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.
Guo K, Guo W, Liu D, Zhang W, Yang Y, Zhang Z, Li S, Wang J, Chu X, Wang Y, Hu Z, Wang X.The high abortion rate associated with Abortusequi (. Abortusequi) infection in equids has re-emerged over the past 10 years and has caused serious economic losses to China. Our previous studies showed that the flagellin FljB gene could distinguish . Abortusequi from most serotypes. In this study, the flagellin antigen was used to develop a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) that could be used to detect both horse and donkey serum samples using a monoclonal antibody (MAb) that was found to bind to FljB. A cELISA was established using the purified MAb coating of the plate ...
Bolzoni L, Conter M, Lamperti L, Scaltriti E, Morganti M, Poeta A, Vecchi M, Paglioli S, Rampini A, Ramoni P, De Vita D, Bacci C, Rega M, Andriani L....The study assessed the role of equids at slaughter as faecal carriers of Salmonella enterica and the occurrence of contaminated equid carcasses during the slaughter process in Northern Italy (Emilia-Romagna Region). From June to November 2021, 152 equids (146 horses, 5 donkeys and 1 mule) were tested for Salmonella both in caecal contents and through carcass swabs. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of recovered strains was tested against 15 antimicrobials. Salmonella was detected in 3/152 of the caecal contents (2.0 %), while all carcass samples were negative. S. enterica serovars Enteriditis, T...
Hébert L, Froger D, Madeline A, Lecouturier F, Lemans C, Zientara S.Dourine is a sexually transmitted parasitic disease affecting equids. Its causative agent is referred to as and the prescribed serodiagnosis method is the complement fixation test (CFT). In the context of our European Reference Laboratory mandate for equine diseases (excluding African horse sickness), we organised dourine CFT inter-laboratory proficiency tests (ILPTs) in 2015, 2018 and 2022 to evaluate the performance of the European Union network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for dourine. ILPT panels were composed of horse sera with or without antibodies against spp. originating...
Colgate V.Victoria Colgate of Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance introduces CANTER, a voluntary pan-industry initiative that is aiming to inspire behaviour change among horse owners and promote a more sustainable approach to controlling parasites in their animals.
Han SW, Cho YK, Rim JM, Kang JG, Choi KS, Chae JS. Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging zoonotic tick-borne disease in East Asia caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). It is to investigate the presence of SFTSV RNA and antibodies in horses from a slaughterhouse and equestrian centers in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A prevalence study of SFTSV-specific RNA and antibodies was designed from 889 horses in the ROK. Serum samples were collected from horses at a slaughterhouse and equestrian centers from 2018 to 2020. To detect the presence of SFTSV, RNA was extracted from the serum samples, and a nested reverse transcriptio...
Alshammari A, Gattan HS, Marzok M, Salem M, Al-Jabr OA, Selim A.Fasciola hepatica is a trematode parasite that affects wide range of mammalian hosts including horses. There are no epidemiological data on fasciolosis in Egyptian horses. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of F. hepatica in horses using ELISA as well as assess the associated risk factors for fasciolosis infection. A total of 400 sera samples of horses from three Egyptian governorates were examined. The overall seroprevalence rate in horses was 13% and the disease was more prevalent in Qalubia (14.17%) and Gharbia (16.67%) which are located at Nile Delta. The likelih...
Virtanen J, Hautaniemi M, Dutra L, Plyusnin I, Hautala K, Smura T, Vapalahti O, Sironen T, Kant R, Kinnunen PM.We report a sequencing protocol and 121-kb poxvirus sequence from a clinical sample from a horse in Finland with dermatitis. Based on phylogenetic analyses, the virus is a novel parapoxvirus associated with a recent epidemic; previous data suggest zoonotic potential. Increased awareness of this virus and specific diagnostic protocols are needed.
Pelkola K, Heinikainen S, Pohjanvirta T.In Finland, Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative agent of contagious equine metritis (CEM), was first detected in 1992. The aim of this study was to genotype Finnish T. equigenitalis isolates to investigate the epidemiology of the infection in the Finnish horse population. A total of 34 T. equigenitalis isolates from 24 horses obtained during 1992-2021 were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) and subsequent local ad hoc core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) targeting 1259 loci. Classical MLST profiles were extracted from the whole-genome sequence data. Three novel MLST ty...
