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Topic:Disease Etiology
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.
Molecular detecting of piroplasms in feeding and questing Ixodes ricinus ticks. The purpose of this study was to detect piroplasms, which are pathogens of veterinary and zoonotic importance in ticks, that were collected from ponies and field vegetation and to determine the role of Shetland ponies as potential reservoir hosts for piroplasms. A total of 1737 feeding and 371 questing Ixodes ricinus collected from horses or vegetation were tested for the presence of Babesia and Theileria DNA. Piroplasm 18S rRNA gene amplification was conducted, and the obtained amplicons were sequenced. Babesia DNA was detected in only three ticks (one tick collected from a pony and two colle...
The refractive state of the eye in Icelandic horses with the Silver mutation. The syndrome Multiple Congenital Ocular Anomalies (MCOA) is a congenital eye disorder in horses. Both the MCOA syndrome and the Silver coat colour in horses are caused by the same missense mutation in the premelanosome protein (PMEL) gene. Horses homozygous for the Silver mutation (TT) are affected by multiple ocular defects causing visual impairment or blindness. Horses heterozygous for the Silver mutation (CT) have less severe clinical signs, usually cysts arising from the ciliary body iris or retina temporally. It is still unknown if the vision is impaired in horses heterozygous for the Sil...
Current insights into the molecular genetic basis of dwarfism in livestock. Impairment of bone growth at a young age leads to dwarfism in adulthood. Dwarfism can be categorised as either proportionate, an overall size reduction without changes in body proportions, or disproportionate, a size reduction in one or more limbs, with changes in body proportions. Many forms of dwarfism are inherited and result from structural disruptions or disrupted signalling pathways. Hormonal disruptions are evident in Brooksville miniature Brahman cattle and Z-linked dwarfism in chickens, caused by mutations in GH1 and GHR. Furthermore, mutations in IHH are the underlying cause of creep...
A case-control study developing a model for predicting risk factors for high SeM-specific antibody titers after natural outbreaks of Streptococcus equi subsp equi infection in horses. OBJECTIVE To develop a risk prediction model for factors associated with an SeM-specific antibody titer ≥ 3,200 in horses after naturally occurring outbreaks of Streptococcus equi subsp equi infection and to validate this model. DESIGN Case-control study. ANIMALS 245 horses: 57 horses involved in strangles outbreaks (case horses) and 188 healthy horses (control horses). PROCEDURES Serum samples were obtained from the 57 cases over a 27.5-month period after the start of outbreaks; serum samples were obtained once from the 188 controls. A Bayesian mixed-effects logistic regression model was us...
A retrospective analysis of the risk factors for surgical site infections and long-term follow-up after transpalpebral enucleation in horses. Implants are often used to improve the cosmetic appearance of horses after enucleation of the eye. When surgical site infection (SSI) occurs, the implant will almost always be lost. The aim of this study is to collect data on the risk factors for SSIs and report long-term follow-up (cosmetic results and return to work) after transpalpebral enucleations. In this retrospective study, records of horses undergoing transpalpebral enucleation were reviewed (2007-2014) and telephone interviews were used to obtain long term follow-up. The potential risk factors for SSIs (indication for enucleation, us...
Papillomavirus infection and squamous cell carcinoma in horses. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common disease that seriously impairs the health and welfare of affected horses and other equids. In humans, almost all cervical carcinomas, a high percentage of anogenital SCCs and a subset of SCCs of the head and neck are caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. Since hrHPV-induced human cancers and equine SCC have similar cytological and histopathological features, it has been hypothesised that equine SCCs could also be induced by papillomaviruses. This review provides an overview of the current evidence for an aetiological association b...
