receptor 4 (PAR) in the gastrointestinal tract is involved in the regulation of inflammation and pain pathways. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the distribution and expression of PAR in the jejunum of healthy horses and in the pathologic tracts from horses undergoing surgery for herniation of the small intestine through the epiploic foramen. Eight healthy horses (Group H) and eight horses with epiploic hernia (Group EH) were included; the jejunum samples were collected at the slaughter or intraoperatively after enterectomy, respectively. To evaluate PAR expres...
Alonso JM, Rosa GDS, Santos B, Guerra S, Ribeiro M, Watanabe MJ, Alves A, Rodrigues C, Takahira RK, Hussni CA.Intraperitoneal administration of ceftriaxone maintains therapeutic abdominal concentrations for 24 hours in healthy horses. Therefore, it is a possible treatment for septic peritonitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ceftriaxone as an adjuvant treatment in horses with septic peritonitis. Methods: Twenty-six horses with clinical signs, sonography and/or laboratory findings of septic peritonitis were included. Peritoneal fluid was collected for microbiological culture and in vitro microbial sensitivity profile assessment. Daily intraperitoneal administration of ceftriax...
Parsons Aubone AM, Bisiau CM, McCue PM, Bouma GJ.Mammals have a circadian rhythm that is synchronized by a master clock located in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN regulates additional clocks located in peripheral tissues, including some involved in endocrine or reproductive functions. Studies in humans and mice report that molecular clocks also exist in the placenta. However, little is known about the presence of "Clock genes," namely Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK), Brain and Muscle Arnt-Like 1 (BMAL1), Period 1 (PER1), Period 2 (PER2), Cryptochrome 1 (CRY1), and Cryptochrome 2 (CRY2), in equine place...
Vengust M, Jager MC, Zalig V, Cociancich V, Laverack M, Renshaw RW, Dubovi E, Tomlinson JE, Van de Walle GR, Divers TJ.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) has been proposed as the aetiological cause of Theiler's disease, also known as serum hepatitis. EqPV-H-associated Theiler's disease has not been previously reported in Europe. Objective: To determine whether EqPV-H infection was associated with a 2018-2019 outbreak of Theiler's disease in four horses on a studfarm. Methods: Descriptive case series. Methods: The medical records of four horses from the same farm diagnosed with fatal Theiler's disease were examined retrospectively. Information collected included a clinical history, physical examination findin...
Gy C, Leclere M, Bélanger MC, Allano M, Beauchamp G, Lavoie JP.Monensin is highly toxic to horses and inadvertent ingestion can result in cardiac injury and death. Objective: To describe sequelae of monensin ingestion and to determine clinical predictors of outcome. Methods: Observational clinical study. Methods: Physical examination, electrocardiogram and echocardiography were performed on 76 horses accidentally exposed to monensin-contaminated feed. Four horses were examined within 14 days of exposure (acute period), 29 horses were examined between 15 and 45 days post-exposure (subacute period) and 70 horses were examined 4-10 months after exposure ...
Flores MM, Del Piero F, Habecker PL, Langohr IM.Ocular diseases are an important category in equine medicine; however, most articles regarding histologic ocular lesions in horses are exclusive to a specific condition and do not provide a complete review of clinically significant ocular disease frequency in a diagnostic laboratory. We reviewed sections of equine eyes from 140 cases (98 enucleations [biopsies] and 42 autopsies) with clinically relevant ocular alterations at 2 diagnostic centers in the United States. The most common primary conditions were non-traumatic keratitis (36), equine recurrent uveitis (ERU; 31), traumatic injuries (22...
Bacci B, Stent AW, Walmsley EA.Lymphoma is the most common intestinal neoplasm in horses, but its clinical-pathological features are poorly characterized. Primary intestinal lymphoma was diagnosed in 20 horses on biopsy samples and further confirmed by postmortem examination in 16 cases. Lymphoma was found in the small intestine in 12 of 20 (60%), in the colon in 5 of 20 (25%), and in both small and large intestines in 3 of 20 (15%) cases. Gross findings included thickening of the intestinal wall (45%), mural nodules or masses (30%), and both thickening and nodules (10%). Cases were classified according to the human World H...
