Disease prevalence in horses refers to the frequency and distribution of various diseases within equine populations. Understanding disease prevalence is essential for identifying health trends, assessing risk factors, and implementing effective disease management and prevention strategies. Common diseases affecting horses include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, strangles, and equine infectious anemia. The study of disease prevalence involves collecting and analyzing data from veterinary reports, field studies, and laboratory diagnostics. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the patterns, causes, and implications of disease prevalence in horses, providing insights into equine health management and epidemiology.
Henriksen ML, Dwyer AE, Krarup Nielsen R, Bäcklund S, Dahlmann Christensen N, Holberg Pihl T.To describe the most common ocular abnormalities in the Icelandic horse with focus on equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) and association between ocular abnormalities and summer eczema and coat colors. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study. A complete physical and ophthalmic examination as well as measurement of serum titers for Leptospira serovariants was performed on Icelandic horses from Denmark (DK) and the United States (USA). Results: One hundred and twelve Icelandic horses living in DK and 26 Icelandic horses living in the United States were included in this study (total of 138 horse...
van Proosdij R, Frietman S.Geriatric horses (>15 years) represent a substantial proportion of the equine population. The objective of this study was to (1) report on the cause of death in geriatric horses on a single retirement centre, (2) to evaluate the relationship between PPID status, and mortality rate. Data of 194 horses was collected over an eight-year period. This providing data for 80 geriatric cases of mortality. The average age of horses that died was 26.2 years (±4.8 years). The majority (95%) of mortalities were euthanised, most frequently due to colic (20%), old age (19%), and lameness (15%). Overall m...
Page AE, Partridge E, Erol E, Scoggin KE, Fedorka CE, Ruby RE, Ball BA, Horohov DW, Adam E.Cases of nocardioform placentitis are characterized by focal, mucoid placentitis resulting in late-term abortion, premature birth, or small, full-term foals, occur sporadically, and are most commonly associated with Crossiella equi and Amycolatopsis spp. infection. The goal of this project was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantifying antibodies against Crossiella equi and Amycolatopsis spp. and utilize the ELISA to determine when exposure occurs. Serum samples collected during the 2020 foaling season from Crossiella equi (n = 8) and Amycolatopsis spp. (n = 32...
Lee SK, Park D, Lee I.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) causes equine hepatitis. The prevalence of EqPV-H in healthy horses has been reported in the United States, China, Germany, and Austria. The present study determined the prevalence of EqPV-H in the sera of clinically healthy horses in South Korea to identify the potential factors for infection and examine the genetic diversity of EqPV-H DNA sequences through comparison with foreign strains. Serum samples collected from 321 horses were tested for EqPV-H using non-structural protein 1 (NS1)-specific polymerase chain reaction. The associations of EqPV-H infect...
Suganuma K, Acosta TJ, Valinotti MFR, Sanchez AR, Mossaad E, Elata A, Inoue N.Despite the epidemic situation of animal trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma evansi, Trypanosoma equiperdum and Trypanosoma vivax in South American countries, there are no reports for the prevalence of animal trypanosomes in Paraguay. In this study, 408 blood samples were obtained from apparently healthy horses from sixteen departments of Paraguay, for routine medical check-up from August to September 2019, and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based cross-sectional study was carried out to identify trypanosome prevalence. The prevalence of Trypanozoon (T. evansi and T. equiperdum) and T. viv...
Willette JA, Kopper JJ, Kogan CJ, Seguin MA, Schott HC.We investigated the effects of season and geographic location on detection of nucleic acids of potential enteric pathogens (PEPs) or their toxins (PEP-Ts) in feces of horses ≥6-mo-old in the United States. Results of 3,343 equine diarrhea PCR panels submitted to Idexx Laboratories for horses >6-mo-old were reviewed. Submission months were grouped into 4 seasons, and states were grouped into 4 geographic regions. Logistic regression was performed to assess effects of season and region on detection rates of PEPs and PEP-Ts. Agresti-Coull CIs were determined. Detection rate of was higher in...
