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.
David F, Cadby J, Bosch G, Brama P, van Weeren R, van Schie H.Larger superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries have a poorer prognosis than smaller lesions. During the inflammatory phase enlargement of the initial lesion is frequently noted, with biomechanical loading being recently proposed to play an important role. Objective: To evaluate the effect of lower limb cast immobilisation on tendon lesion propagation in an equine model of surgically induced SDFT injury. Methods: Core lesions were surgically induced in both front SDFTs of 6 young mature horses. At the end of surgery, one leg was randomly placed in a lower limb cast and the other leg (...
Lamas LP, Edmonds J, Hodge W, Zamora-Vera L, Burford J, Coomer R, Munroe G.REASONS FOR PERFORMING THIS STUDY: Intra-articular ethanol has been described to promote distal tarsal joint ankylosis. Its use and results in clinical cases affected by osteoarthritis (OA) have not been reported. Objective: To describe and evaluate the results of treatment of distal tarsal joint OA by facilitated ankylosis stimulated by intra-articular ethanol injection. Methods: Twenty-four horses met the inclusion criteria of tarsometatarsal and centrodistal joint OA diagnosed by a positive response to intra-articular analgesia, radiographic evaluation and recurrence of lameness ≤ 4 month...
Schwarz B, Brunthaler R, Hahn C, van den Hoven R.Equine grass sickness (EGS) occurs mainly in Great Britain, but has once been reported in Hungary. The stud which was affected by EGS in 2001 had no new cases until 2009/10, when 11 of 60 and five of 12 one- to three-year-old colts died or were euthanased due to EGS. Following a few hours in the high-risk field during the winter of 2010/11 further four cases of acute EGS were noted among these horses. The affected horses showed somewhat different clinical signs compared with the cases reported in Great Britain. Histopathological findings in these horses were consistent with EGS. In most examin...
Anzai T, Kamada M, Niwa H, Eguchi M, Nishi H.Contagious equine metritis (CEM), a contagious venereal disease of horses, invaded Japan in 1980 and spread in the Thoroughbred population of the Hidaka-Iburi district of Hokkaido. To eradicate CEM, we ran a program aimed at detecting Taylorella equigenitalis, the causal agent, in carrier horses by using the PCR test, followed by culling or treatment. In 2001, the first year of the program, 12,356 Thoroughbred racing stallions and mares were tested and 11 carriers were found. Four, two, one, and one carrier mares were detected in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively, by application of the ...
Gardner RB.Evaluation and management of recumbent horses are challenging. Familiarity with disorders that can result in recumbency will facilitate more rapid diagnosis and more appropriate formulation of a prognosis. With rapid and appropriate diagnosis, appropriate treatment can be pursued and, with good nursing care, can result in a favorable outcome.
Borges AS, Watanabe MJ.The close relationship between guttural pouches, cranial nerves, and sympathetic structures make neurologic abnormalities due to diseases of the guttural pouches (especially mycosis) possible. Recognition of epistaxis or mucopurulent nasal discharge, together with signs of dysfunction of the cranial nerves in contact with the guttural pouches, are important key points in order to consider a comprehensive evaluation of these structures and further definitive diagnosis. Diseases of the guttural pouches can also cause signs such as dysphagia, abnormal soft palate positioning, laryngeal paralysis,...
Webbon P.The understanding and application of genetics have grown extremely quickly since it has become possible to sequence the whole genome of an organism. The human genome sequence was completed in 2001 and that of the horse in 2007. The significance of this is that it makes it more feasible to explain how both genetically simple and complex traits are transmitted from one generation to the next and, therefore, to make informed breeding decisions, modify how horses are managed and trained to minimise the risk of disease and injury, and improve methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of many c...
