Disease management in horses encompasses the strategies and practices employed to prevent, control, and treat diseases affecting equine populations. This field involves understanding the etiology, transmission, and clinical presentation of various equine diseases, as well as implementing biosecurity measures and therapeutic interventions. Common diseases in horses include equine influenza, strangles, and equine herpesvirus. Effective disease management relies on accurate diagnosis, vaccination protocols, and the use of antimicrobials and other treatments. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, challenges, and advancements in managing diseases in equine health.
Várady M, Königová A, Corba J.The present study included 19 stud farms, including 243 horses, that were investigated for the occurrence of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomes. The number of horses on the farms varied from nine to more than 100, and horses of all ages were included. A minimum of seven horses were used for faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests. The anthelmintics included were: fenbendazole (paste formulation), ivermectin (paste formulation) and pyrantel (powder). Resistance to benzimidazoles was detected on 14 farms, with FECR values ranging from 65.1 to 86.3%. Larval cultures after fenbendazole treatment ...
Ceci L, Carelli G.This paper reviews basic information on the knowledge of tick-borne diseases, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and theileriosis, in horses, cattle, sheep and goats in Italy with particular reference to the southern part of the country. It is stressed that there is limited knowledge about the parasite species present, their vectors, distribution, prevalence and impact on livestock production and there is the need to assess their epidemiology. A study carried out in the Apulia region to assess the prevalence of Anaplasma marginale infection in 1,648 cattle showed a seroprevalence of 17% using the Card A...
Losinger WC, Traub-Dargatz JL, Sampath RK, Morley PS.Of 7320 equine foals reported born alive during 1997 on 1043 operations that had equids on 1 January 1997, and that participated in the United States National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Equine 1998 Study, 120 foals were reported to have died (by either euthanasia or natural causes) within the first 2 days of a live birth. The weighted estimate was 1.7% mortality (standard error=0.5) within the first 2 days of live birth for all foals born on operations in the 28 states included in the study.A multivariable logistic-regression model revealed that foals born in the southern region w...
Barclay AJ, Paton DJ.Hendra has been recognized in Australia as a new zoonotic disease of horses since 1994/5 and subsequent work has shown that the viral agent is endemic in certain species of fruit bat. The Hendra virus is the type species of a new genus within the sub-family Paramyxovirinae, which also contains another newly identified zoonotic bat virus, namely Nipah. It is assumed that contact with bats has led to the Hendra virus being transferred to horses on each of the three separate incidents that have been reported in the last five years. No evidence has been found for widespread subclinical infection o...
Vivrette SL, Sellon DC, Gibbons DS.Diagnosis of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi can be made more rapidly by use of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay than by use of conventional bacteriologic culture techniques. Use of a PCR assay aids in the differentiation between virulent and avirulent strains of R equi, and the assay may be used to identify R equi in feces and soil of breeding farms.
Vaneechoutte M, Devriese LA, Dijkshoorn L, Lamote B, Deprez P, Verschraegen G, Haesebrouck F.Acinetobacter baumannii was isolated from tips clipped from seven intravenous jugular catheters collected from horses in the Ghent University equine clinic. They originated from seven different horses. Three of the seven showed evidence of local infection.
Meisler SD, Doherty TJ, Andrews FM, Osborne D, Frazier DL.The effect of yohimbine pretreatment on gastric emptying of a liquid marker in horses was evaluated by measuring serum concentrations of acetaminophen. Gastric emptying was determined in normal, fasted horses, in horses given endotoxin (E. coli 055 B5; 0.2 microg/kg) intravenously, and in horses given yohimbine (0.25 mg/kg, IV, over 30 minutes) plus endotoxin. Acetaminophen (20 mg/kg) was given by stomach tube 15 minutes after the endotoxin infusion. Blood samples for acetaminophen analysis were collected, and time to reach the peak serum concentration (Tmax), the maximum serum concentration (...