Burkett-Cadena ND, Day JF, Unnasch TR.Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV; family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne pathogen found in eastern North America that causes severe disease in humans and horses. The mosquito Culiseta melanura (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae) is the primary enzootic vector of EEEV throughout eastern North America while several mosquito species belonging to diverse genera serve as bridge vectors. The ecology of EEEV differs between northern and southern foci, with respect to phenology of outbreaks, important vertebrate hosts, and bridge vector species. Active transmission is limited t...
Armstrong PM, Andreadis TG.In the current review, we examine the regional history, ecology, and epidemiology of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) to investigate the major drivers of disease outbreaks in the northeastern United States. EEEV was first recognized as a public health threat during an outbreak in eastern Massachusetts in 1938, but historical evidence for equine epizootics date back to the 1800s. Since then, sporadic disease outbreaks have reoccurred in the Northeast with increasing frequency and northward expansion of human cases during the last 20 yr. Culiseta melanura (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae...
Stobierski MG, Signs K, Dinh E, Cooley TM, Melotti J, Schalow M, Patterson JS, Bolin SR, Walker ED.Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) is a mosquito-borne viral disease that is an emerging public health concern in the state of Michigan. Although Michigan has one of the highest incidence rates of EEE in the United States, much of the information known about cases in humans, equines, and other animals residing in Michigan is unpublished. This article summarizes such information and explores spatial trends in the historic distribution of EEE in Michigan. Outbreaks in Michigan have occurred over an 80-yr interval, involving only horses in 1942-1943 and 1973-1976, and then episodically from 1...
Elsawy BSM, Nassar AM, Alzan HF, Bhoora RV, Ozubek S, Mahmoud MS, Kandil OM, Mahdy OA.Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is an infectious disease caused by the hemoprotozoan parasites , , and the recently identified species . Hereby, we used a multiplex PCR (mPCR) targeting the 18S rRNA gene of and for the simultaneous detection of EP in Egyptian equids and examined the presence of infections in Egypt. Blood samples from 155 equids (79 horses and 76 donkeys) collected from different governorates of Egypt were examined by mPCR and PCR targeting . The mPCR method revealed a prevalence of of 20.3% in horses and of 13.1% in donkeys and a prevalence of . of 1.2% in horses. . was not de...
de Albuquerque AL, Zanzarini Delfiol DJ, Andrade DGA, Albertino LG, Sonne L, Borges AS, Valberg SJ, Finno CJ, Oliveira-Filho JP.In the Quarter Horse (QH), myosin heavy chain myopathy (MYHM), which is characterised by nonexertional rhabdomyolysis or immune-mediated myositis (IMM) with acute muscle atrophy, is strongly associated with the missense E321G MYH1 mutation. Objective: To document the existence of MYHM in the Brazilian QH population, this study includes a case report of two related QH foals with the E321G MYH1 mutation that had clinical signs of MYHM, with histological confirmation of IMM in one of the foals. This prompted an investigation the aim of which was to determine the allele frequency of the E321G MYH1...
Selim A, Megahed A, Kandeel S, Alouffi A, Almutairi MM.Determination of the seroprevalence and risk factors that are associated with West Nile virus (WNV) in horses is essential for adoption of effective prevention strategies. Our objective in this study, therefore, was to determine the seroprevalence and to identify the risk factors associated with WNV infection in the most densely horse-populated governorates in Egypt. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 on 930 horses, which were distributed over five governorates in the Nile delta of Egypt. The horses, which were randomly selected, were serologically tested through use of an ID screen...
Tuemmers C, Quezada G, Morales R, Serri M.In the Araucanía Region there are no studies on the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in horses. Serological samples from 100 draft horses from Mapuche communities of four communes in the region were analyzed using the microMAT technique. The seroprevalence was 35% for at least one serovar of Leptospira spp. being the most frequent serovars canicola (22%), grippotyphosa (21%), hardjo (13%) and pomona (10%). It was evident that the equine populations studied are exposed to infection by Leptospira spp. and reveal a potential risk of transmission to their owners.
Tamamura-Andoh Y, Niwa H, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Arai N, Watanabe-Yanai A, Iwata T, Akiba M, Kusumoto M.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae have become a cause for great concern. Although some studies have reported the prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria and ESBL-encoding genes in horses worldwide, the genetic structure surrounding the ESBL gene has not been analysed in detail. In the present study, we isolated two ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains from diseased racehorses in Japan and demonstrated the mechanisms underlying the acquisition of their antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Two ESBL-producing E. coli strains (E148 and E189) were isolated from th...