Wise LN, Ueti MW, Kappmeyer LS, Hines MT, White SN, Davis W, Knowles DP.The equid hemoprotozoan parasite Theileria equi is endemic in most regions worldwide. Infection of horses is a cause of significant economic loss due to costs associated with disease and restriction of trade with non-endemic nations. The ability of certain drugs such as imidocarb dipropionate to eliminate persistent T. equi infection and transmission risk is controversial. The anti-protozoal agent ponazuril has been used successfully to treat equine Sarcosystis neurona and Toxoplasma gondii. The hypothesis that ponazuril inhibits replication of T. equi in vitro was tested. T. equi infected equ...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC.Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) revolutionized parasite control in horses and other animals. They are unique in that they are effective against arthropods and nematodes. The first of the widely used avermectins was ivermectin. In 1983, it was marketed for use in horses as an injectable formulation but was withdrawn in 1984 after about a year and half on the market because of adverse problems. It was replaced by a paste formulation and an oral/stomach tube liquid formulation. Ivermectin is highly active on bots, ascarids, large and small strongyles, pinworms, strongyloides, stomach worms, and some o...
Ho EN, Kwok WH, Wong AS, Wan TS.Quaternary ammonium drugs (QADs) are anticholinergic agents some of which are known to have been abused or misused in equine sports. A recent review of literature shows that the screening methods reported thus far for QADs mainly cover singly-charged QADs. Doubly-charged QADs are extremely polar substances which are difficult to be extracted and poorly retained on reversed-phase columns. It would be ideal if a comprehensive method can be developed which can detect both singly- and doubly-charged QADs. This paper describes an efficient liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) m...
Giguère S, Cohen ND, Chaffin MK, Slovis NM, Hondalus MK, Hines SA, Prescott JF.Rhodococcus equi, a gram-positive facultative intracellular pathogen, is one of the most common causes of pneumonia in foals. Although R. equi can be cultured from the environment of virtually all horse farms, the clinical disease in foals is endemic at some farms, sporadic at others, and unrecognized at many. On farms where the disease is endemic, costs associated with morbidity and mortality attributable to R. equi may be very high. The purpose of this consensus statement is to provide recommendations regarding the diagnosis, treatment, control, and prevention of infections caused by R. equi...
McGowan C.Horses form a unique and special part of their owners' lives and aged horses are no exception. This review considers the health and management of aged horses, including the role of the owner and their perceptions of aged horses, potential threats or risks to their welfare and finally, factors affecting quality of life and euthanasia of aged horses. Owners of aged horses are concerned about the health, welfare and quality of life of their aged animals. Yet surveys of management and preventive healthcare reflect that there may be some limitations to what owners are actually achieving in practice...
Muscatello G.Various challenges face clinicians and farm managers in diagnosing, treating and preventing Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. The use of ultrasound imaging has aided in the early diagnosis of the disease, reducing treatment duration and improving therapeutic outcomes. Antimicrobial resistance in R. equi is an emerging issue that necessitates prudent antimicrobial therapy of diseased foals. Alternative methods of disease transmission, such as contagious foal-to-foal aerosol transmission, may need to be addressed to complement dust reduction environmental strategies and to minimise the overall risk of...
Ohta M, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Kondo T, Matsumura T.A PCR assay for the diagnosis of respiratory disease induced by equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) was performed at the clinical laboratory in the Racehorse Clinic of the Ritto Training Center of the Japan Racing Association from December 2007 to March 2008. The assay was performed without the trouble of contamination throughout the study and its turnaround time was approximately 6 hr. The PCR detection rates of EHV-1 among seroconverted horses were 22.2% for nasal swabs and 33.3% for blood samples. However, EHV-1 DNA was also detected in horses without seroconversion at a low rate. These resul...
Fox-Clipsham LY, Brown EE, Carter SD, Swinburne JE.The Fell and Dales are UK pony breeds that have small populations and may be at risk from in-breeding and inherited diseases. Foal immunodeficiency syndrome (FIS) is a lethal inherited disease caused by the recessive mutation of a single gene, which affects both Fell and Dales ponies and potentially other breeds that have interbred with either of these. FIS, previously known as Fell pony syndrome, is characterised by progressive anaemia and severe B lymphocyte deficiency. The identification of the causal mutation for this disease led to the recent development of a DNA-based carrier test. In th...
Reinemeyer CR.Since 2002, selected populations of Parascaris equorum in several countries have been reported to survive treatment with macrocyclic lactone (M/L) anthelmintics. Clinical treatment failures are characterized by negligible fecal egg count reduction, but M/L resistance has been confirmed in ascarids by controlled efficacy testing. Resistance was selected by current parasite control practices for foals, which often include exclusive and excessively frequent use of M/L dewormers, thereby minimizing refugia within the host and in the environment. Chemical control of M/L-resistant isolates can be ac...
