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.
Mellor PS.1. 903 horses were examined at 3 abattoirs in South East England. 10(22–7%) of the horses at the London Colney abattoir, 23(13–9%) of those at the Braintree abattoir, Essex, and 90(12–9%) of those at the Islington abattoir, London, were infected with O. cervicalis. All 105 horses examined in Southern Ireland were found to be negative.
2. The adult worms of O. cervicalis were found without exception, in the ligamentum nuchae of infected horses. The suspensory ligaments of the fetlock and flexor tendons were always negative.
3. The microfilariae of O. cervicalis concentrate along the...
Gerger H.Several forms of chronic pulmonary disease in the horse can be differentiated, to some extent, by simple means within the scope of every clinician. The proposed diagnostic system permits more precise diagnoses, which are supported by histopathological evidence. Such diagnoses justify a reasonably accurate prognosis of a horse's chance of recovery. They also have been used as a basis for constructing a pathogenetic model.
Among the factors involved in the pathogenesis of chronic pulmonary disease, ageing has probably been overrated.
Climatic changes influence the symptomatology and the co...
Johnstone AC.Congenital vascular tumours in the skin of the legs of two horses showed histological features at biopsy which were consistent with capillary haemangioma but, at necropsy, one tumour had invaded the superficial digital flexor tendon and was therefore classified as a haemangiosarcoma.
Bayly WM, Elfers RS, Liggitt HD, Brobst DF, Gavin PR, Reed SM.Acute renal failure was produced in 5 ponies which had received mercuric chloride (0.25 mg/kg) and potassium dichromate (3 mg/kg) intravenously each day for 5 days. Failure was due to acute nephrosis. This was indicated clinically by daily monitoring of the urine output, and B-mode ultrasonography of both kidneys after administering the fifth dose of the chemical agents. Euthanasia was performed after days 14, 9, 5, 8 and 5 respectively in each of the ponies, and the presence of renal disease confirmed by gross and microscopic post mortem examination. The nature of the kidney lesions observed ...
Williams LA.Many skin disorders in horses share the same appearance-hair loss of various degrees, itchiness, lesions that may or may not be painful to the touch, oozing sores, or skin that is reddened, crusty, scaly, flaky, thickened or swollen- making diagnosis sometimes difficult. A horse owner's documentation of a horse's medical history, the history of the skin disorder, and the horse's environment assists veterinarians and compounding pharmacists in their diagnosis and treatment. This article discusses some of the common skin problems that affect horses, takes a look at causes, and provides a case re...
Ashraf R, Rashid S, Rasheed I, Asif S.This paper includes the study of early embryonic death (EED), predisposing factors of EED and treatment. EED refers to the fetal mortality which varies in mare and camelids but most probably not later than 50 days of gestation. This duration may be divided into very early mortality, early mortality and late embryonic mortality. This also varies in mare and camelids. There are different embryonic, maternal, environmental/external, and infectious and noninfectious factors which lead to early embryonic loss. Diagnosis is very difficult as in most of the cases resorption of fetus occurs but it is ...
Kihurani DO, Masake RA, Nantulya VM, Mbiuki SM.Following an outbreak of trypanosomosis in horses on a farm in Kenya, 18 trypanosome isolates were collected from the infected animals over a period of one and a half years and cryopreserved for characterization. The characterization was done on the basis of morphology using Giemsa-stained blood and buffy coat smears, infectivity to mice, recombinant DNA hybridization, and chromosome separation by orthogonal field alternation gel electrophoresis (OFAGE). Morphologically, all the trypanosome isolates were identified as belonging to the subgenus Nannomonas, and a total of 16 out of the 18 isolat...
De Ceulaer K, Van Ginneken C, Delesalle C, Van Brantegem L, Deprez P, Weyns A.This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of slaughterhouse-obtained small intestinal tissue as control material in equine colic research where molecular stress responses in small intestinal tissue are investigated. For this purpose, small intestinal samples from colic horses were collected during surgery or immediately after euthanasia at the oral border of strangulation resection sites and routinely processed for histopathology (i.c. rinsed with 4°C Krebs' solution, fixated overnight with 4% neutral buffered formaldehyde (FH) at room temperature). Control samples consisted of pieces of m...
Gautsch S, Beckmann G, Amtsberg G, Dieckmann M, Deegen E.100 faecal samples from clinically healthy horses of different age groups and feeding habits, 50 samples of faeces from horses suffering from enteropathy accompanied by diarrhoea and small and/or large intestine from 25 horses that had died after an intestinal disease were examined for the presence of Clostridium (Cl.) perfringens. The frequency with which Cl. perfringens was detected was 22% in clinically healthy horses, 32% in horses with diarrhoea and 52% in the dead horses. In two faecal samples from the horses with diarrhoea the microbial count of Cl. perfringens was ca. 10(6) cfu/g faece...
Leventhal HR, Hassebroek AM, Carvallo F, McKenzie HC.A 14-y-old pony mare was referred after 30-d duration of intermittent pyrexia, anorexia, weight loss, and change in manure consistency. Physical examination revealed a palpable but reducible ventral abdominal mass. Transabdominal ultrasonography revealed multiple distended, hypomotile, and thickened small intestinal loops in close approximation with numerous, well-defined, hyperechoic masses. There was a large amount of echogenic peritoneal fluid; abdominocentesis revealed a neutrophilic and macrophagic inflammatory exudate, and a mixed bacterial population was cultured. Given the poor prognos...
Browne C, Medlock JM.Last summer saw an unusually high number of cases of West Nile fever in horses and people in south and south-east Europe, but it is too early to tell if this was a one-off increase or a sign of things to come. Here, , , and discuss the various West Nile fever surveillance and control mechanisms in place in the UK.
Ortolani F, Nannarone S, Sforna M, Gialletti R, Giglia G, Mandara MT.A 10-year-old Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland (KWPN, Netherlands-based organization for registration of the Dutch Warmblood horses) mare was evaluated three times over four months because of recurrent colic. At every referral, a physical examination revealed a small colon impaction, which partially responded to food deprivation and oral administration of water and magnesium sulphate. Due to the recurrent nature of the small colon impaction, several differential diagnoses were considered: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic salmonellosis and myenteric ganglionopathies. At f...