El Brini Z, Fassi Fihri O, Paillot R, Lotfi C, Amraoui F, El Ouadi H, Dehhaoui M, Colitti B, Alyakine H, Piro M.This study reports the first equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus-4 (EHV-4) seroprevalence investigation in horse populations of Morocco in 24 years. It also aims to determine antibody titers in horses vaccinated under field conditions with a monovalent EHV-1 vaccine. Blood samples were collected from 405 horses, including 163 unvaccinated and 242 vaccinated animals. They were tested using a commercial type-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a virus neutralization test (VNT). Overall, 12.8% unvaccinated, and 21.8% vaccinated horses were positive for EHV-1. Al...
McGlennon A, Waller A, Verheyen K, Slater J, Grewar J, Aanensen D, Newton R.Previously national surveillance data for monitoring strangles (Streptococcus equi infection) in UK horses was limited. Improved awareness and knowledge of positive diagnoses would permit the optimisation of biosecurity protocols, decreasing the prevalence of strangles. Methods: Seven UK laboratories reported positive strangles diagnoses between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2019 based on identifying Streptococcus equi via agent detection assays from field-based practitioner-submitted samples. Associated clinical history and animal signalment were collected where provided, and descriptive ana...
Abdullah HHAM, Elbayoumy MK, Allam AM, Ashry HM, Abdel-Shafy S.Vector-borne bacterial diseases (VBBD) are a diverse group of tropical and subtropical zoonotic diseases. This study investigated the possibility of domestic animals to carry certain vector-borne bacterial microorganisms (VBBMs), as well as the presence of these targeted DNAs in their ectoparasites in different localities of Egypt using molecular analyses. For this study, 234 animal hosts (112 cattle, 38 sheep, 28 goats, 26 buffaloes, 22 donkeys, and 8 horses) in addition to 115 ectoparasites (95 ticks and 20 lice) were investigated for the molecular detection of Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp....
Živković S, Pavlović I, Mijatović B, Trailović I, Trailović D.This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, intensity and risk factors (age and gender) promoting the intestinal helminthic infections of the Domestic mountain ponies and Balkan donkeys in Serbia. Methods: Prevalence, intensity and risk factors influencing helminth infection in horses (n=39) and donkeys (n=18) at the site of Nature Park Stara Planina, were studied from May to Sep 2015. The presence of one or several gastrointestinal helminth species was confirmed by faecal flotation in 97.43% of horses and 88.88% of donkeys included in the monitoring. The identified helminth species were ,...
Campos JBV, Martins FS, de Oliveira CE, Taveira AA, Oliveira JR, Gonçalves LR, Cordeiro MD, Calchi AC, de Campos Binder L, Serpa MCA, Barbieri ARM....The emergence of tick-borne diseases has been reported as a serious problem in public health worldwide and many aspects of its epidemiology and effects on the health of its hosts are unclear. We aimed to perform an epidemiological study of tick-borne zoonotic Rickettsia, Borrelia, and Anaplasmataceae in horses from Midwestern Brazil. We also evaluated whether Borrelia spp. and Anaplasmataceae may be associated with hematological disorders in the sampled animals. Blood and serum samples as well as ticks were collected from 262 horses. Serum samples were used to perform serological tests, and he...
de Heus P, Kolodziejek J, Hubálek Z, Dimmel K, Racher V, Nowotny N, Cavalleri JV.The emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) in addition to the autochthonous tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in Europe causes rising concern for public and animal health. The first equine case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Austria was diagnosed in 2016. As a consequence, a cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted in 2017, including 348 equids from eastern Austria. Serum samples reactive by ELISA for either flavivirus immunoglobulin G or M were further analyzed with the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT-80) to identify the specific etiologic age...