Knox A, Zerna G, Beddoe T.Horses play an important role throughout the world, whether for work, culture, or leisure, providing an ever-growing significant contribution to the economy. The increase in importation and movement of horses, both nationally and internationally, has inevitably allowed for the global equine industry to grow. Subsequently, however, the potential for transmission of fatal equine bacterial diseases has also escalated, and devasting outbreaks continue to occur. To prevent such events, disease surveillance and diagnosis must be heightened throughout the industry. Current common, or "gold-standard" ...
Tallon RE, Whitt B, Bladon BM.Monitoring antibiotic usage is an important part of tackling antimicrobial resistance. The use of computerised records for monitoring has been previously described in the equine sector but there is currently no consensus on metrics used to report usage. Objective: To document antibiotic use in equine practices in the United Kingdom over a 10-year period using commercially available practice management software. Methods: Retrospective survey. Methods: A custom antibiotic usage report was created using Eclipse® practice management software. Participating practices were given instructions on how...
Cardo MV, Vezzani D.Targeted vector surveillance informed by data on mosquito biting patterns can help limit arboviral zoonotic diseases. To characterise host-biting networks in rural and urban equestrian facilities from temperate Argentina, adult resting mosquitoes were collected (December 2018-April 2019) with a battery-powered aspirator. Engorged females were sorted to species, and their blood source was identified using molecular techniques. Bipartite network analysis was performed for rural and urban matrices. A total of 177 bloodmeals from 11 mosquito species of Aedes and Culex were identified, with seven m...
Levasseur A, Arsenault J, Paré J.West Nile virus (WNV) became notifiable in horses in 2003 in Canada and has been reported every year since. The objective of this study was to describe the spatiotemporal distribution of WNV in horses between 2003 and 2020 in Canada. Methods: The 848 symptomatic and laboratory-confirmed WNV cases in horses reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency between 2003 and 2020. Methods: Canada was divided into eastern and western regions for analysis. For each case, location and date of notification were captured. Triennial maps were made to describe the spatiotemporal distribution and expansion...
El-Hage C, Legione A, Devlin J, Hughes K, Jenkins C, Gilkerson J. is an important zoonotic pathogen. Although primarily a pathogen of birds, from which infection can spillover into humans and other mammalian hosts, the importance of as a cause of equine reproductive loss and the risk of infection to humans in contact with infected horses are increasingly being recognised in Australia and elsewhere. Despite the risks to both human and equine health, infection in horses is incompletely understood. This study aimed to update and summarise cases of equine psittacosis in Australia in the period 2018-2022, thus addressing a knowledge gap relating to recent case...
Carossino M, Balasuriya UBR, Thieulent CJ, Barrandeguy ME, Vissani MA, Parreño V.Equine rotavirus A (ERVA) is the leading cause of diarrhea in foals, with G3P[12] and G14P[12] genotypes being the most prevalent. Recently, equine G3-like RVA was recognized as an emerging infection in children, and a group B equine rotavirus (ERVB) was identified as an emergent cause of foal diarrhea in the US. Thus, there is a need to adapt molecular diagnostic tools for improved detection and surveillance to identify emerging strains, understand their molecular epidemiology, and inform future vaccine development. We developed a quadruplex TaqMan RT-qPCR assay for differentiation of ERVA an...
Tsachev I, Gospodinova K, Pepovich R, Takova K, Kundurzhiev T, Zahmanova G, Kaneva K, Baymakova M.In recent years, hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection has been found to be widespread among different animal species worldwide. In Bulgaria, high HEV seropositivity was found among pigs (60.3%), wild boars (40.8%), and East Balkan swine (82.5%). The aim of the present study was to establish the seroprevalence of HEV among dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, and goats in Bulgaria. In total, 720 serum samples from six animal species were randomly collected: dogs-90 samples; cats-90; horses-180; cattle-180; sheep-90; and goats-90. The serum samples were collected from seven districts of the country: ...
Li H, Kim JV, Pickering BS.Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are biosafety level 4 zoonotic pathogens causing severe and often fatal neurological and respiratory disease. These agents have been recognized by the World Health Organization as top priority pathogens expected to result in severe future outbreaks. HeV has caused sporadic infections in horses and a small number of human cases in Australia since 1994. The NiV Malaysia genotype (NiV-M) was responsible for the 1998-1999 epizootic outbreak in pigs with spillover to humans in Malaysia and Singapore. Since 2001, the NiV Bangladesh genotype (NiV-B) has been t...