Nielsen MK.Clinically important equine parasites are ubiquitous in managed horse populations. The traditional approach to parasite control is frequent administration of anthelmintics to all horses on a farm. However, increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance is forcing horse owners and veterinarians to shift this control paradigm. Treatment regimens involving routine deworming of all horses throughout the year are now being replaced by more sustainable approaches, which take in to account the importance of maintaining adequate parasite refugia. The selective therapy principle has been recommended for ...
Scoles GA, Hutcheson HJ, Schlater JL, Hennager SG, Pelzel AM, Knowles DP.We report an outbreak of equine piroplasmosis in southern Texas, USA, in 2009. Infection prevalence reached 100% in some areas (292 infected horses). Amblyomma cajennense was the predominant tick and experimentally transmitted Theileria equi to an uninfected horse. We suggest that transmission by this tick species played a role in this outbreak.
Molento MB, Nielsen MK, Kaplan RM.Avermectins and milbemycins (AM) are potent compounds against all major nematode parasites, but their continuous usage has led to the development of widespread resistance in many of the important species of ruminant and equine parasites. The exception to this has been the cyathostomins, where AM resistance was recently first reported only after decades of drug exposure. Data from a Brazilian study suggests that AM resistance has developed in cyathostomins and reports of shortened egg reappearance periods after ivermectin treatment have been published recently from USA and Germany. Thus, AM res...
Vidyashankar AN, Hanlon BM, Kaplan RM.Anthelmintic resistance (AR) is a serious problem for the control of equine gastrointestinal nematodes, particularly in the cyathostomins. The fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) is the most common method for diagnosing AR and serves as the practical gold standard. However, accurate quantification of resistance and especially accurate diagnosis of emerging resistance to avermectin/milbemycin (A/M) drugs, is hampered by a lack of accepted standards for study design, data analysis, and data interpretation. In order to develop rational evidence-based standards for diagnosis of resistance, one ...
von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.During the past two decades anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites has been found in the group of small strongyle species (cyathostomins) and in the ascarid species Parascaris equorum. The ubiquitous nature and possible severe consequences of disease with these nematodes make them the prime targets of current worm control programmes. Traditional control strategies mainly rely on the strategic application of anthelmintics, currently represented by three major drug classes: benzimidazoles (BZ), the tetrahydropyrimidine pyrantel (PYR) and macrocyclic lactones (ML). Following decades of routi...
Gildea S, Quinlivan M, Arkins S, Cullinane A.Antigenic and genetic drift of equine influenza (EI) virus is monitored annually by the Expert Surveillance Panel (ESP), which make recommendations on the need to update vaccines. Surveillance programmes are essential for this process to operate effectively and to decrease the risk of disease spread through the international movement of subclinically infected vaccinated horses. Not only is surveillance necessary to inform vaccine companies which strains are in circulation, but it serves as an early warning system for horse owners, trainers and veterinary clinicians, facilitating the implementa...
Smith MA, Edwards GB, Dallap BL, Cripps PJ, Proudman CJ.The objectives of the study were to determine whether retrospective data can be used to answer questions about the efficacy of prokinetic agents when used to treat horses with post-operative ileus (POI). We describe prevalence and mortality of POI with reference to treatment with four prokinetic agents. By combining data from two Hospitals a study population of 55 horses with POI following pedunculated lipoma obstruction (PLO) was established. Univariable and multivariable associations were determined between short term survival and potential explanatory variables. With death as outcome in mul...
Ilobi CP, Nicolson C, Taylor J, Mumford JA, Wood JM, Robertson JS.Equine influenza viruses propagated in the laboratory in alternate hosts such as embryonated hens' eggs or mammalian cell culture have been analysed by HA sequencing and antigenically and their sequence compared to the original virus present in clinical material. In contrast to clinically derived human influenza virus which generally grows in MDCK cells without change, the data for equine influenza virus were less clear in that variants of equine virus were derived in both eggs and cells. The study indicated that the current use of eggs for equine influenza virus surveillance and vaccine produ...