Chen Y, Cai S, Zhang Y, Lai Z, Zhong L, Sun X, Li S, Lu G.Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) is a newly discovered hepatitis C virus-like virus that can infect equines. EqHV strains circulating worldwide have been classified into subtypes 1-3. In previous studies, we detected the presence of EqHV strains of subtype 1 and 3 in China. To determine whether EqHV strains of subtype 2 are prevalent in China, serum samples were collected from 133 racehorses in Guangdong province in 2021 and were tested for EqHV RNA by RT-PCR, and the positive rate was 9% (12/133). Sequencing of the NS3 gene revealed that one field strain (GD2021) had a high degree of genetic similar...
Kósa CA, Nagy K, Szenci O, Baska-Vincze B, Andrásofszky E, Szép R, Keresztesi Á, Mircean M, Taulescu M, Kutasi O.A severe form of recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis occurs enzootically in a well-defined region of Transylvania, Harghita county. At the highest lying two settlements (more than 800 m above sea level), the prevalence of equine rhabdomyolysis is between 17 and 23%, while in the neighbouring villages in the valley it is less than 2%. The objective of our study was to clarify the role of selenium and vitamin E in the high prevalence of rhabdomyolysis in that region. Soil and hay samples were collected from each area to evaluate mineral content. Ten horses from the non-affected and 20 horses fro...
Żychska M, Witkowski L, Klementowska A, Rzewuska M, Kwiecień E, Stefańska I, Czopowicz M, Szaluś-Jordanow O, Mickiewicz M, Moroz A, Bonecka J.... infection is commonly known in equine medicine to cause frequently fatal rhodococcosis. Infections in other species and people are also reported. Clinical manifestation in goats is relatively similar to horses and humans, but data regarding bacterium prevalence are scarce. Thus, the study aimed to estimate the occurrence of in goats. Methods: During post mortem examination, submandibular, mediastinal, and mesenteric lymph nodes were collected. Standard methods were used for bacteria isolation and identification. Results: A total of 134 goats were examined, and 272 lymph node samples were col...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Wakeel F, Little H, Buil J, Rickards K.Laminitis causes lameness in donkeys, but its prevalence and factors associated with disease remain uncertain. Objective: To determine the prevalence of and identify factors associated with laminitis in donkeys. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: All donkeys at the Donkey Sanctuary, UK, October 2015 to March 2019 were included. For animals that had laminitis during this period, age, sex, weight, body condition score, and the onset date and type of each episode (first or recurrent, acute or chronic) were recorded. Additionally, management data, foot lesion score, endocrine d...
Won SY, Kim YC, Do K, Jeong BH.Prion disease is a fatal infectious disease caused by the accumulation of pathogenic prion protein (PrP) in several mammals. However, to date, prion disease has not been reported in horses. The Sho protein encoded by the shadow of the prion protein gene (SPRN) plays an essential role in the pathomechanism of prion diseases. To date, the only genetic study of the equine SPRN gene has been reported in the inbred horse, Thoroughbred horse. We first discovered four SPRN single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 141 Jeju and 88 Halla horses by direct DNA sequencing. In addition, we found that the g...
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...
Scheurer L, Bachofen C, Hardmeier I, Lechmann J, Schoster A.Equid Gamma herpesvirus (eGHV) infections have been reported worldwide and may be correlated with clinical signs, e.g., affecting the respiratory tract in young horses. eGHV are shed by healthy horses as well as horses with respiratory tract disease. The prevalence in healthy Swiss horses is unknown to date but this data would provide valuable information for causal diagnosis in clinical cases and formulation of biosecurity recommendations. Nasal swabs from 68 healthy horses from 12 Swiss stables and 2 stables near the Swiss border region in Germany were analyzed by panherpes nested PCR. Posit...
Tantely ML, Guis H, Randriananjantenaina I, Raharinirina MR, Velonirina HJ, Cardinale E, Raveloarijaona N, Cêtre-Sossah C, Garros C, Girod R.In Madagascar, the high West Nile virus (WNV) antibody prevalence reported in horse populations suggests a high level of vector-horse contact. This study aims to characterize the mosquito species usually involved in WNV transmission in horse stables in Madagascar. Five horse stables were investigated in October and November 2016 in five distinct inland areas. Mosquitoes were collected using double net traps baited with human, poultry or horse as well as light traps. Blood meal identification from engorged females was performed using host-specific PCRs. A total of 2898 adult mosquitoes were col...
de Oliveira-Filho EF, Fischer C, Berneck BS, Carneiro IO, Kühne A, de Almeida Campos AC, Ribas JRL, Netto EM, Franke CR, Ulbert S, Drexler JF.Among 713 equids sampled in northeastern Brazil during 2013-2018, West Nile virus seroprevalence was 4.5% (95% CI 3.1%-6.3%). Mathematical modeling substantiated higher seroprevalence adjacent to an avian migratory route and in areas characterized by forest loss, implying increased risk for zoonotic infections in disturbed areas.