Sewgobind S, McCracken F, Schilling M.West Nile virus (WNV) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family and is maintained in an enzootic cycle between avian hosts and mosquito vectors. Humans, horses and other mammals are susceptible to infection but are dead-end hosts due to a low viraemia. The disease can manifest itself in a variety of clinical signs and symptoms in people and horses from mild fever to severe encephalitis and morbidity. There are no vaccines licensed for human protection, but parts of Europe, North America, Africa and Australia have vaccines commercially available for hors...
Gonzálvez M, Franco JJ, Barbero-Moyano J, Caballero-Gómez J, Ruano MJ, Martínez R, Cano-Terriza D, García-Bocanegra I.The largest epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) reported ever in Spain in both humans and equines occurred in 2020, affecting 77 humans and 139 equine herds. Here, we aimed to monitor the outbreaks detected in equid herds in Andalusia (southern Spain), the Spanish region where 89.9% of the outbreaks were reported, and to evaluate the virus circulation and risk factor associated with WNV exposure in the affected herds. The first WNV case was detected in mid-July 2020, the number of outbreaks peaked in mid-August and the last one was confirmed on 26th October 2020. WNV lineage 1 was detected in 12...
Montaner-Angoiti E, Llobat L.Leishmania is a genus of parasitic protozoa that causes a disease called leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female sandflies. There are several different species of Leishmania that can cause various forms of the disease, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on species of Leishmania involved and the immune response of the host. Leishmania parasites have a variety of reservoirs, including humans, domestic animals, horses, rodents, wild animals, birds, and reptiles. Leishmaniasis is endemic of 90 countries, mainly in South Amer...
Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Byrne D, Riley TV.Clostridioides difficile poses an ongoing threat as a cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Traditionally considered a human healthcare-related disease, increases in community-associated C. difficile infection (CDI) and growing evidence of inter-species transmission suggest a wider perspective is required for CDI control. In horses, C. difficile is a major cause of diarrhoea and life-threatening colitis. This study aimed to better understand the epidemiology of CDI in Australian horses and provide insights into the relationships between horse, human and environmental strains...
Mohammed MN, Yasmin AR, Ramanoon SZ, Noraniza MA, Ooi PT, Ain-Najwa MY, Natasha JA, Nur-Fazila SH, Arshad SS, Mohammed HO.West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne neurotropic pathogen with a wide host range that constitutes a significant risk to public and animal health. There is limited information on WNV infection in domesticated mammals in Malaysia; however, current reports indicate infections in birds, macaques, bats and pigs from Malaysia. In this study, 203 serum samples from cattle, goats, and horses were tested for the presence of anti-WNV IgG using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). Additionally, using one-step RT-PCR, nasopharyngeal swabs were analyzed for WNV RNA from all 203 animals...
Elata A, Galon EM, Moumouni PFA, Ybanez RHD, Mossaad E, Salces CB, Bajenting GP, Ybanez AP, Xuan X, Inoue N, Suganuma K.Animal trypanosomosis is one of the most important parasitic diseases significantly affecting the Philippine economy. It is considered by the government to be the second most important disease of livestock after fasciolosis. A PCR-based molecular survey for trypanosomes in different animals in Bohol, Philippines, was performed to assess the prevalence of trypanosomosis in the area during the rainy and dry season. Methods: A total of 269 blood samples were collected in two batches in rainy and dry season from different animal species in Ubay Stock Farm in Ubay, Bohol, the Philippines, including...
Topp AK, Springer A, Mischke R, Rieder J, Feige K, Ganter M, Nagel-Kohl U, Nordhoff M, Boelke M, Becker S, Pachnicke S, Schunack B, Dobler G, Strube C.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a tick-transmitted flavivirus, which can infect humans and animals, sometimes even with a fatal outcome. Since many decades, TBEV is endemic in southern Germany, while only sporadic occurrence has been noted in northern parts of the country so far. Nevertheless, autochthonous human clinical cases are increasing in the federal state of Lower Saxony in north-western Germany, and several natural foci of TBEV transmission have recently been detected in this federal state. In order to shed more light on the current distribution of TBEV in Lower Saxony, the pr...
Azhar M, Gadahi JA, Bhutto B, Tunio S, Vistro WA, Tunio H, Bhutto S, Ram T.Babesiosis is a protozoal disease affect livestock and pet animals such as cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, mules, dogs, and cats. It causes severe economic losses in livestock as well as in pet animals. A large number of dairy animals are imported in order to fulfill the demands of milk, milk, meat and its products. In addition, different pet animals are transported from Pakistan to various parts of the world, therefore, it is important to identify the current status and distribution of babesiosis throughout Pakistan in order to control the disease and draw attention for futu...
