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Topic:Disease Surveillance
Disease surveillance in horses involves the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data to monitor and manage equine diseases. This process aids in the early detection of outbreaks, tracking of disease trends, and evaluation of control measures. Surveillance systems may incorporate various data sources, including clinical reports, laboratory testing, and field observations. These systems can focus on infectious diseases, such as equine influenza and West Nile virus, or non-infectious conditions affecting horse populations. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore methodologies, technologies, and outcomes associated with disease surveillance in equine populations.
Surveillance for Cryptococcus gattii in horses of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the last decade Cryptococcus gattii has emerged as an important human and animal pathogen in southwestern British Columbia (BC), Canada. When the disease initially emerged it was identified in humans and multiple animal species on the east coast of Vancouver Island. From fall 2003 until summer 2004, active surveillance was initiated to look for horses exposed to or infected with the organism by performing nasal cultures and serum antigen testing in horses residing within 10 km of known areas of environmental reservoirs of the fungus. Surveillance efforts were facilitated by local equine pra...
Identifying equine premises at high risk of introduction of vector-borne diseases using geo-statistical and space-time analyses. The identification of premises that may play an important role in the introduction or spread of animal diseases is fundamental to the development of risk-based surveillance and control programs. A combination of geo-statistical and cluster analysis methods was used to identify geographical areas and periods of time at highest risk for introduction of the African horse sickness virus (AHSV) into the Castile and Leon (CyL) region of Spain. Risk was estimated based on the predicted premises-specific abundance of Culicoides spp., a vector for AHSV, and on the frequency of equine introductions from...
Seroprevalence of equine piroplasms in the Republic of Korea. Equine piroplasms include two tick-borne protozoan parasites, Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Although no clinical equine piroplasmosis has been reported in the Republic of Korea, the possible existence of the disease has been proposed due to a nationwide distribution of the vector ticks. To determine if the antibodies against B. caballi and T. equi were present, 184 sera of horses (Equus caballus) raised in the Republic of Korea from 2007 to 2010 were assessed using cELISA kits. Two (1.1%) out of 184 sera were positive for T. equi, but none were seropositive for B. caballi. Both samples t...
Equine coital exanthema and its potential economic implications for the equine industry. Equine coital exanthema (ECE) caused by equid herpesvirus 3 (EHV-3) is a contagious venereal disease characterised by the formation of painful papules, vesicles, pustules and ulcers on the external genitalia of both mares and stallions. EHV-3 is an alphaherpesvirus that is distinct from the other equine herpesviruses and endemic in most horse breeding populations worldwide. The negative impacts of ECE on equine breeding enterprises are the forced, temporary disruption of mating activities of mares and stallions, the additional care and supportive treatment that is required for affected horses,...
Assessing permethrin resistance in the stable fly (Diptera: Muscidae) in Florida by using laboratory selections and field evaluations. Insecticide resistance in the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae),has been demonstrated previously, but mostly with insecticides that are no longer used, such as the organochlorines. Resistance to commonly used pyrethroids has been evaluated twice, but only in the midwestern United States. Stable fly susceptibility to a commonly used pyrethroid, permethrin, was determined in Florida to assess the possibility of resistance development. Diagnostic concentration evaluations of three stable fly field strains demonstrated a maximum of 57 and 21% survival to permethrin residues ...
Seroepidemiological survey of trypanozoon infection in horses in the suspected dourine-infected Bale highlands of the Oromia region, Ethiopia. This paper presents the results of a seroepidemiological survey of trypanozoon infection in horses carried out between September 2007 and June 2008. The survey was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of anti-trypanozoon antibodies in 880 serum samples collected randomly from selected horse-breeding districts of the Bale highlands of Ethiopia. The seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection was found to be 173 (19.66%) and 140 (15.91%) for the CATT/T. evansi and LATEX/T. evansi tests, respectively. The high seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection strongly indicates that the infection is endem...
Equine disease surveillance, April to June 2010. Recent outbreaks of equine infectious anaemia and equine viral arteritis in the UK. Update on the equine infectious anaemia situation in Europe. West Nile virus reported in several Mediterranean countries. Current and future approaches to equine viral arteritis control in the UK. These are among matters discussed in the quarterly equine disease surveillance report for April to June 2010, prepared by Defra, the Animal Health Trust and the British Equine Veterinary Association.
Eastern equine encephalitis: an emerging arboviral disease threat, Maine, 2009. Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is one of the most severe arboviral encephalitides in North America. Before 2009, limited nonhuman EEE virus activity had been reported in Maine, all from the southernmost area of the state. No human case has been reported in a Maine resident. Methods: We review all EEE virus activity reported to Maine Centers for Disease Control in 2009 and describe current testing practices for possible human EEE cases. Results: In 2009, fatal cases of EEE were identified in 15 horses, 1 llama, and 3 flocks of pheasants in Maine, with activity extending into the central part...