Ximenes MF, Souza MF, Castellón EG.The objective of the present study was to determine the association of sand flies with the presence of domestic and wild animals in the peridomiciliary area. The sand flies were collected using direct aspiration and CDC light traps placed in animal shelters. The results suggest that different sand flies species have different behavioral characteristics in an apparent preference for animal baits and that Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lu. evandroi were the most eclectic species regarding their biotope choice. Lu. longipalpis showed a distinct preference for horses and Lu. evandroi for armadillos.
Lubelczyk C, Mutebi JP, Robinson S, Elias SP, Smith LB, Juris SA, Foss K, Lichtenwalner A, Shively KJ, Hoenig DE, Webber L, Sears S, Smith RP.From July to September, 2009, an outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEv) occurred in five counties in Maine. The virus was isolated from 15 horses, 1 llama, and pheasants in three separate captive flocks. One wild turkey, screened before translocation, also showed exposure to the virus in January 2010. Two pools of Culiseta melanura (Coquillett) tested positive for EEEv during routine seasonal surveillance in York County in September, but none of the mosquitoes collected during rapid response surveys tested positive. There were more Cs. melanura in July, August, and September 2009...
Mhadhbi M, Sassi A.Infection of equids by Leishmania (L.) parasites was previously described in both the Old and New World, particularly in Central and South America. Equine cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by the Leishmania species, L. Viannia (V.) braziliensis and L. infantum, previously identified in humans and other parasite hosts living in the same geographic endemic areas. Sporadic autochthonous clinical cases, with no travel history, were documented in several countries including Germany, Portugal, Spain, Texas and Brazil; L. infantum and L. (Mundinia) martiniquensis were the infectious species....
Abedi V, Razmi G, Seifi H, Naghibi A.Equine piroplasmosis is a hemoprotozoan tick-borne disease with worldwide distribution that is caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. However, the geographical distribution of equine piroplasmosis in Iran is unknown. The aim of the current study was to determine the causative agents and vector ticks of equine piroplasmosis in horses in the North Khorasan Province. In the year 2011, 100 horses were randomly selected from 14 villages. Blood samples and ixodid ticks were collected and examined using microscopical, molecular, and serological methods. Theileria equi infection was microscopic...
Azab W, Bedair S, Abdelgawad A, Eschke K, Farag GK, Abdel-Raheim A, Greenwood AD, Osterrieder N, Ali AAH.Equid herpesviruses (EHVs) threaten equine health and can cause significant economic losses to the equine industry worldwide. Different equid herpesviruses, EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-4 and EHV5 are regularly detected among horse populations. In Egypt, monitoring is sporadic but EHV-1 or EHV-4 have been reported to circulate in the horse population. However, there is a lack of reports related to infection and health status of horses, likely due to the absence of regular diagnostic procedures. In the current study, the circulation of four infectious equid herpesviruses (EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-4 and EHV-5) am...
HAMMON WM, REEVES WC.In three cases of encephalitis in humans that occurred in the area where the newly described California virus was isolated from mosquitoes, serological evidence seemed to indict the California virus as the etiological agent. In the case of an infant with very severe disease, the serological evidence was convincing; the evidence was almost as strong in the case of a seven-year-old boy; the results in an adult were equivocal. Inapparent infection in man is quite common as indicated by neutralization tests on the sera of nearly 600 residents of California, but encephalitic manifestations of infec...
André-Fontaine G.Leptospirosis is a common infection in domestic animals. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is used for serological diagnosis. From 1988 to 2007, the Leptospira Medical and Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory at the Nantes National College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering used the MAT to test serum samples from more than 40,000 cattle, 40,000 pigs, 20,000 horses and 9,500 dogs. Five Leptospira serogroups were prominent, with specific variations within the four animal species: Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis, Sejroë, Grippotyphosa and Autumnalis. The prevalence and incid...