Quieroz AO, Nehme-Russell NS, Brandão A, Jansen AM.'Mal de Cadeiras' is a disease which causes great mortality in horses in the Pantanal Matogrossense region, Brazil. The agent of this disease is Trypanosoma evansi, a kinetoplastid flagellate which belongs to the Trypanosomatidae family, classified into the Salivarian section. Transmission occurs mechanically by haematophagous Diptera, mainly by Stomoxys sp. and Tabanus sp. and vampire bats. Outbreaks of Mal de Cadeiras in horses result in economic losses, thus limiting their use in cattle raising. Ten isolates of T. evansi recently derived from coati (Nasua nasua, Carnivora, Procyonidae), hor...
de la Rua-Domenech R, Reid SW, González-Zariquiey AE, Wood JL, Gettinby G.A Monte Carlo model that simulates the management life cycle of a horse population in training on a Thoroughbred flat racing yard (i.e. stable) was developed for computer implementation. Each horse was characterised by several state variables. Discrete events at the horse level were triggered stochastically to reflect uncertainty about some input assumptions and heterogeneity of the horse population in a particular yard. This mathematical model was subsequently used to mimic the spread of equine influenza (EI) within a typical yard following the introduction of one or several infectious horses...
Wittmann EJ, Baylis M.Changes in the distribution and abundance of insects are likely to be amongst the most important and immediate effects of climate change. We review here the risk that climate change poses to the UK's livestock industry via effects on Culicoides biting midges, the vectors of several arboviruses, including those that cause bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS). The major old-world vector of BT and AHS viruses, C. imicola, occurs in southern Europe and will spread further north as global temperatures increase. It is unlikely, however, that in the foreseeable future it will reach and be...
Selected equine cutaneous diseases for which there is strong evidence of an immunological aetiology are discussed in this section. The reactive disorders of urticaria, Culicoides hypersensitivity, erythema multiforme, drug eruptions and systemic granulomatous disease are included. The autoimmune diseases of the horse with cutaneous manifestations (pemphigus foliaceus, pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid and cutaneous lupus erythematosus) are discussed. The clinical signs and diagnostic features of these immunologically induced equine dermatoses are defined, and the challenges in making a de...
Bergman HJ, de Kruif A, van Dessel S.In this article different possible treatments for problem mares are discussed. The therapeutic possibilities vary and can be classified into anatomical correction, anti-infectious therapy, and treatment to enhance the uterine defence mechanisms. Anatomical correction and treatment with antibiotics are valuable therapies and have been used for many years. In recent years, stimulation of the mechanical defence mechanism of the uterus, by flushing it with physiological solution combined with parenteral oxytocin, has been shown to increase the chance of getting problem mares in foal.
Del Piero F.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) can cause prominent economic losses for the equine industry. The purpose of this review is to provide the pathologist some familiarity with the clinical history, lesions, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of EVA. EVA is caused by an arterivirus (equine arteritis virus, EAV), and the vascular system is the principal but not unique viral target. EVA has variable presentations, including interstitial pneumonia, panvasculitis with edema, thrombosis and hemorrhage, lymphoid necrosis, renal tubular necrosis, abortion, and inflammation of male accessory genital glands. EAV anti...
Lloyd S, Smith J, Connan RM, Hatcher MA, Hedges TR, Humphrey DJ, Jones AC.One hundred and fifty horse owners, primarily private owners and riding schools, replied to a questionnaire concerning the practices they used to control parasites. Twenty-seven had experienced a parasite problem. Faecal samples from 188 horses selected at random showed that worm control practices were generally successful; however, many owners were not following recommendations for slowing the development of resistant parasites. In 1996, 86 per cent of the owners were using either three or two classes of anthelmintic a year, and they used a median of six doses with a range from one to 11. App...
Kaaden OR, Truyen U.There is a continuous change in viral epidemics with respect to clinical symptoms, their duration or disappearance and the emergence of new diseases. This can be observed both in human and animal diseases. This evolution of virus diseases is mainly related to three factors: etiological agent, host and environment. As far as genetic alterations of the virus are concerned, two major mechanisms are involved: 1) mutations such as recombination and reassortment; 2) selection for resistance or susceptibility. The epidemiology of newly emerged virus diseases in man and animals, such as AIDS and hemor...