Gysens L, Vanmechelen B, Maes P, Martens A, Haspeslagh M.Infection with bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 results in the most common skin tumor of horses, termed equine sarcoid. The persistent and recurrent nature of this tumor stands in contrast to the regressive nature of BPV-1/- 2 induced cutaneous papillomas in cattle. The circulation of horse-specific BPV-1/- 2 variants within equine populations has been suggested as a possible explanation for the difference in clinical presentation of BPV-1/- 2 infection between horses and cattle. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we identified 98 complete BPV-1/- 2 genomes using a Nanopore ...
Leon A, Pillon C, Tebourski I, Bruyas JF, Lupo C.Abortions in horses represent an important health and economic challenge for equine industry. Primary causes of abortion are divided in non-infectious and infectious. Non-infectious causes include abnormalities of foetal appendices (umbilical cord and placenta essentially), abnormalities of gestation, maternal and foetal origins. Infectious abortions are caused in almost cases by bacterial infections, followed by viruses, fungi and parasites. New abortive pathogens (as Leptospira, Neospora caninum, Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydophila abortus, and) have been confirmed in equines by comparison alre...
Hill V, Koch RT, Bialosuknia SM, Ngo K, Zink SD, Koetzner CA, Maffei JG, Dupuis AP, Backenson PB, Oliver J, Bransfield AB, Misencik MJ, Petruff TA....Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) causes a rare but severe disease in horses and humans and is maintained in an enzootic transmission cycle between songbirds and Culiseta melanura mosquitoes. In 2019, the largest EEEV outbreak in the United States for more than 50 years occurred, centered in the Northeast. To explore the dynamics of the outbreak, we sequenced 80 isolates of EEEV and combined them with existing genomic data. We found that, similar to previous years, cases were driven by multiple independent but short-lived virus introductions into the Northeast from Florida. Once in the ...
Benvin I, Perko VM, Maljković MM, Habuš J, Štritof Z, Hađina S, Perharić M, Zečević I, Cvetnić M, Turk N.Leptospirosis is re-emerging zoonotic bacterial disease of global importance that affects domestic and wild animals and humans. Due to the public health importance, control of disease in Croatia is being implemented by monitoring the seroprevalence of equine leptospirosis and it is regulated by the law. In the period from 2012 to 2022, a total of 61,724 serum samples from apparently healthy horses were admitted to the Laboratory for leptospires, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Zagreb. Serum samples were tested for Leptospira spp. antibodies using the microscopic agglutination test...
Morris ERA, Schroeder ME, Ferro PJ, Waller AS, McGlennon AA, Bustos CP, Gressler LT, Wu J, Lawhon SD, Boyle AG, Lingsweiler S, Paul N, Dimitrov K....Strangles is a contagious bacterial disease of horses caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (SEE) that occurs globally. Rapid and accurate identification of infected horses is essential for controlling strangles. Because of limitations of existing PCR assays for SEE, we sought to identify novel primers and probes that enable simultaneous detection and differentiation of infection with SEE and S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ). Comparative genomics of U.S. strains of SEE and SEZ (n = 50 each) identified SE00768 from SEE and comB from SEZ as target genes. Primers and probes for real-ti...
Ghosh S, Kobayashi N.Group A rotaviruses (RVA) are a major cause of viral diarrhea in the young of mammals and birds. RVA strains with certain genotype constellations or VP7-VP4 (G-P) genotype combinations are commonly found in a particular host species, whilst unusual or exotic RVAs have also been reported. In most cases, these exotic rotaviruses are derived from RVA strains common to other host species, possibly through interspecies transmission coupled with reassortment events, whilst a few other strains exhibit novel genotypes/genetic constellations rarely found in other RVAs. The epidemiology and evolutionary...
Montaner-Angoiti E, Llobat L.Leishmania is a genus of parasitic protozoa that causes a disease called leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female sandflies. There are several different species of Leishmania that can cause various forms of the disease, and the symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on species of Leishmania involved and the immune response of the host. Leishmania parasites have a variety of reservoirs, including humans, domestic animals, horses, rodents, wild animals, birds, and reptiles. Leishmaniasis is endemic of 90 countries, mainly in South Amer...