Ernst NS, Hernandez JA, MacKay RJ, Brown MP, Gaskin JM, Nguyen AD, Giguere S, Colahan PT, Troedsson MR, Haines GR, Addison IR, Miller BJ.To estimate prevalence of and identify risk factors for fecal Salmonella shedding among hospitalized horses with signs of gastrointestinal tract disease. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: 465 hospitalized horses with gastrointestinal tract disease. Methods: Horses were classified as positive or negative for fecal Salmonella shedding during hospitalization by means of standard aerobic bacteriologic methods. The relationship between investigated exposure factors and fecal Salmonella shedding was examined by means of logistic regression. Results: The overall prevalence of fecal Salmonella ...
Elhaig MM, Sallam NH.In Egypt, although the Trypanosoma evansi has been reported frequently among domestic animals, there is no published data on T. evansi in horses. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and characterization of T. evansi in three governorates by examining blood samples from 40 local camels, 35 imported camels, 25 horses and 10 donkeys by PCR targeting the sequences of TBR and RoTat 1.2VSG. The overall prevalence of T. evansi was 54.5% and 21.8% by TBR PCR and RoTat 1.2VSG PCR, respectively. The TBR PCR detected T. evansi in 60% and 71.4%, respectively, of local and imported camels ...
Pereira JR, Vianna SS.Over a period of 12 years, from 1988 to 2000, a total of 20 individual equines (16 horses and 4 mules) were selected at random, from 10 municipalities in the Paraíba Valley, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and then subjected to necropsy for collection of gastrointestinal worms. Individual samples of 10% of the intestinal contents were also taken for counting and identifying the species present, and to establish the prevalence of worms in equine species in the Paraíba Valley. In the sample considered, the presence of parasites ranged from 155 to 1249 worms. Tapeworms (Cestoidea) were pres...
Grandi G, Molinari G, Tittarelli M, Sassera D, Kramer LH.Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis. In this epidemiological study, 294 horses reared in a rural area of northern Italy were studied. During January 2008-January 2009, blood samples were taken for serology (indirect fluorescent antibody test) and for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Data on the geographical area, sex, and age were collected for statistical analysis of risk factors associated with infection. A seroprevalence of 8.5% was found: 8.2% of the animals were positive for anti-T. equi antibodies and 0.3% for anti-B. caballi antibodies. No...
Dávila AM, Silva RA.Animal trypanosome species of economical importance in South America include T. vivax and T. evansi. Both species are described in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. In Argentina and Guyana, only T. evansi and T. vivax are found, respectively. Our studies on T. vivax indicated that the parasite was spreading around 1.3 km per day in Bolivia. We found severe leukopenia in bovines from Pantanal (Brazil) and the Department of Santa Cruz (Bolivia). Because it can cause immunosuppression, the importance of trypanosomiasis control in ensuring success of vaccinat...
McGowan TW, Pinchbeck G, Phillips CJ, Perkins N, Hodgson DR, McGowan CM.To describe the prevalence and risk factors for clinical signs of disease and owner-reported health or welfare issues of aged horses in Queensland, Australia. Methods: Owners of horses were contacted via an equestrian organisation in Queensland and asked to complete a questionnaire about their horses aged 15 years and older, to gain information about clinical signs observed in the horse and disease history. Owners were asked to identify health or welfare issues they felt were important in aged horses. Results: Owners were able to identify many clinical signs of disease, with 83% of horses havi...
Simbizi V, Saulez MN, Potts A, Lötter C, Gummow B.Most leptospiral infections in horses are asymptomatic; however, acute disease manifestations as well as reproductive failure and recurrent uveitis have been reported. In South Africa, the epidemiology of the disease in horses is not well documented. A serosurvey to determine what serovars were present in horses from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Provinces and to get an estimate of the seroprevalence of leptospirosis was carried out from January 2013 until April 2014 with the assistance of four large equine hospitals located in these provinces. Furthermore, associations between poten...