Riley CB, Jenvey CJ, Baker FJ, Corripio A. To determine if an ELISA for measurement of IgA in equine serum could be used to measure concentrations of IgA in foal faeces and to determine correlations with concentrations in the milk of the dam. Faeces from 20 Welsh Cob and Welsh Pony foals and milk from their dams were collected within 12 hours (Day 0) and at 6 days after parturition (Day 6). On Day 6, faeces could not be collected from 2/20 foals, and milk samples could not be collected from 3/20 mares. An equine IgA ELISA validated for serum and plasma was used to measure concentrations of IgA in all samples in triplicate. The preci...
Nomura M, Kuroda T, Tamura N, Muranaka M, Niwa H.Although Clostridioides difficile-associated diseases (CDAD) is considered to be associated with colitis in horses, few studies have been performed with a focus on the characteristics of CDAD in thoroughbred racehorses. Between 2010 and 2018, a test for C. difficile was performed using faecal samples from 137 thoroughbred racehorses with colitis presenting with diarrhoea and fever. The mortality rate, clinical findings, predisposing factors and the selected treatments were investigated in a retrospective manner. Twenty-four cases were diagnosed as CDAD and 113 as non-CDAD. The mortality rate w...
Kuzmina ТА, Zvegintsova NS, Yasynetska NI, Kharchenko VA.Resistance of strongylids in domestic horses to benzimidazole anthelmintics (BZ) has been detected worldwide; however, information on the presence of BZ-resistance in wild equids has not been published to date. The purpose of this study was to analyze the manifestations of the BZ resistance in strongylids in domestic and wild equids kept in the Askania Nova Biosphere Reserve, Ukraine. Four species of equids: domestic horses and Shetland ponies (Equus caballus), donkeys (E. asinus), plains zebras (E. burchelli) and Grévy’s zebras (E. grevyi) kept under semi-free conditions were examined usin...
Raftery AG, Jallow S, Coultous RM, Rodgers J, Sutton DGM.Equine trypanosomiasis is a severe and prevalent disease that has the greatest impact globally upon working equids due to its distribution across lower income countries. Morbidity and mortality rates are high; disease management strategies in endemic regions are ineffective and cost prohibitive. Individual variation in disease phenotype in other species suggests host factors could reveal novel treatment and control targets but has not been investigated in equids. Methods: A prospective clinical evaluation of equines presenting for a free veterinary examination was performed in hyperendemic vil...
Steuer AE, Stewart JC, Barker VD, Adams AA, Nielsen MK.The role of the immune response to cyathostomin infections in horses remains unknown. Intestinal goblet cell hyperplasia has previously been noted as a component in cyathostomin infection; however, the function is unclear. The goal of this study was to evaluate the local and systemic gene expression to cyathostomin infections following larvicidal treatment and explore their relation to goblet cells. Thirty-six ponies with naturally acquired cyathostomin infections were randomly allocated into three groups: fenbendazole-treated (10 mg/kg PO 5 days), moxidectin-treated (0.4 mg/kg PO once) and...
Decloedt A, Ven S, De Clercq D, Rademakers F, van Loon G.Aortic regurgitation (AR) may lead to left ventricular (LV) dilatation, cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. Close follow-up of horses with AR is therefore paramount to detect onset of cardiac decompensation. The aim of this study was to examine whether two-dimensional speckle tracking (2DST) can be used to detect altered myocardial function in horses with chronic AR compared to control horses. Speckle tracking was performed on short axis and long axis images of the LV in 29 healthy Warmblood horses and 57 Warmblood horses with AR. Radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain, strain rate...
Tomlinson JE, Jager M, Struzyna A, Laverack M, Fortier LA, Dubovi E, Foil LD, Burbelo PD, Divers TJ, Van de Walle GR.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) has recently been associated with cases of Theiler's disease, a form of fulminant hepatic necrosis in horses. To assess whether EqPV-H is the cause of Theiler's disease, we first demonstrated hepatotropism by PCR on tissues from acutely infected horses. We then experimentally inoculated horses with EqPV-H and 8 of 10 horses developed hepatitis. One horse showed clinical signs of liver failure. The onset of hepatitis was temporally associated with seroconversion and a decline in viremia. Liver histology and in situ hybridization showed lymphocytic infiltrate...
