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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.
[Intestinal parasites infection of horses from riding clubs in Kraków area]. The studies were carried out in 2001 and 2002 on horses from riding clubs in Krakow area. On the basis of McMaster method EPG (eggs per gram) and prevalence of infection (%) was evaluated. The most common parasites were strongyles (Strongylidae). In the first year of study in dynamics of strongyles eggs output of horses kept on paddocks two peaks were observed: in May (450 EPG) and January (427 EPG), in comparison with horses under pasture system where the highest level of strongyles eggs output were in May (832 EPG), from August (420 EPG) to October (385 EPG) and in March (482 EPG). In the se...
Eastern equine encephalitis–New Hampshire and Massachusetts, August-September 2005. During August-September 2005, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services reported seven cases of human eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) disease, the first laboratory-confirmed, locally acquired cases of human EEEV disease reported from New Hampshire in 41 years of national surveillance. Also during August--September 2005, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported four cases of human EEEV disease, five times the annual average of 0.8 cases reported from Massachusetts during the preceding 10 years. Four of the 11 patients from New Hampshire and Massachusetts d...
Equine trypanosomosis in the Central River Division of The Gambia: a study of veterinary gate-clinic consultation records. The objective of this study was to provide epidemiological information of equine trypanosomosis in the Central River Division (CRD) of The Gambia. Therefore, 2285 consultations records of equines, admitted in a gate-clinic at Sololo in CRD, were studied retrospectively. The data were recorded in the period between September 1995 and July 2002 and comprised consultations of 2113 horses and 172 donkeys. 'Trypanosome infection' was the most frequently diagnosed condition and accounted for 61% of the cases. Horses were more frequently diagnosed with trypanosome infections than donkeys (p1 year) we...
Syndromic surveillance in the Netherlands for the early detection of West Nile virus epidemics. West Nile virus (WNV) is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that is endemic in Africa, Europe, and Eastern Asia. The recent introduction and rapid dissemination of the virus in the United States as well as an increase in WNV outbreaks in Europe, has raised concerns for its spread in Europe. A surveillance system was developed to allow timely detection of an introduction of WNV infections in The Netherlands. This program focuses on cases presenting with neurological disease and includes the monitoring of hospital discharge diagnoses, trends in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diagnostic requests, laborator...
Inability of kaolin treatment to remove nonspecific inhibitors from equine serum for the hemagglutination inhibition test against equine H7N7 influenza virus. The hemagglutination inhibition test is used by many diagnostic and surveillance laboratories for detection of antibodies to influenza viruses. It is well known that the hemagglutination inhibition test is affected by nonspecific inhibitors present in equine serum. Several serum treatments are in use to remove these inhibitors, including treatment with kaolin. Discrepant results were observed in the authors' laboratories when using kaolin treatment before testing equine sera for antibodies against equine influenza virus (EIV) subtype-1 (H7N7). It is demonstrated here that kaolin treatment lead...
Epidemiology of equine histoplasmosis (epizootic lymphangitis) in carthorses in Ethiopia. A study was conducted between January 2003 and June 2004 on 19,082 carthorses in 28 towns in Ethiopia to investigate the epidemiology of equine histoplasmosis (EH). Clinical and microscopic examinations were used and an overall prevalence of 18.8% (3579/19082) was recorded. Statistically significant (P<0.001) differences was observed in the average prevalence with high, medium, and low prevalence categories. The highest prevalence (39%) was recorded at Mojo while the lowest (0.0%) was recorded at five towns, namely, Agaro, Bokoji, Debre Berhan, Dinsho, and Sagure. The prevalence of EH was n...