Rhodes DM, Madrigal R.Colic is one of the most frequent emergencies necessitating veterinary attention. Referral is not an option in many cases; therefore, the ability to diagnose and treat colic in an ambulatory setting is paramount. Portable imaging and point-of-care testing has improved the ability to identify lesions and assess the patient's status. In cases when field management is the only option, practitioners should be aware of the various treatment options available.
Garner MG, Cowled B, East IJ, Moloney BJ, Kung N.To use modelling and epidemiological analyses to assess the effectiveness of control strategies employed during the equine influenza outbreak and determine if early vaccination might have had a beneficial effect. Methods: Transmission of infection was modelled using stochastic, spatial simulation, based on data from 16 regions in New South Wales and Queensland over the first month of the outbreak. Results: The model accurately represented the spread of infection in both space and time and showed that vaccination strategies would have reduced new infections by ∼60% and reduced the size of the...
Pereira MC, Kohek Júnior I, Campos R, Lima SB, Foz RP.The anthelmintic efficacy of ivermectin (IVM), piperazine citrate (PPZ) and fenbendazole (FBZ) alone, and combinations of FBZ with varying dosages of PPZ, was evaluated for the control of strongyles of Mangalarga equids. In all cases of positive strongly egg counts per gram of faeces (EPG) before and after treatment, pure populations of cyathostome larvae with eight gut cells were consistently observed in faecal cultures. The faecal egg count reductions (FECR) were evaluated between Day 7 and Day 56 post-treatment. Significant differences (P less than or equal to 0.05) were found between Day 7...
Happold J, Rubira R.This study included 10 large Thoroughbred horse studs in the upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales and in southeast Queensland, Australia. The aims were to describe the EI epidemic in studs in the Special Restricted Area (Purple Zone) of NSW, to estimate seroprevalence among different groups of horses on these studs and to look for evidence of exposure to EI virus in horses on 'vaccinated' studs in southeast Queensland that were thought to have remained free of infection. As serology results from Queensland suggest that vaccination may have reduced the sensitivity of clinical surveillance to ...
Ellse L, Burden FA, Wall R.Infestations by lice can be a significant clinical and welfare issue in the management of large animals. The limited range of commercial pediculicides available and the development of resistance have led to the need to explore alternative louse management approaches. The results of in vitro and in vivo trials undertaken to control populations of the donkey chewing louse, Bovicola ocellatus (Piaget) (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae) using the essential oils of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) are reported here. Results of contact and vapour bioassays showed t...
Savage G, Liesegang A, Campbell J, Lyon M, Fry D.Horse and cattle-related trauma is a common presentation to regional hospitals in Australia. We review local incidence and patterns of injuries relating to horse and cattle trauma over a three-year period at the Toowoomba Base Hospital within the Darling Downs region in Queensland, an area rich in cattle farming and equestrian recreation. Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective cohort study. The inclusion criteria were all patients presenting with injuries following cattle or horse-related incidents between January 2018 and April 2021. Primary outcomes were the mechanism of trauma,...
Silva Serra AC, Júnior EC, Cruz JF, Lobo PS, Júnior ET, Bandeira RS, Bezerra DA, Mascarenhas JD, Santos Guerra SF, Soares LS. To perform a molecular analysis of rotavirus A (RVA) G3P[6] strains detected in 2012 and 2017 in the Amazon region of Brazil. Eighteen RVA G3P[6] strains were collected from children aged under 10 years hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis, and partial sequencing of each segment genome was performed using Sanger sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all G3P[6] strains had a DS-1-like genotype constellation. Two strains had the highest nucleotide identities with equine-like G3P[6]/G3P[8] genotypes. Several amino acid alterations in VP4 and VP7 neutralizing epitopes of equine-l...