Lewis BD, Penzhorn BL, Volkmann DH.Treatment of pregnant mares to prevent abortions due to equine piroplasmosis is a novel idea practised empirically at some Thoroughbred studs in South Africa. This paper presents the results of an investigation to ascertain whether imidocarb dipropionate crosses the equine placenta. Three pregnant mares were injected intramuscularly with imidocarb and their foetuses were mechanically aborted at varying time intervals thereafter. Imidocarb was found in foetal blood at a level similar to that in the dam's blood, suggesting that imidocarb administered to the dam would be available for anti-parasi...
Guo YJ, Wang M, Zheng SL, Wang P, Ji WJ, Chen QH.About thirty thousands horses were affected and hundreds of them died in an epidemic caused by equine 2 influenza virus (H3N8) in China. The estimated morbidity and mortality accounted for 81% and 2%, respectively. The viral protein and RNA electrophoresis patterns revealed that the new isolates were antigenically different from the prototype strain influenza A/eq/Miami/1/63(H3N8). Therefore, the representative strain of the equine 2 subtype of influenza A virus recommended for producing reference reagents, vaccines, and for serological diagnosis must have been altered by antigenic drift.
Barclay WP, White KK, Williams A.Nineteen cases of villonodular synovitis as identified in 14 horses are presented. Physical and radiographic findings are discussed and the surgical correction described. Case histories indicate that surgical extirpation of the lesion is corrective and that rest without surgical intervention is ineffective. Radiation therapy following surgery does not appear to be necessary.
Rothaug PG, Tulleners EP.To describe a technique of contact neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser-assisted excision of progressive ethmoid hematoma (PEH) in horses, to determine the recurrence rate of clinical signs of PEH in horses with follow-up time of a minimum of 12 months, and to compare this result with reported results achieved by using conventional techniques. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 21 horses with 26 PEH. Methods: Medical records of all horses with PEH treated by Nd:YAG laser excision from December 1986 through August 1996 were analyzed. Twenty-one horses underwent unilateral (18 su...
Kotelevska TM, Pryimenko NO, Dubynska HM, Iziumska OM, Koval TI, Pikul KV, Purdenko TY.West Nile Fever (WNF) is the most common arbovirus infection caused by West Nile Virus (WNV), which has been responsible for numerous epidemic outbreaks of disease among humans, birds and horses on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, over the past two decades. On the territory of Ukraine, the earliest reports of cases of WNV circulation in humans and birds relate to the 70s of the XX century. In Poltava region WNF was first registered in 2011. Though the epidemiological and clinical patterns of WNF in Ukraine and Poltava region remain understudied, primarily due to the lack of al...
Levine JF, Levy MG, Nicholson WL, Gager RB.Larval Dermacentor variabilis (Say) (n = 327) were fed on Balb/C mice inoculated with Ehrlichia risticii, the etiologic agent of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (Potomac horse fever). All mice displayed clinical signs of E. risticii infection at the time of feeding. After molting, resulting nymphs (n = 74) were fed on susceptible mice. No clinical signs were observed, and the mice remained seronegative for 6 wk after feeding.
Adam E.Emma Adam of the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky in the USA provides an update on rotaviruses, particularly the group B equine rotavirus identified in 2021.
Bostedt H, Hospes R, Herfen K.Basing on exact investigations of normal behaviour and abnormalities in newborn and up to 24 hours old foals a program for evaluation, comprehending exogeniously judgable criteria, was developed. It aims at a quick recognition of aberrations in behaviour. The program includes a score, which allows early diagnosis of even subtile abnormalities. As a result, a veterinary surgeon should be consulted if the score exposes a critical situation, so that therapy can be started in time. Furthermore informations about investigations on blood-glucose- and immunoglobulin-G-concentration in relation to neo...
Cohen ND, Honnas CM.To determine the incidence of the risk factors for developing diarrhea in horses after celiotomy for colic. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: 357 adult horses that had celiotomy for colic at the teaching hospital between Jan 1, 1990 and Sep 1, 1994. Methods: Medical records of horses that had celiotomy for colic were reviewed to abstract information regarding development of diarrhea, signalment, history, and treatment. Results: In horses that had celiotomy for colic, the incidence of diarrhea was 53.2% (190/357). Using multiple logistic regression, horses with a disorder of the lar...