Spread of equine West Nile virus encephalomyelitis during the 2002 Texas epidemic. Using reports of clinical West Nile virus (WNV) encephalomyelitis in Texas equids during 2002, the distribution of disease was analyzed using cluster statistics and spatial modeling to develop hypotheses of disease spread during the first year of its detection. Significant (P < 0.05) clusters of cases reported early during the outbreak were identified in east, northcentral, and north Texas, and significant (P < 0.05) clusters late during the outbreak were detected in central, south, and west Texas. Two counties on the south Texas coast first reported disease significantly (P < 0.05) e...
Environmental and ecological determinants of West Nile virus occurrence in horses in North Dakota, 2002. West Nile virus (WNV) outbreak in North Dakota in 2002 included over 569 horse cases, clustered mainly in the eastern and northeastern parts of the state. The pattern of occurrence observed suggested existence of specific environmental and ecological factors that increased the risk for infection and illness in those locations. We developed a predictive model with factors that explained the pattern of WNV occurrence observed. Results indicated that surface elevation, temperature, precipitation, reported WNV-positive birds, reported WNV-positive humans, and reported WNV-positive mosquitoes were ...
Diagnostic performance of the equine IgM capture ELISA for serodiagnosis of West Nile virus infection. The objectives of these studies were to assess the diagnostic performance (sensitivity and specificity) of the IgM capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; MAC) for diagnosis of West Nile (WN) virus in horses and to examine the performance of this test by using different criteria for seropositivity. A total of 36 horses classified as WN virus infected (group 1) and 383 horses from 4 subpopulations of hoses classified as noninfected (groups 2, 3, 4, and 5) were used in the study. The sensitivity (proportion of infected horses that tested positive for WN virus IgM antibodies) and specif...
[Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) with special emphasis on infection in horses]. The tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), also known as early summer meningo-encephalitis, is a geographically limited virus infection transmitted mainly by ticks. The importance of TBE is largely underestimated. The causative agent TBE-Virus (TBEV) is grouped into the genus Flavivirus of the virus family Flaviviridae. Clinical disease including fatal outcomes has been described for men and dogs. With regard to horses only a limited number of case reports is available. In a study performed at the Institute of Virology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen serum samples from the German endemic region of M...
West Nile Virus infection in humans and horses, Cuba. A surveillance system to detect West Nile virus (WNV) was established in Cuba in 2002. WNV infection was confirmed by serologic assays in 4 asymptomatic horses and 3 humans with encephalitis in 2003 and 2004. These results are the first reported evidence of WNV activity in Cuba.
RT-PCR for detection of all seven genotypes of Lyssavirus genus. The Lyssavirus genus includes seven species or genotypes named 1-7. Rabies genotypes correlate with geographical distribution and specific hosts. Co-circulation of different lyssaviruses, imported cases, and the presence of unknown viruses, such as Aravan, Khujand, Irkut and West Caucasian Bat Virus, make it necessary to use generic methods able to detect all lyssaviruses. Primer sequences were chosen from conserved regions in all genotypes in order to optimise a generic RT-PCR. Serial dilutions of 12 RNA extracts from all seven Lyssavirus genotypes were examined to compare the sensitivity of ...
Shrews as reservoir hosts of borna disease virus. Borna disease virus (BDV) is the causative agent of severe T-cell-mediated meningoencephalitis in horses, sheep, and other animal species in central Europe. Here we report the first unequivocal detection of a BDV reservoir species, the bicolored white-toothed shrew, Crocidura leucodon, in an area in Switzerland with endemic Borna disease.
Five-year surveillance of West Nile and eastern equine encephalitis viruses in Southeastern Virginia. To investigate the occurrence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEE) in southeastern Virginia, the Bureau of Laboratories at the Norfolk Department of Public Health (NDPH) analyzed mosquito pools and the sera of sentinel chickens from the southeastern Virginia area each year from 2000 to 2004. Mosquito pool supernatants were screened for the presence of viral RNA by conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Taqman RT-PCR with the i-Cycler. Mosquito pools were also tested for virus activity by Vero cell culture. The primary enzootic ...