Brazik EL, Luquire JT, Little D.16 horses treated daily with pyrantel tartrate (2.64 mg/kg [1.2 mg/lb], PO) as part of a prophylactic anthelmintic program. Results: Fecal worm egg counts (FWECs) were obtained on all 16 horses. Mean FWEC was 478 eggs/g (epg; range, 0 to 4,075 epg). Three of the 16 horses were responsible for 85% of the total fecal egg output for the herd on the day of sampling. Six horses had FWECs < 200 epg. Three horses that had arrived within 4 months of the sampling date had FWECs 100 epg (9 horses) were treated with pyrantel pamoate (6.6 mg/kg [3 mg/lb], PO), and 14 days later, the FWEC was repeated....
van Doorn DC, Eysker M, Kooyman FN, Wagenaar JA, Ploeger HW.A study was conducted to evaluate the occurrence of resistance against, in particular, ivermectin in cyathostomins in the Netherlands. Seventy horse farms were visited between October 2007 and November 2009. In initial screening, faecal samples were collected 2 weeks after deworming with either ivermectin, moxidectin or doramectin. Pooled faecal samples from a maximum of 10 horses were examined for worm eggs using a modified McMaster technique and for worm larvae after faecal larval cultures. In total 931 horses were involved. On 15 of 70 farms eggs and/or larvae were found. On 8 of these 15 f...
Rocha T.Contagious equine metritis (CEM), a highly contagious bacterial venereal infection of equids, caused by Taylorella equigenitalis, is of major international concern, causing short-term infertility in mares. Portugal has a long tradition of horse breeding and exportation and until recently was considered CEM-free. However, in 2008, T. equigenitalis was isolated at our laboratory from a recently imported stallion and 2 mares from the same stud. Following this first reported outbreak, the Portuguese Veterinary Authority (DGVA) performed mandatory testing on all remaining equines at the stud (n=30)...
Hines MT, Palmer GH, Byrne KM, Brassfield AL, McGuire TC.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and peripheral blood were obtained from each of 17 adult Arabian mares and absolute numbers and relative lymphocyte proportions were determined for total T lymphocytes, using CD2 as a marker, CD4 + T lymphocytes, CD8 + T lymphocytes, CD5 + lymphocytes, and sIgM + B lymphocytes. The marked variation in BALF cell recovery resulted in wide variation in absolute values for each lymphocyte subset. The relative proportions of gated BALF lymphocytes were much less variable and provided a basis for comparison of lymphocyte subsets between the BALF and peripheral blo...
Dorph K, Haughan J, Robinson M, Redding LE.To characterize antimicrobial use on four racetracks in the eastern US during the peak racing 2017-2018 seasons. Handwritten daily treatment sheets provided by attending veterinarians who listed treatments administered to horses stabled at the racetrack were obtained. Information contained in the treatment sheets included the date, name of the horse and its trainer, type of treatment, and a brief (usually 1-word) indication for treatment. The handwritten data listed on the racetrack treatment sheets were manually transcribed and analyzed. A total of 2,684 antimicrobial prescriptions were recor...
Aguilar J, Hanks M, Shaw DJ, Else R, Watson E.Material for endometrial cytology can be collected by veterinarians using guarded or unguarded swabs, or digitally with a gloved hand, and is an important diagnostic tool in establishing the endometrial health of mares prior to breeding. The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of unguarded endometrial samples is a reliable indicator of the presence of neutrophils in the uterus. Duplicate endometrial smears were collected from 41 genitally normal, non-pregnant fertile mares by both double-guarded swabs (DGS) and in an unguarded manner by digital scraping (DS) of the endometrium. ...
Dourine is a parasitic venereal disease of equines caused by T. equiperdum. Humoral antibodies are found in infected animals, but diagnosis of dourine must include history, clinical, and pathological findings in addition to serology. Complement Fixation Test (CFT) is the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) recommended test for international trade; however, some uninfected equines may give inconsistent or nonspecific reactions in CFT due to the anticomplementary effects of their sera. In this study an Indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (iELISA) was developed. This test could be us...
McMonagle EL, Taylor S, van Zuilekom H, Sanders L, Scholtes N, Keanie LJ, Hopkins CA, Logan NA, Bain D, Argyle DJ, Onions DE, Schijns VE, Nicolson L.Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a key cytokine in the development of cell-mediated immune responses. Bioactive IL-12 is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of disulphide linked p35 and p40 subunits. The aim of this study was to verify biologically activity of the products expressed from equine interleukin-12 (IL-12) p35 and p40 cDNAs and to establish whether equine IL-12 could be expressed as a p35/p40 fusion polypeptide, as has been reported for IL-12a of several mammalian species. We report production of equine IL-12 through expression of p35 and p40 subunits in mammalian and insect cells and of a p...