Smith R, Önnerfjord P, Holmgren K, di Grado S, Dudhia J.The diagnosis of tendon injury relies on clinical signs and diagnostic imaging but imaging is subjective and does not always correlate with clinical signs. A molecular marker would potentially offer a sensitive and specific diagnostic tool that could also provide objective assessment of healing for the comparison of different treatments. Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein (COMP) has been used as a molecular marker for osteoarthritis in humans and horses but assays for the protein in tendon sheath synovial fluids have shown overlap between horses affected by tendinopathy and controls. We hypot...
Sudia WD, McLean RG, Newhouse VF, Johnston JG, Miller DL, Trevino H, Bowen GS, Sather G.Epidemic Venezuelan equine encephalitis in North America in 1971: vertebrate field studies. Am J Epidemiol 101:36-50, 1975.-In June 1971, epidemic Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) invaded the lower Rio Grande Valley in south Texas. The Boca Chica area of Cameron County was selected as a study site to investigate vertebrate involvement in the natural cycle of epidemic VEE on the basis of considerable evidence of VEE virus activity there in equines, humans, and mosquito vectors. Only one VEE virus isolation was made from 4739 wild and domestic non-equine vertebrates, although numerous equine...
Tyrrell JD, Qurollo BA, Tornquist SJ, Schlaich KG, Kelsey J, Chandrashekar R, Breitschwerdt EB.Certain vector-borne organisms serve as etiological agents of equine disease. After previously identifying a new Ehrlichia species in horses from Mérida, we aimed to determine the infection frequency and screen for a wide range of vector-borne organisms from 93 tick-exposed, Ehrlichia seropositive horses in this region. PCR assays were performed to identify infection by organisms within the following genera: Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Leishmania, Mycoplasma, Neorickettsia, Rickettsia and Theileria. Overall, 90/93 horses (96.8%) were infected with one or more vector-borne organ...
Benfodil K, Büscher P, Abdelli A, Van Reet N, Mohamed-Herif A, Ansel S, Fettata S, Dehou S, Bebronne N, Geerts M, Balharbi F, Ait-Oudhia K.Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi) is a hemoflagellate parasite that affects a broad range of mammalian hosts and that causes a disease called surra. Diagnosis of surra based on clinical symptoms alone is inaccurate. Therefore, a variety of serological and molecular diagnostic tests are used to assist in the detection of T. evansi infections. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of four serological tests (CATT/T.evansi, immune trypanolysis, ELISA with purified variant surface glycoprotein RoTat 1.2 and with whole cell lysate) and two molecular PCR tests targeting sequenc...
Bonhomme D, Werts C.Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infectious disease affecting all vertebrates. It is caused by species of the genus Leptospira, among which are the highly pathogenic L. interrogans. Different mammals can be either resistant or susceptible to the disease which can present a large variety of symptoms. Humans are mostly asymptomatic after infection but can have in some cases symptoms varying from a flu-like syndrome to more severe forms such as Weil's disease, potentially leading to multiorgan failure and death. Similarly, cattle, pigs, and horses can suffer from acute forms of the disease, including ...
Hinton TM, Li F, Crabb BS.Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) has recently been classified as an aphthovirus, a genus otherwise comprised of the different serotypes of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). FMDV initiates translation via a type II internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) and utilizes two in-frame AUG codons to produce the leader proteinases Lab and Lb. Here we show that the ERAV 5' nontranslated region also possesses the core structures of a type II IRES. The functional activity of this region was characterized by transfection of bicistronic plasmids into BHK-21 cells. In this system the core type II structures, ...
Bright LA, Dittmar W, Nanduri B, McCarthy FM, Mujahid N, Costa LR, Burgess SC, Swiderski CE. Pasture-associated severe equine asthma is a warm season, environmentally-induced respiratory disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction, persistent and non-specific airway hyper-responsiveness, and chronic neutrophilic airway inflammation. During seasonal exacerbation, signs vary from mild to life-threatening episodes of wheezing, coughing, and chronic debilitating labored breathing. In human asthma, neutrophilic airway inflammation is associated with more severe and steroid-refractory asthma phenotypes, highlighting a need to decipher the mechanistic basis of this disease chara...