Surveillance of equine respiratory viruses in Ontario. The objective of this project was to develop and implement an active surveillance program for the early and rapid detection of equine influenza viruses in Ontario. For this purpose, from October 2003 to October 2005, nasopharyngeal swabs and acute and convalescent serum samples were collected from 115 client-owned horses in 23 outbreaks of respiratory disease in Ontario. Sera were paired and tested for antibody to equine influenza 1 (AE1-H7N7), equine influenza 2 (AE2-H3N8), equine herpesvirus 1 and 4 (EHV1 and EHV4), and equine rhinitis A and B (ERAV and ERBV). Overall, the cause-specific mor...
Infection by spotted fever rickettsiae in people, dogs, horses and ticks in Londrina, Parana State, Brazil. Spotted fever is a disease caused by bacteria from the genus Rickettsia of the spotted fever group (SFG). Rickettsia rickettsii is likely the main agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). With the objective of gathering information on the circulation of SFG rickettsiae in Londrina, Parana state, ticks from dogs and horses and also blood from dogs, horses and humans were collected in a neighbourhood of the city which presented potential for circulation of rickettsiae between hosts and vectors. Amblyomma cajennense, Dermacentor nitens, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks were subjected to Polymera...
Serosurvey of antibodies against spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. in horse farms in Northern Paraná, Brazil. Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is an emerging disease most likely caused by Rickettsia rickettsii. The objective of the present study was to estimate the seroprevalence of BSF rickettsia infections in equines from six horse farms located in Londrina County, Paraná, Southern Brazil. Six owners of horse farms situated in Cambé, Santa Fé, Guaraci and Londrina municipalities participated in the study. All farms were located in areas where BSF has not been reported. A total of 273 horses were sampled and their sera were tested by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using R. rickettsii and R. ...
Occurrence of Theileria equi in horses raised in the Jaboticabal microregion, São Paulo State, Brazil. Blood and serum samples from 170 horses raised in the Jaboticabal microregion, São Paulo State, Brazil, were collected and tested by microscopic examination of blood smears, indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) and nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) for Theileria equi infections. The association among the test results was verified by the McNemar test. During the examination of thin blood smears, parasites were detected in six (3.52%) horses. Anti-T. equi antibodies were detected in 100% sera samples, with titers ranging between 1:80 and 1:5120. The nPCR based on the T. equi merozoit...
Serological survey of Rickettsia sp. in horses and dogs in a non-endemic area in Brazil. Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a lethal rickettsiosis in humans caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii, and is endemic in some areas of Brazil. Horses and dogs are part of the disease's life cycle and they may also serve as sentinel animals in epidemiological studies. The first human BSF case in the State of Paraná was reported in 2005. The present study was conducted in the municipality of Almirante Tamandaré, where no previous case of BSF was reported. Serum samples were collected from 71 horses and 20 dogs from nine properties in the area. Ticks were also collected from these anim...
The hidden menace of non-equine horses. An emergency department audit of horse-related injury presentations alerted researchers to a hitherto uninvestigated source of childhood harm: non-equine horses. A search for the term "horse" in the database of the South Australian Injury Surveillance and Control Unit was performed for presentations of horse-related injuries to a paediatric emergency department of an Australian tertiary teaching hospital over a 5-year period. After all equine-related episodes were extracted, the remaining presentations were herded together and conclusions were jumped to. When legitimate science and research te...
Evaluation of a double centrifugation technique for the detection of Anoplocephala eggs in horse faeces. Faecal samples of 250 horses from farms with a known history of tapeworm infection were examined comparatively for cestode eggs using a double centrifugation/combined sedimentation-floatation technique. From each faecal sample, three 5 g and three 15 g subsamples were processed, each using either saturated NaCl solution, specific gravity (sp. g.) 1.2 [NaCl]; concentrated sugar solution, sp. g. 1.26 [sugar]; or concentrated ZnSO4 solution, sp. g. 1.3 [ZnSO4] for floatation. In total, faeces from 187 horses ( = 74.8%) tested 'positive' for Anoplocephala eggs. Percentages of samples testing '...
Descriptive epidemiology of equine influenza in India (2008-2009): temporal and spatial trends. Equine influenza is a contagious viral disease that affects all members of the family Equidae, i.e., horses, donkeys and mules. The authors describe the pattern of equine influenza outbreaks in a number of states of India from July 2008 to June 2009. The disease was first reported in June 2008 in Katra (Jammu and Kashmir) and spread to ten other states within a year. All outbreaks of equine influenza in the various states were confirmed by laboratory investigations (virus isolation and/or serological confirmation based on haemagglutination inhibition [HI] assays of paired samples) before decla...
An eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) outbreak in Quebec in the fall of 2008. Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) was diagnosed in 19 horses and a flock of emus in the province of Quebec in fall 2008. The EEE virus caused unusual gross lesions in the central nervous system of one horse. This disease is not usually present in Quebec and the relation between the outbreak and favorable environmental conditions that summer are discussed. Une éclosion d’encéphalomyélite équine de l’Est (ÉÉE) s’est produite chez 19 chevaux et dans un troupeau d’émeus au Québec à l’automne de 2008. Un cheval présentait une lésion macroscopique anormale dans le système...