Kay PH, Dawkins RL, Bowling AT, Bernoco D.The fourth component of complement (C4) is polymorphic in most species studied, and is encoded by a gene or genes within the MHC. In man and mouse there are two closely linked C4 and steroid 21-hydroxylase (21-OH) genes. Therefore we have used Southern blotting to determine whether equine C4 and 21-OH genes are linked. C4 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was found with the enzymes EcoRI and BamHI. Comparison of the sizes of EcoRI-digested fragments of genomic DNA hybridizing with C4 and 21-OH probes revealed that equine C4 and 21-OH genes are separated by no more than 13 kb. Fur...
Pessoa V, Ramilo DW, Pereira da Fonseca I, Ferreira MB, Marti E, Tilley P.Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common cutaneous disease, affecting a large number of horses worldwide. Several studies have identified Culicoides spp. saliva as a clinically relevant allergen source. The prevalence of IBH in Portugal, particularly in Lusitano horses, is still not known. However, the environmental characteristics of the national territory are favorable to the activity of Culicoides, and several species of this genus can be found, namely C. imicola and C. obsoletus/C. scoticus. In this study we characterized the Culicoides population present in Lusitano stud farms with ...
Armstrong PJ, Derksen FJ, Slocombe RF, Robinson NE.We measured lung function and airway reactivity in response to methacholine and citric acid administered by aerosol in 2 groups of ponies (principal and control). Principal ponies had a history of heaves, a disease characterized by recurrent airway obstruction. Control ponies had no history of respiratory disease. Both principal and control ponies were paired (principal and control), and measurements were made when principal ponies were in clinical remission (Period A), following barn exposure when principal ponies had acute airway obstruction (Period B), and 1 and 2 wk after they were returne...
British medical journalSeptember 13, 1980
Volume 281, Issue 6242 699-702 doi: 10.1136/bmj.281.6242.699
English TA, Cooper DK, Cory-Pearce R.The major factors contributing to the recommencement of clinical heart transplantation in the United Kingdom last year were the steadily improving results from Stanford University, the clarification of the diagnosis of brain death, and advances in preserving donor hearts. Twelve men aged 16 to 52 years received heart transplants at Papworth Hospital from January 1979 to July 1980. Six had cardiomyopathies and six ischaemic heart disease. The donors were aged 16 to 35 (mean 21) years. A combination of road and air transport was used to transport the heart to Papworth in seven cases. The total d...
Neamat-Allah AN, Damaty HM.Respiratory tract infections are considered the major problem of equine worldwide. Strangles is an infectious and highly contagious respiratory bacterial disease of equine caused by Streptococcus equi. This study is aimed to evaluate some clinical and epidemiological investigation associated with strangles and to study the hematological and biochemical changes in 20 Arabian horse naturally infected with S. equi during the disease and after 10 days from treatment by procaine penicillin with benzathine penicillin. Methods: A total of 490 Arabian horses have been examined, 120 (24.5%) have been c...
Pascoe RR.Twelve medicaments were tested for their efficacy in the treatment of Trichophyton equinum var. autotrophicum; povidone iodine, thiabendazole ointment, captan ointment and Burroughs Wellcome Ringworm Ointment gave satisfactory results but their usefulness may be limited for treatment of large numbers of horses. Aqueous washes containing 0.5% hexetidine or 0.3% chloramine-T did not prevent fungi being isolated from lesions for up to 7 days after treatment. Similarly neither etisazole nor thiabendazole suspension prevented fungi from being isolated from lesions for up to 15 days after treatment....
