Disease etiology in horses refers to the study of the causes and development of diseases within equine populations. It encompasses various factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental influences, infectious agents, and nutritional imbalances, that contribute to the onset and progression of diseases in horses. Understanding disease etiology is essential for identifying risk factors and implementing preventative measures in equine health management. This topic includes research on pathogen-host interactions, the impact of management practices on disease incidence, and the role of genetic and environmental factors in disease susceptibility. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, contributing factors, and implications of disease etiology in horses.
Klein JP, Forster HV, Bisgard GE, Kaminski RP, Pan LG, Hamilton LH.The purpose of these studies was to gain insight into mechanisms regulating pulmonary ventilation (VE), arterial CO2 partial pressure (PaCO2), and arterial pH (pHa) in ponies when inspired CO2 partial pressure (PICO2) is above normal. Ponies were studied four times daily each weekday for 2 wk in an environmental chamber. Each study consisted of a 15-min control period (PICO2 = 0.7 Torr) followed by a 15- to 30-min experimental period during which PICO2 in the chamber was 0.7, 7, 14, 21, 28, or 42 Torr (PIO2 = 147 Torr throughout). Between 11 and 15 min of each period, four 3-ml samples of arte...
Miller RI, Campbell RS.During a clinical study of equine phycomycosis in tropical northern Australia 3 specific forms of phycomycosis were identified. Of 266 cases diagnosed in 5 different laboratories, hyphomycosis caused by Hyphomyces destruens was responsible for 76.7%, basidiobolomycosis caused by Basidiobolus haptosporus for 18.0%, and entomophthoramycosis caused by Conidiobolus coronatus for 5.3%. Most cases of hyphomycosis were observed between March and July, that is after the monsoonal wet summer, but were calculated from clinical histories to originate in the wet season between November and May. Basidiobol...
Miller RI, Campbell RS.One in vivo and 2 in vitro tests were developed to study immunological aspects of phycomycosis in clinically infected, recovered and normal in-contact horses. Serum from all infected horses gave positive readings in an agar-gel double diffusion test; serum from normal and recovered horses did not react. A complement fixation test detected antibody against Hyphomyces destruens in 82% clinical cases at an average titre of 20. Serum from recovered and in-contact horses reacted sporadically at positive titre. An intradermal hypersensitivity test (Heaf test) was used to detect evidence of cellular ...
Edwards GT.Of 1388 horses and ponies examined at two abattoirs in the north of England from November 1979 to September 1981, 123 (8.7 per cent) showed evidence of hydatid infection. Prevalence of infection was closely related to age, rising from nil in animals up to two years old to over 20 per cent of those over eight years. Full-mouthed horses and ponies had similar prevalence rates (14.9 and 14.5 per cent, respectively), but horses had nearly twice as many viable infections as ponies. The prevalence of infection varied with the region of origin of full-mouthed horses and ponies, with 18 per cent of th...
Martin DH, Dietz WH, Alvaerez O, Johnson KM.One hundred and fifty-eight strains of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus were typed antigenically and classified epidemiologically as either epizootic or enzootic. Plaque sizes for 148 of these strains were determined, and the pH requirements for hemagglutination (HA) of goose erythrocytes of 131 were studied. Only antigenic variant group IABC strains could be classified epidemiologically as epizootic. In vitro these strains were characterized by the formation of small plaques in Vero cells and a relatively narrow pH range for optimum HA reactivity. Experimental studies in horses confi...
Allen BV, Frank CJ.MOST viral infections in animals, including man, have been
shown to alter the absolute and relative numbers of circulating
leucocytes. This usually causes a lymphopenia or neutropenia
but, occasionally, a lymphocytosis occurs (Gresser and Lang
1966). Several studies and reviews of respiratory viral
infections in horses have noted changes in the blood pictures
of infected animals, particularly during the early stages of the
disease (Steck and Gerber 1965; Gerber 1966, 1969; Bryans
and Gerber 1972; Hofer, Steck and Gerber 1978). The
transient nature of the leucocyte response is, probabl...
Gibson JA, Eaves LE, O'Sullivan BM.During a 20 month period Enterobacter agglomerans was
isolated from 17 cases of equine abortion. In 8 cases E
agglomerans was isolated in pure culture and in 9 cases it was
isolated in mixed culture from the foetus and/or foetal
membranes. Fifteen cases had histological evidence of foetal
infection and/or placentitis.
The occurrence of E agglomerans in pure culture, associated
with inflammatory lesions in the foetus and foetal membranes,
suggests it to be a cause of abortion in mares.
Cranley JJ.A survey of 1141 horses and ponies, for the presence of hydatid infection, was carried out at an export meat plant near Bristol. Lesions were attributed carefully by morphological, histological and immunological examinations and assessed by flame cell activity. All available detail concerning the animals was recorded. The surveys in the literature were assessed for the criteria on which their figures were based and were compared with the findings of this present survey. Attention was drawn to the apparent discord between the results of some surveys and others.
Wagner IP, Heymering H.This article attempts to provide a historical perspective regarding equine laminitis. It is designed to cover, as completely as possible, the historical record of, and the research advances made, in regards to acute and chronic laminitis. With respect to the historical record, the names given to this disease, the postulated etiologies, and the various treatment protocols are discussed. This article demonstrates the historical longevity of this disease and establishes a background for the current understanding of the disease's pathologic mechanisms and treatments.