Maddox TW, Williams NJ, Clegg PD, O'Donnell AJ, Dawson S, Pinchbeck GL.The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria represents a considerable problem for human and veterinary medicine, causing complications in the treatment of infections. Resistance in Escherichia coli from horses has been documented in commensal and pathogenic strains, but little information exists regarding the prevalence of such bacteria in hospitalised horses or associated risk factors. A longitudinal cohort study was conducted of 103 horses admitted to a referral equine hospital for more than 48 h, with faecal samples collected on hospital admission and subsequently ever...
Craven J, Bjørn H, Henriksen SA, Nansen P, Larsen M, Lendal S.This study reports on the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in strongyles of horses in Denmark. Of 5 methods used for the calculation of faecal egg count reduction (FECR) the method recommended by the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology, for the detection of resistance in sheep was the most sensitive procedure for detecting resistance. Using this method benzimidazole resistance was detected on 33 of 42 farms (79%) examined. Pyrantel was tested on 15 farms and FECR tests indicate resistance on 3 (30%) farms. On 2 farms on which resistance to pyrantel was detecte...
Boden LA, Parkin TD, Yates J, Mellor D, Kao RR.Robust demographic information is important to understanding the risk of introduction and spread of exotic diseases as well as the development of effective disease control strategies, but is often based on datasets collected for other purposes. Thus, it is important to validate, or at least cross-reference these datasets to other sources to assess whether they are being used appropriately. The aim of this study was to use horse location data collected from different contributing industry sectors ("Stakeholder horse data") to calibrate the spatial distribution of horses as indicated by owner lo...
Abbott Y, Leggett B, Rossney AS, Leonard FC, Markey BK.A retrospective analysis and prospective surveillance study were conducted to determine isolation rates of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in dogs, cats and horses in Ireland. Clinical samples that had been submitted to University College Dublin (UCD) for routine microbiological examination over a four-year period (2003 to 2006) were analysed in the retrospective analysis, which included clinical samples from 3866 animals. In the prospective surveillance study, samples from healthy animals presenting for elective surgery as well as from animals with a clinical presentation su...
Duchesne R, Castagnet S, Maillard K, Petry S, Cattoir V, Giard JC, Leon A.This study aimed to analyse antimicrobial susceptibility evolution of equine pathogens isolated from clinical samples from 2006-2016. A collection of 25 813 bacterial isolates was studied, clustered according to their origins (respiratory tract, cutaneous, genital and other), and analysed for their antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk diffusion method. The most frequently isolated pathogens were group C Streptococci (27.6%), Escherichia coli (20.0%), Staphylococcus aureus (7.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.0%), Enterobacter spp. (3.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.4%), and Rhodococcus equi ...
Apt W, Aguilera X, Vega F, Alcaíno H, Zulantay I, Apt P, González V, Retamal C, Rodríguez J, Sandoval J.This study sought to estimate for the first time the prevalence of fascioliasis among the rural population in the Chilean provinces of Curico, Talca, and Linares, while also determining the disease's prevalence among horses and wild rabbits in Curico and Talca and among pigs in Talca. From January 1986 to December 1990 a randomly selected sample of 5,861 persons in the three provinces was given intradermal, complement-fixation, double-diffusion, and immunoelectrophoresis tests to detect antibody to Fasciola hepatica. In addition, the ELISA test was used in Talca and Linares. Fecal specimens fr...
Xiao L, Herd RP.Prevalence and infection patterns of Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections in horses were studied by a direct immunofluorescence staining method. Faecal examinations of 222 horses of different age groups revealed Cryptosporidium infection rates of 15-31% in 66 foals surveyed in central Ohio, southern Ohio and central Kentucky, USA. Only 1 of 39 weanlings, 0 of 46 yearlings, and 0 of 71 mares were positive. Giardia infection was found in all age groups, although the infection rates for foals were higher (17-35%). Chronological study of infection in 35 foals showed that foals started to excrete...