Comparison of the fecal bacterial microbiota of healthy and diarrheic foals at two and four weeks of life. Diarrhea in foals affects up to 60% of foals during the first six months of life. The effect of diarrhea on the fecal bacterial microbiota in foals has not been investigated. Little is known on the fecal bacterial microbial richness and diversity of foals at a young age. The objective was to compare the fecal bacterial microbiota of healthy foals to foals with diarrhea at two and four weeks of life. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from foals (n = 20) at 1-14 (T1) and 15-28 (T2) days of age and analyzed using high throughput sequencing. Differences in relative abundance of bacterial tax...
Osteochondritis Dissecans Development. This article reviews current knowledge of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) development in horses, including normal cartilage development, early osteochondrosis pathogenesis, and factors that result in healing or advancement to OCD fragments. Discussion includes current theories, detection, and therapeutic options.
Comprehensive qualification and quantification of triacylglycerols with specific fatty acid chain composition in horse adipose tissue, human plasma and liver tissue. High levels of triacylglycerols (TGs) have been linked to cardiovascular disease and liver diseases. Comprehensively analyzing TGs is helpful to understand the TGs functions in these diseases. However, due to the existence of a large number of isomers TGs and the lack of commercial standards, precise analysis of individual triacylglycerol (TG) with specific fatty acid chain composition is full of challenge. In this work, ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry (MS) were employed for comprehensive qualification and quantificati...
[New drugs for horses and production animals in 2016]. In 2016, only one newly developed active pharmaceutical ingredient for horses and food-producing animals was released on the German market for veterinary drug products. The immunomodulator Pegbovigrastim is now available as an injection solution for cattle (Imrestor). Four established veterinary active pharmaceutical ingredients are available for further species: the ectoparasitic Amitraz (Apitraz) from the triazapentadiene group was additionally authorized for honeybees, the expectorant Bromhexine (Exflow Vet) for chickens, turkeys and ducks and the macrolide antibiotic Gamithromycin (Zactran...
Trigeminal Nerve Root Demyelination Not Seen in Six Horses Diagnosed with Trigeminal-Mediated Headshaking. Trigeminal-mediated headshaking is an idiopathic neuropathic facial pain syndrome in horses. There are clinical similarities to trigeminal neuralgia, a neuropathic facial pain syndrome in man, which is usually caused by demyelination of trigeminal sensory fibers within either the nerve root or, less commonly, the brainstem. Our hypothesis was that the neuropathological substrate of headshaking in horses is similar to that of trigeminal neuralgia in man. Trigeminal nerves, nerve roots, ganglia, infraorbital, and caudal nasal nerves from horse abattoir specimens and from horses euthanized due to...
Frontal and caudal maxillary sinus lipoma in a horse. An adult horse was diagnosed with a frontal and caudal maxillary sinus lipoma, which was surgically removed. This is the first known report of a sinus lipoma in a horse. Lipomas should be considered in the differential diagnoses of equine sinus masses; complete surgical excision appears to be curative. Un cheval adulte a été diagnostiqué avec un lipome du sinus maxillaire frontal et caudal qui a été enlevé par chirurgie. Il s’agit du premier rapport d’un lipome de sinus chez un cheval. Les lipomes devraient être considérés dans les diagnostics différentiels des masses des sinus ...
Lack of significant associations with early career performance suggest no link between the DMRT3 “Gait Keeper” mutation and precocity in Coldblooded trotters. The Swedish-Norwegian Coldblooded trotter (CBT) is a local breed in Sweden and Norway mainly used for harness racing. Previous studies have shown that a mutation from cytosine (C) to adenine (A) in the doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor 3 (DMRT3) gene has a major impact on harness racing performance of different breeds. An association of the DMRT3 mutation with early career performance has also been suggested. The aim of the current study was to investigate this proposed association in a randomly selected group of CBTs. 769 CBTs (485 raced, 284 unraced) were genotyped for the DMR...