Finno CJ, Valberg SJ, Shivers J, D'Almeida E, Armién AG.Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM) is characterized by a symmetric general proprioceptive ataxia in young horses, and is likely underdiagnosed for 2 reasons: first, clinical signs overlap those of cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy; second, histologic lesions--including axonal spheroids in specific tracts of the somatosensory and motor systems--may be subtle. The purpose of this study was (1) to utilize immunohistochemical (IHC) markers to trace axons in the spinocuneocerebellar, dorsal column-medial lemniscal, and dorsospinocerebellar tracts in healthy horses and (2) to dete...
Schiltz RL, Shih DS, Rasty S, Montelaro RC, Rushlow KE.The utilization of predicted splice donor and acceptor sites in generating equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) transcripts in fetal donkey dermal cells (FDD) was examined. A single splice donor site identified immediately upstream of the gag coding region joins the viral leader sequence to all downstream exons of spliced EIAV transcripts. The predominant 3.5-kb transcript synthesized in EIAV-infected FDD cells appears to be generated by a single splicing event which links the leader sequence to the first of two functional splice acceptor sites near the 5' end of the S1 open reading frame (OR...
Oikawa M, Kamada M, Yoshikawa Y, Yoshikawa T.Seven horses that died of pneumonia associated with transport yielded Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S.z.) from their pulmonary lesions. These lesions were divisible roughly into two types, serous haemorrhagic pneumonia and multiple foci of coagulative necrosis, which were considered to reflect a temporal difference in the process of lesion formation. Immunohistologically, S.z. antigen was detected in both types of lesion. Acute necrotic lacunar tonsillitis was considered to play an important role in the onset of the pneumonia.
Waller AS, Robinson C.The host-restricted bacterium Streptococcus equi is the causative agent of equine strangles, the most frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide. The disease is characterized by abscessation of the lymph nodes of the head and neck, leading to significant welfare and economic cost. S. equi is believed to have evolved from an ancestral strain of Streptococcus zooepidemicus, an opportunistic pathogen of horses and other animals. Comparison of the genome of S. equi strain 4047 with those of S. zooepidemicus identified examples of gene loss due to mutation and deletion, and gene ga...
Floeck M.Ultrasonography is a helpful diagnostic tool in cattle with urinary tract disorders. It can be used to diagnose pyelonephritis, urolithiasis, hydronephrosis, renal cysts, renal tumors, amyloidosis, cystitis, bladder paralysis, bladder rupture, bladder neoplasms, and, occasionally, nephrosis, glomerulonephritis, and embolic nephritis. This article describes the anatomy, scanning technique, indications, limitations, normal and pathologic sonographic appearance of the bovine urinary tract. References from horses and humans are included, especially when the sonographic findings in these species ma...
Walker AM, Sellon DC, Cornelisse CJ, Hines MT, Ragle CA, Cohen N, Schott HC.A retrospective study of the medical records of 33 horses was performed to determine the clinical and diagnostic abnormalities associated with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy. Data collected from medical records included signalment, presenting complaints, history, physical examination findings, laboratory data, results of diagnostic imaging studies, and treatments. Follow-up information was obtained from a review of case records; by telephone conversation with the owner, veterinarian, or trainer; or by both methods. Of 33 horses with temporohyoid osteoarthropathy, 29 presented with facial nerve ...
Souza CE, Pinter A, Donalisio MR.Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a disease transmitted by ticks for which the etiological agent is Rickettsia rickettsii. The present essay evaluates the risk factors associated with the transmission of cases of BSF in the time period between 2003 and 2013 in the Piracicaba river basin, state of São Paulo. Methods: This essay presents a retrospective study to identify the factors associated with the transmission of cases of BSF among all suspected cases identified by the System for Epidemiological Surveillance of São Paulo (CVE). After the description of temporal distribution (onset of sympt...
Pasing SS, Aurich C, von Lewinski M, Wulf M, Krüger M, Aurich JE.An important factor influencing stallion fertility is the microbial contamination of semen. Aims of this study were to investigate changes in the microbiological population of the genital mucosa and semen in artificial insemination stallions (n=16) from before to after one breeding season (February-August). MALDI-TOF-MS (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry) was used for identification of microbial agents. For bacteriology, swabs from the urethral opening, urethral fossa and penile sheath as well as semen were collected at 4-week-intervals. For semen mot...