Hao L, Yuan D, Li S, Jia T, Guo L, Hou W, Lu Z, Mo X, Yin J, Yang A, Zheng W, Li R.Theileria species, with a broad geographic distribution, infect a wide range of both domestic and wild animals and are transmitted by ixodid ticks. Currently, there is no comprehensive report regarding the distribution of Theileria spp. in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, especially in Ganze Tibetan autonomous prefecture (153,700 km) and Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture (84,242 km) of Sichuan province, China. In this study, we collected blood samples from yaks (n = 144) (Bos grunniens), Tibetan sheep (n = 92), and Tibet horses (n = 142) in Ganze and Ngawa.Theileria sinen...
Bonura F, Mangiaracina L, Filizzolo C, Bonura C, Martella V, Ciarlet M, Giammanco GM, De Grazia S.Sicily was the first Italian region to introduce rotavirus (RV) vaccination with the monovalent G1P[8] vaccine Rotarix® in May 2012. In this study, the seasonal distribution and molecular characterization of RV strains detected over 19 years were compared to understand the effect of Rotarix® on the evolutionary dynamics of human RVs. A total of 7846 stool samples collected from children < 5 years of age, hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis, were tested for RV detection and genotyping. Since 2013, vaccine coverage has progressively increased, while the RV prevalence decreased from 36.1...
Wirtherle N, Schnieder T, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.Faecal egg counts (FECs) were made on samples from 1383 horses on 64 farms in northern Germany between August 2000 and November 2001. There were significant differences between the mean FECs in the two years; in 2000, 59.6 per cent of 369 samples were positive and in 2001, 32.6 per cent of 1014 samples were positive for strongyle eggs. The results of a FEC reduction test indicated that resistance to fenbendazole was present on all 10 farms where it had been used, including in 33 of 60 horses tested. In contrast, treatment with ivermectin resulted in the complete elimination of nematode eggs in...
Pusterla N, James K, Barnum S, Bain F, Barnett DC, Chappell D, Gaughan E, Craig B, Schneider C, Vaala W.A voluntary biosurveillance program was established in 2008 in order to determine the shedding frequency and prevalence factors for common respiratory pathogens associated with acute onset of fever and/or respiratory signs in equids from the USA. Over a period of 13 years, a total of 10,296 equids were enrolled in the program and nasal secretions were analyzed for the qPCR detection of equine influenza virus (EIV), equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), EHV-4, equine rhinitis A and B virus (ERVs), and subspecies (). Single infections with respiratory pathogens were detected in 21.1% of the submission...
Hernández-Mora G, Bonilla-Montoya R, Barrantes-Granados O, Esquivel-Suárez A, Montero-Caballero D, González-Barrientos R, Fallas-Monge Z....Brucellosis has been an endemic disease of cattle and humans in Costa Rica since the beginning of XX century. However, brucellosis in sheep, goats, pigs, water buffaloes, horses and cetaceans, has not been reported in the country. We have performed a brucellosis survey in these host mammal species, from 1999-2016. In addition, we have documented the number of human brucellosis reported cases, from 2003-2016. The brucellosis seroprevalence in goat and sheep herds was 0.98% and 0.7% respectively, with no Brucella isolation. Antibodies against Brucella were not detected in feral or domestic pigs....
Guthrie AJ, Howell PG, Gardner IA, Swanepoel RE, Nurton JP, Harper CK, Pardini A, Groenewald D, Visage CW, Hedges JF, Balasuriya UB, Cornel AJ....West Nile virus (WNV) infection is endemic in southern Africa. With the recent emergence of WNV infection of horses in Europe and the USA the present study was performed to estimate the risk of seroconversion to WNV in a cohort of 488 young Thoroughbred (TB) horses. Objective: To estimate the risk of seroconversion to WNV among a cohort of South African TB yearlings sold at the 2001 National Yearling Sales (NYS) and to determine whether the risk varied geographically. Two horses were also infected with a recent South African isolate of WNV to evaluate its virulence in horses. Methods: Serum sa...
Nadal C, Bonnet SI, Marsot M.When studying a vector-borne disease, an eco-epidemiological approach is vital for a comprehensive understanding of how the pathogen circulates amongst populations. Equine piroplasmosis (EP), a tick-borne disease caused by the protozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, is endemic in the Mediterranean basin of Europe and causes both animal health and economic issues for the equine sector. With no vaccine available, defining the episystem of the disease can help to identify which components of the host-pathogen-vector-environment system to target to improve preventive measures. In this syste...