A serosurvey of selected cystogenic coccidia in Spanish equids: first detection of anti-Besnoitia spp. specific antibodies in Europe. Equine besnoitiosis, caused by Besnoitia bennetti, and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), caused by Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are relevant equine diseases in the Americas that have been scarcely studied in Europe. Thus, a serosurvey of these cystogenic coccidia was carried out in Southern Spain. A cross-sectional study was performed and serum samples from horses (n = 553), donkeys (n = 85) and mules (n = 83) were included. An in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to identify a Besnoitia spp. infection and positive results were confirmed by ...
A missense mutation in damage-specific DNA binding protein 2 is a genetic risk factor for limbal squamous cell carcinoma in horses. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common cancer of the equine eye, frequently originating at the limbus, with the potential to invade the cornea, cause visual impairment, and result in loss of the eye. Several breeds of horses have a high occurrence of limbal SCC implicating a genetic basis for limbal SCC predisposition. Pedigree analysis in the Haflinger breed supports a simple recessive mode of inheritance and a genome-wide association study (N = 23) identified a 1.5 Mb locus on ECA12 significantly associated with limbal SCC (Pcorrected = 0.04). Sequencing the most physiologicall...
Equine papillomavirus type 2: An equine equivalent to human papillomavirus 16? In horses, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) commonly affect the external genitals. There is growing evidence that equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection promotes disease development. To assess the possible association of EcPV2 with equine SCCs of the head (HSCC), 15 HSCC DNA samples were screened by E6/E7, E2, and LCR PCR and amplicons were analysed for sequence variations. The physical form of EcPV2 in HSCC, genital lesions, and smegma from horses with SCC was then addressed using EcPV2 immunocapture PCR (IC/PCR) for detection of virion, and E6 vs. E2 qPCR to investigate possible integr...
Nonsynonymous changes of equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) gene in amino acids involved in the interaction with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Equine lentivirus receptor-1 (ELR1) has been characterized as the specific functional receptor that mediates equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) entrance to horse macrophages. This receptor is tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 14 (TNFRSF14). The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of allelic variants in the coding sequence of equine TNFRSF14 gene by screening for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in different equine populations. Forty seven horse samples were randomly selected from a reservoir of EIAV-seropositive and seronegative samples collected from d...
Clinical Serum Therapy: Benefits, Cautions, and Potential Applications. Blood serum from immunized humans or animals (e.g., horses) contains relevant antibodies and has been used as serum therapy to treat many diseases or envenomation events. The effectiveness of blood serum was initially discovered in 1890 when Kitasato and von Behring observed the effectiveness of this type of therapy against diphtheria and tetanus. Serum therapies played an important role in the advancement of modern medicine prior to the development of penicillin and steroids. At present, several types of serum therapy remain in clinical use. However, some physicians have a limited understandi...
Genetic characterization of equid herpesvirus type 1 from cases of abortion in Poland. Equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a common viral infection associated with varied clinical outcomes including respiratory disease, abortion and neurological disease. We have characterized EHV-1 sequences (n = 38) obtained from cases of equine abortion in Poland between 1999 and 2016, based on sequencing of PCR products from open reading frames (ORF) 30 and 68 of the EHV-1 genome. The majority (81.6%) of sequences were not classified into any of the previously described groups based on the ORF68 sequence. The remaining sequences belonged to ORF68 group III (7.9%) or IV (10.5%). A haplotype ne...
The role of Leptospira spp. in horses affected with recurrent uveitis in the UK. Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a common cause of ocular pain and blindness in horses. Leptospira spp. have been commonly implicated in the pathophysiology of ERU in mainland Europe and the USA. No recent studies have been carried out in the UK, but Leptospira is reported not to be a major factor in the aetiology of ERU in the UK. Objective: To establish the prevalence of Leptospira-associated ERU in the UK and to identify the serovars involved in these cases; to compare serum vs. aqueous humour antibody levels in cases and controls in order to confirm the diagnosis of Leptospira-associated ...