Bowden A, Burford JH, Brennan ML, England GCW, Freeman SL.Colic is the most common emergency problem in the horse. An owner's ability to recognise colic and seek assistance is a critical first step in determining case outcome. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess horse owners' knowledge and opinions on recognising colic. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: An online questionnaire was distributed to horse owners with open and closed questions on their knowledge of normal clinical parameters in the horse, confidence and approach to recognising colic (including assessment through case scenarios), and their demographics. Descriptive and ch...
Allen JL, Begg AP, Browning GF.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that has been recognized as a cause of endometritis in mares. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis was used to characterize and compare isolates of P. aeruginosa from an outbreak of endometritis and unrelated isolates collected at the same time as the outbreak. The restriction endonuclease digestion patterns and antimicrobial resistance profiles of all outbreak isolates were identical. Therefore, a single strain of P. aeruginosa was responsible for the cases of endometritis. The unrelated isolates could be distinguished from the outbreak strain u...
Sander J, Cavalleri JM, Terhardt M, Bochnia M, Zeyner A, Zuraw A, Sander S, Peter M, Janzen N.Hypoglycin A (2-amino-3-(2-methylidenecyclopropyl)propanoic acid) is the plant toxin shown to cause atypical myopathy in horses. It is converted in vivo to methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid, which is transformed to a coenzyme A ester that subsequently blocks beta oxidation of fatty acids. Methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid is also conjugated with carnitine and glycine. Acute atypical myopathy may be diagnosed by quantifying the conjugates of methylenecyclopropyl acetic acid plus a selection of acyl conjugates in urine and serum. We describe a new mass spectrometric method for sample volumes of <0...
Bogaert L, Willemsen A, Vanderstraeten E, Bracho MA, De Baere C, Bravo IG, Martens A.Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represents the most common genital malignant tumor in horses. Similar to humans, papillomaviruses (PVs) have been proposed as etiological agents and recently Equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) has been identified in a subset of genital SCCs. The goals of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of EcPV2 DNA in tissue samples from equine genital SCCs, penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and penile papillomas, using EcPV2-specific PCR, (2) to examine the prevalence of latent EcPV2 infection in healthy genital mucosa and (3) to determine genetic variabili...
Ferrari CR, Cooley J, Mujahid N, Costa LR, Wills RW, Johnson ME, Swiderski CE.Severe equine asthma, formerly recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), is the horse counterpart of human asthma, affecting horses maintained indoors in continental climates. Equine pasture asthma, formerly summer pasture RAO, is clinically similar but affects grazing horses during hot, humid conditions in the southeastern United States and United Kingdom. To advance translational relevance of equine pasture asthma to human asthma, histologic features of airway remodeling in human asthma were scored in lung lobes from 15 pasture asthma-affected and 9 control horses of mixed breeds. All noncartilagi...
Kasapi MA, Gosline JM.Morphological and mechanical studies were conducted on samples of equine hoof wall to help elucidate the relationship between form and function of this complex, hierarchically organized structure. Morphological findings indicated a dependence of tubule size, shape and helical alignment of intermediate filaments (IFs) within the lamellae on the position through the wall thickness. The plane of the intertubular IFs changed from perpendicular to the tubule axis in the inner wall to almost parallel to the tubule axis in the outer wall. Morphological data predicted the existence of three crack dive...
Munday JS, Knight CG, Luff JA.Papillomaviruses (PVs) cause disease in humans, dogs, cats, and horses. While there are some differences, many aspects of the pathogenesis, presentation, and treatment of these diseases are similar between the four species. In this review, the PV-induced diseases of humans are compared to the similar diseases that develop in the companion animal species. By comparing with the human diseases, it is possible to make assumptions about some of the less common and less well-studied diseases in the veterinary species. In the first part of this review, the PV lifecycle is discussed along with the cla...