Antibodies to West Nile virus in asymptomatic mammals, birds, and reptiles in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Surveillance for evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in taxonomically diverse vertebrates was conducted in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 2003 and 2004. Sera from 144 horses on Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo State, 415 vertebrates (257 birds, 52 mammals, and 106 reptiles) belonging to 61 species from the Merida Zoo, Yucatan State, and 7 farmed crocodiles in Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche State were assayed for antibodies to flaviviruses. Ninety (62%) horses on Cozumel Island had epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibodies to flaviviruses, of which 75 (52%) were...
Seroprevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum among healthy dogs and horses in Israel. The presence of reacting antibodies to Anaplasma phagocytophilum has previously been demonstrated in Israel, both in humans and the golden jackal (Canis aureus syriacus). This study was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of A. phagocytophilum antibodies in two additional potential hosts, domestic dogs and horses in order to investigate the possibility of exposure to the organism in Israel. Of 195 dogs tested, 9% were seroreactive with A. phagocytophilum antigen and 30% were seroreactive to Ehrlichia canis. Twenty-nine percent of the dogs seropositive for E. canis were also reactive to ...
Prediction of equine risk of West Nile virus infection based on dead bird surveillance. Since the introduction of West Nile Virus (WNV) to the United States in 1999, the efficacy of dead bird surveillance for the prediction of human and veterinary WNV infection has been an issue of debate. We utilized South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control surveillance data from 2003 to determine whether dead bird surveillance accurately predicts equine WNV infection on a county level. We adjusted for human population density as a potential confounder of an association between WNV-positive dead bird counts and mammalian WNV risk. We found a strong positive association bet...
Characterization of an equine mannose-binding lectin and its roles in disease. The mannose-binding lectin (MBL), a pattern recognition serum protein, participates in the innate immune system of mammals as an opsonin. In humans, MBL plays a key role in first-line host defense against infection during the lag period prior to the development of a specific immune response. MBL also activates complement via the lectin pathway that requires a MBL-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2). Homologues of human MBL (hMBL) have been identified in a variety of mammals, fish, and primitive animals such as ascidians. In this study, we report that equine MBL (eMBL) has properties that are...
Mortality of Swedish horses with complete life insurance between 1997 and 2000: variations with sex, age, breed and diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential usefulness of the database maintained by the Swedish insurance company Agria for providing mortality statistics on Swedish horses. Mortality statistics (incidence rates and survival) were calculated, both crudely and stratified by sex, age, breed, breed group and diagnosis, for the horses with complete life insurance, which covers most health problems. The total mortality was 415 (95 per cent confidence interval [CI] 399 to 432) deaths per 10,000 horse-years at risk, and the diagnostic mortality, including only deaths with an assigned diagnos...
[Characterization of Rickettsia spp. circulating in a silent peri-urban focus for Brazilian spotted fever in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil]. The present study was intended to characterize Rickettsia spp. circulating in arthropod vectors in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil, by PCR and to investigate the presence of antibodies against the spotted fever Rickettsiae group (SFRG) in dogs and horses. 2,610 arthropods were collected and taxonomically identified. DNA samples obtained from these vectors were submitted to PCR and cycle-sequenced. Ctenocephalides and Amblyomma cajennense showed sequences presenting 100.0% homology with R. felis. A sequence obtained from Rhipicephalus sanguineus showed 99.0% homology with R. felis, and a sequen...
West Nile virus activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. West Nile virus (Flavivirus: Flaviviridae; WNV) has spread rapidly throughout the Caribbean Basin since its initial detection there in 2001. This report summarizes our current knowledge of WNV transmission in tropical America. Methods: We reviewed the published literature and consulted with key public health officials to obtain unpublished data. Results: West Nile virus infections first appeared in human residents of the Cayman Islands and the Florida Keys in 2001, and in apparently healthy Jamaican birds sampled early in 2002. Serologic evidence of WNV infection in 2002 was detected in horses...