Dourine: a neglected disease of equids. Dourine is a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis causing a major health problem threatening equines worldwide. The origin and identification of Trypanosoma equiperdum within the subgenus Trypanozoon is still a subject of debate. Unlike other trypanosomal infections, dourine is transmitted almost exclusively by coitus. Diagnosis of dourine has continued to be a challenge, due to limited knowledge about the parasite and host-parasite interaction following infection. The pathological lesions caused by the diseases are poorly described and are observed mainly in the reproductive organs, in the ner...
The relationship between the variants in the 5′-untranslated regions of equine chorionic gonadotropin genes and serum equine chorionic gonadotropin levels. An experiment was conducted to study the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTR) of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) genes and the serum eCG levels. Methods: SNPs in 5'-UTR of eCG genes were screened across 10 horse breeds, including 7 Chinese indigenous breeds and 3 imported breeds using iPLEX chemistry, and the association between the serum eCG levels of 174 pregnant Da'an mares and their serum eCG levels (determined with ELISA) was analyzed. Results: Four SNPs were identified in the 5'-UTR of the eCGα gene, and one of them was u...
Cardiovascular findings in ponies with equine metabolic syndrome. OBJECTIVE To determine whether hypertension, high sympathetic tone, resting and exercising arrhythmias, and echocardiographic changes consistent with hypertensive cardiomyopathy were associated with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) in ponies. DESIGN Prospective case-control study. ANIMALS 19 privately owned ponies with a diagnosis of EMS (history of laminitis, body condition score ≥ 7/9, cresty neck score ≥ 3/5, and abnormal oral sugar test result; cases) and 20 healthy control ponies. PROCEDURES Heart rate (HR), noninvasively measured arterial blood pressure (BP), markers of autonomic tone...
FOXO1, PXK, PYCARD and SAMD9L are differentially expressed by fibroblast-like cells in equine synovial membrane compared to joint capsule. The synovial membrane lines the luminal side of the joint capsule in synovial joints. It maintains joint homeostasis and plays a crucial role in equine joint pathology. When trauma or inflammation is induced in a joint, the synovial membrane influences progression of joint damage. Equine synovial membrane research is hampered by a lack of markers of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) to distinguish FLS from other fibroblast-like cells in musculoskeletal connective tissues. The aim of this study is to identify potential FLS markers of the equine synovial membrane using microarray to compare bet...
Evaluation of six serological ELISA kits available in Italy as screening tests for equine infectious anaemia surveillance. ELISAs are known to have a higher diagnostic sensitivity than the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) when employed for serological diagnosis of equine infectious anaemia (EIA). For this purpose, an "in-house" and five commercial ELISAs available in Italy were assessed by the National Reference Centre for EIA for their analytic specificity (Sp); precocity, defined as capability of detecting first antibodies produced during a new infection; precision based on repeatability and reproducibility, estimated from the coefficient of variation (CV); accuracy, estimated from multiple K and relative Sp and ...
Evidence of African horse sickness virus infection of Equus zebra hartmannae in the south-western Khomas Region, Namibia. Equine mortalities suspected to be due to African horse sickness (AHS) were reported from the arid Khomas Region, Namibia, in 2008. The area was previously considered a localized AHS-free area. Hartmann's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae), a potential but unconfirmed reservoir host of African horse sickness virus (AHSV), occurs in the region. Between 2009 and 2010 serum, blood and tissue samples from 31 culled E. z. hartmannae were analysed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) (n = 31) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (n = 18) to determine the p...
Equine colic: clinical epidemiology and associated risk factors in and around Debre Zeit. A prospective study was conducted to describe clinical epidemiology of equine colic in the Society for Protection of Animal Abroad and Donkey Sanctuary Project Clinic, at Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, from November 2014 to April 2015. The objectives were to describe clinical epidemiology of equine colic, to characterize the main types of equine colic, and to determine the major risk factors associated with equine colic. The method which was used in the study was attending clinical case of equine and assessing physiological parameters, fecal egg count, abdominal sounds, and rectal examination as well a...