Noiman S, Yaniv A, Sherman L, Tronick SR, Gazit A.The pattern of expression of the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) genome in a persistently infected canine cell line was determined. Five EIAV-specific transcripts (8.2, 5.0, 4.0, 2, and 1.8 kilobases [kb]) were detected by using subgenomic restriction enzyme fragments of EIAV DNA and EIAV-specific oligonucleotides as probes. The 8.2-kb mRNA could be shown to represent viral genomic RNA, whereas the smaller transcripts were generated by splicing events. Evidence was obtained that indicated that each subgenomic RNA species shared a common 5'-splice donor. The 5.0-kb mRNA was found to be ex...
Morota G, Peñagaricano F, Petersen JL, Ciobanu DC, Tsuyuzaki K, Nikaido I.An integral part of functional genomics studies is to assess the enrichment of specific biological terms in lists of genes found to be playing an important role in biological phenomena. Contrasting the observed frequency of annotated terms with those of the background is at the core of overrepresentation analysis (ORA). Gene Ontology (GO) is a means to consistently classify and annotate gene products and has become a mainstay in ORA. Alternatively, Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) offers a comprehensive life science vocabulary including additional categories that are not covered by GO. Although...
Bannai H, Nemoto M, Niwa H, Murakami S, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.We studied a recent epizootic of Getah virus infection among pigs in the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture and the northern part of Chiba Prefecture, Japan, focusing on its possible association with outbreaks in racehorses in 2014 and 2015. The genomic sequence of a Getah virus strain from an infected pig was analyzed to evaluate the degree of identity with the strains from horses. Results: Sera were collected from pigs from September to December 2012 to 2015 in south Ibaraki (380 pigs in 29 batches), and from September to December 2010 to 2015 in north Chiba (538 pigs in 104 batches). They ...
Martinez-Torrecuadrada JL, Iwata H, Venteo A, Casal I, Roy P.African horsesickness virus (AHSV) is a gnat-transmitted member of the Orbivirus genus of the Reoviridae family. The virus has a genome of 10 double-stranded RNA species (L1-L3, M4-M6, S7-S10). The L2 and M6 genes of AHSV serotype 4 (AHSV-4) which encode the outer capsid proteins VP2 and VP5, respectively, were inserted into recombinant baculoviruses downstream of the baculovirus polyhedrin, or p10 promoters. Recombinant baculoviruses expressing VP2, VP5, or VP2 and VP5 proteins of AHSV-4 were isolated. The expressed AHSV proteins were similar in size and antigenic properties to those of viral...
Aleman M, Riehl J, Aldridge BM, Lecouteur RA, Stott JL, Pessah IN.Equine malignant hyperthermia MH has been suspected but never genetically confirmed. In this study, we investigated whether mutations in a candidate gene, RyR1, were associated with MH in two clinically affected horses. RyR1 gene sequences revealed polymorphisms in exons 15, 17, and 46 in WTRyR1 and MHRyR1 horses with one derived amino acid change in MHRyR1 exon 46, R2454G. The MHRyR1 horses were genetically heterozygous for this mutation, but presented an MH phenotype with halothane challenge. Skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum from a R2454G heterozygote collected during a fulminant MH episode s...
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 dogs and cats, horses, swine, poultry, cattle, sheep and goats in previous scientific opinions. 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 m...
Oliveira-Neto MP, Pirmez C, Rangel E, Schubach A, Grimaldi Júnior G.From July 1984 to September 1986, 105 cases of American cutaneous leishmaniasis were studied in a locality closely situated to an urbanized area of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Settlement in this area was established at least 20 years ago but the first cases were noted six months prior to the beginning of this study. Cases were almost exclusively cutaneous and ulcerated, with one to six months of evolution. Montenegro's skin tests were positive in all cases and anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected by indirect immunofluorescence test in 74.3% of the patients. Parasites were demonstra...
Sanders RK, Martyn B, Joseph R, Peacock ML.In a two-year study of 322 conservatively treated, consecutive cases of tetanus in a rural hospital (all over twelve months old), intrathecal administration of 200 units of antitetanus serum (A.T.S.) (horse) reduced the overall mortality of 4-5% (5/110) compared with 14-5% (16/111) in the control series. 200 units intrathecal A.T.S. (horse) gave better results than 1500 units A.T.S. (horse). The results with lumbar and cisternal administration did not differ. It is suggested that tetanus is a polysystemic condition requiring polysystemic therapy. A regimen in which intrathecal A.T.S. is given ...