Butler AJ, Greenbank H, Parrish R, Nielsen MK, Stoughton WB.Cyathostomins are the most common parasites of adult horses worldwide. Currently, the three classes of anthelmintics used to treat cyathostomin infections includes benzimidazoles, pyrimidines and macrocyclic lactones. However, due to widespread overuse, cyathostomins have developed varying degrees of resistance to all classes of anthelmintics. Fecal egg count reduction tests (FECRT) are currently used to determine the presence of anthelmintic resistance (AR), while egg reappearance periods (ERP) are used to investigate early macrocyclic lactone resistance. The objective of this study was to in...
Tyler-McGowan CM, Hodgson JL, Hodgson DR.To determine the regional incidence and effectiveness of treatment of failure of passive transfer (FPT) in foals. Methods: A study of disease incidence. Methods: Eighty-eight foals and 57 mares from four studs in the practice area of the Rural Veterinary Centre were tested. Methods: Foals were tested for their serum IgG and total serum protein (TSP) concentration within the first 72 hours of life. Colostrum was collected from mares and specific gravity determined. FPT and partial failure of passive transfer (PFPT) of immunoglobulins was diagnosed when serum IgG concentrations were < 4 g/L and ...
Redden RF.Understanding the basic mechanisms of hoof capsule distortion enables the clinician to unravel the sometimes complex mix of abnormalities, identify early warning signs, and manage existing problems more effectively. Distortion of the hoof capsule can often seem like a complicated puzzle by the time the veterinarian is called to examine the lame horse. Evaluating each of the components of the hoof capsule, both individually and as an integrated unit, allows the clinician to tease apart the tangle of primary and secondary problems and come up with effective options for countering or attenuating ...
Alm YH, Osterman-Lind E, Martin F, Lindfors R, Roepstorff N, Hedenström U, Fredriksson I, Halvarsson P, Tydén E.Cyathostominae are ubiquitous to grazing horses and regarded the most prevalent internal parasite in the horse. Unfortunately, decades of indiscriminate use of anthelmintic drugs have resulted in the development of resistance in cyathostomins to all currently available drug groups, the most recent being a documented lack of efficacy to the macrocyclic lactones (ML). In vivo determination of anthelmintic resistance in horses most often utilises the faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). Further, a shortened egg reappearance period (ERP) can indicate a change in response to the applied treatme...
Shen DT, Crawford TB, Gorham JR, McGuire TC.Twelve chemicals and commercial disinfectants were tested for inactivation of equine infectious anemia virus. In the presence of 10% bovine serum, all chemicals inactivated 4 log10 (based on 0.1 ml) of the virus within 5 minutes at 23 C. A reduction of at least 4 log10 was observed when the virus was exposed for 1 minute to substituted phenolic disinfectants (3 commercial preparations and sodium orthophenylphenate), halogen derivatives (iodophor and sodium hypochlorite), chlorhexidine, and 70% ethanol. Sodium hydroxide (5%), 2% formalin, and 2% glutaraldehyde were slower to inactivate the viru...
Randleff-Rasmussen PK, Leblond A, Cappelle J, Bontemps J, Belluco S, Popoff MR, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Tapprest J, Tritz P, Desjardins I.Equine grass sickness (EGS) (equine dysautonomia) is a neurodegenerative condition of grazing equines. Pre-mortem diagnosis of EGS is a challenge for practitioners as definitive diagnosis requires ileal/myenteric lymph node biopsies. This study aimed to develop a clinical score that could be used by practitioners to improve the detection of acute or subacute EGS cases in the field. Suspected EGS cases were declared by veterinary practitioners. A case was classified as confirmed positive if ileal or rectal biopsy samples showed neuronal degeneration typical of EGS. A semi-quantitative scoring s...
Yasine A, Daba M, Ashenafi H, Geldhof P, Van Brantegem L, Vercauteren G, Demissie T, Bekana M, Tola A, Van Soom A, Duchateau L, Goddeeris B, Govaere J.Dourine, caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum, is a life-threatening venereal disease in equidae. So far, there is no clear evidence on how and when stallions become infectious, nor which tissues are affected by the parasite in diseased animals. Post-infection, after a transient, temporary phase of parasitaemia, the parasite disperses to different tissues in an unknown distribution pattern. This study describes the distribution of the parasite after infection by artificial insemination (AI) or blood transfusion. Mares (N = 4) were artificially inseminated with T. equiperdum spiked semen wherea...