Use of in vitro technologies to study phase II conjugation in equine sports drug surveillance. Within equine drug surveillance, there is significant interest in analyzing intact phase II conjugates of drugs in urine, but progress has been limited by a lack of reference material. Methods: In this study, in vitro techniques using equine liver fractions were employed to produce glucuronide and sulfate conjugates of stanozolol, 16β-hydroxystanozolol and nandrolone, the glucuronide conjugate of morphine and the glutathione metabolite of chlordinitrobenzene for the first time in equine sports drug surveillance. Results: The glucuronide conjugate of the synthetic progestagen altrenogest was a...
A proviral derivative from a reference attenuated EIAV vaccine strain failed to elicit protective immunity. To investigate essential factors that determine the efficacy of vaccines against lentiviruses, an effective attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine strain and a proviral derivative of the vaccine were compared with respect to differences in inducing protective immunity. Although these two strains replicated equally well in vitro and in vivo, the proviral strain induced significantly less protection from disease and infection caused by viral challenge and significantly lower specific neutralizing capability. These findings indicated that the proviral strain had lost the ability...
Simulation of the seasonal cycles of bird, equine and human West Nile virus cases. The West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) circulating in a natural transmission cycle between mosquitoes (enzootic vectors) and birds (amplifying hosts). Additionally, mainly horses and humans (dead-end hosts) may be infected by blood-feeding mosquitoes (bridge vectors). We developed an epidemic model for the simulation of the WNV dynamics of birds, horses and humans in the U.S., which we apply to the Minneapolis metropolitan area (Minnesota). The SEIR-type model comprises a total of 19 compartments, that are 4 compartments for mosquitoes and 5 compartments or health st...
Assessing the variability of Brazilian Vaccinia virus isolates from a horse exanthematic lesion: coinfection with distinct viruses. During the last bovine vaccinia (BV) outbreaks, several Vaccinia virus (VACV) strains were isolated and characterised, revealing significant polymorphisms between strains, even within conserved genes. Although the epidemiology of VACV has been studied in BV outbreaks, there is little data about the circulation of the Brazilian VACV isolates. This study describes the genetic and biological characterisation of two VACV isolates, Pelotas 1 virus (P1V) and Pelotas 2 virus (P2V), which were obtained concomitantly from a horse affected by severe cutaneous disease. Despite being isolated from the sam...
Recurrent rotavirus diarrhoea outbreaks in a stud farm, in Italy. A total of 47 stool samples were collected at the same stud farm from young foals with rotavirus diarrhoea and from their stud mares. Illness involved foals during three consecutive winter seasons. Infection in the farm appeared firstly in January-February 2008. After vanishing in the warm seasons, cases reappeared in March 2009 and 2010. Determination of the rotavirus G- and P-types was carried out using nested RT-PCR in samples collected in 2009 and 2010. A total of 19 of 47 samples resulted positive for rotavirus. The G type was determined in 19/47 samples, whereas the P genotype was determ...
Endogenous transplacental transmission of Neospora hughesi in naturally infected horses. Over a 2-yr study period, we investigated possible endogenous transplacental transmission of Neospora hughesi in 74 mare and foal pairs following the diagnosis of neuronal neosporosis in a weanling foal. Presuckle and postsuckle serum of each foal, serum and colostrum of each periparturient mare, and serum of each mare and foal pair, collected at 3-mo intervals thereafter, were tested for N. hughesi using an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Furthermore, whole blood and colostrum samples and placentae were tested for the presence of N. hughesi by real-time PCR. The mares' seroprevalen...
Equine influenza – surveillance and control. Equine influenza virus (EIV) is considered the most important respiratory virus of horses because it is highly contagious and has the potential to disrupt major equestrian events. Equine influenza (EI) can be controlled by vaccination but it has been demonstrated repeatedly in the field that antigenic drift impacts on vaccine efficacy. EI surveillance maintains awareness of emergence and international spread of antigenic variants. It not only serves as an early warning system for horse owners, trainers and veterinary clinicians but is fundamental to influenza control programmes based on vaccin...
Serologic evidence of the recent circulation of Saint Louis encephalitis virus and high prevalence of equine encephalitis viruses in horses in the Nhecolândia sub-region in South Pantanal, Central-West Brazil. As in humans, sub-clinical infection by arboviruses in domestic animals is common; however, its detection only occurs during epizootics and the silent circulation of some arboviruses may remain undetected. The objective of the present paper was to assess the current circulation of arboviruses in the Nhecolândia sub-region of South Pantanal, Brazil. Sera from a total of 135 horses, of which 75 were immunized with bivalent vaccine composed of inactive Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and Western equine encephalitis virus(WEEV) and 60 were unvaccinated, were submitted to thorough viral i...