Li X, Ni HB, Ren WX, Jiang J, Gong QL, Zhang XX.Toxoplasmosis, one of the most common zoonoses worldwide, is caused by Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii can infect almost all warm-blooded animals, including humans. Horses are an intermediate host of T. gondii, representing a potential risk for humans. To determine the T. gondii seroprevalence in horses worldwide, a global meta-analysis was conducted. A total of 35 publications were obtained by searching the PubMed, ScienceDirect, Chinese Web of knowledge (CNKI) and Wanfang databases. A total of 12,354 horses were assessed, of which 1580 were positive for T. gondii. The pooled overall seroprevale...
Mitchell C, Steward KF, Charbonneau ARL, Walsh S, Wilson H, Timoney JF, Wernery U, Joseph M, Craig D, van Maanen K, Hoogkamer-van Gennep A, Leon A....The equine disease strangles, which is characterized by the formation of abscesses in the lymph nodes of the head and neck, is one of the most frequently diagnosed infectious diseases of horses around the world. The causal agent, subspecies , establishes a persistent infection in approximately 10 % of animals that recover from the acute disease. Such 'carrier' animals appear healthy and are rarely identified during routine veterinary examinations pre-purchase or transit, but can transmit to naïve animals initiating new episodes of disease. Here, we report the analysis and visualization of...
Magdesian KG.Diarrhea is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the neonatal foal. Numerous noninfectious and infectious agents are responsible for enterocolitis and enteritis. This article provides an overview of the differential diagnoses for neonatal diarrhea and general and specific guidelines for therapy.
Cleton NB, van Maanen K, Bergervoet SA, Bon N, Beck C, Godeke GJ, Lecollinet S, Bowen R, Lelli D, Nowotny N, Koopmans MPG, Reusken CBEM.The genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae includes some of the most important examples of emerging zoonotic arboviruses that are rapidly spreading across the globe. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), West Nile virus (WNV), St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are mosquito-borne members of the JEV serological group. Although most infections in humans are asymptomatic or present with mild flu-like symptoms, clinical manifestations of JEV, WNV, SLEV, USUV and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) can include severe neurological disease and death. In horses, infection wi...
Sudia WD, Newhouse VF, Beadle ID, Miller DL, Johnston JG, Young R, Calisher CH, Maness K.A major epidemic of Venezuelan equine encephalitis occurred in south Texas in the summer of 1971. More than 1500 equines died of VEE in Texas, and 110 human cases with no deaths were reported. Vector studies in south Texas and northern Tamaulipas revealed that the overall mosquito infection rates during the peak of the epidemic were about 1:100, one of the highest rates observed for a major epidemic. Mosquito infection rates of this magnitude could easily explain the intensity of VEE outbreaks in both equines and man. A total of 943 VEE virus isolations were made from mosquitoes. Eight of the ...
Alba A, Allepuz A, Napp S, Soler M, Selga I, Aranda C, Casal J, Pages N, Hayes EB, Busquets N.To enhance early detection of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission, an integrated ecological surveillance system was implemented in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) from 2007 to 2011. This system incorporated passive and active equine surveillance, periodical testing of chicken sentinels in wetland areas, serosurveillance wild birds and testing of adult mosquitoes. Samples from 298 equines, 100 sentinel chickens, 1086 wild birds and 39 599 mosquitoes were analysed. During these 5 years, no acute WNV infection was detected in humans or domestic animal populations in Catalonia. WNV was not detect...
León CA.The purpose of this study was the identification of possible sequelae of the infection of human individuals with Virus of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE). Special emphasis was laid on exploring neurological, psychological and behavioural aspects and particularly on the search for a possible association of the disease with epileptic phenomena, brain damage and/or mental deficiency. A four-year period of observation was conducted on a sample of children from El Carmelo (Colombia) where an epidemic of VEE took place in 1967. A group of seven children who presented the encephalitic type of th...
Bannai H, Ochi A, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.As we reported previously, Getah virus infection occurred in horses at the Miho training center of the Japan Racing Association in 2014. This was the first outbreak after a 31-year absence in Japan. Here, we report a recurrent outbreak of Getah virus infection in 2015, sequential to the 2014 one at the same site, and we summarize its epizootiological aspects to estimate the risk of further outbreaks in upcoming years. Results: The outbreak occurred from mid-August to late October 2015, affecting 30 racehorses with a prevalence of 1.5% of the whole population (1992 horses). Twenty-seven (90.0%)...
The results of integrated human and veterinary surveillance for West Nile virus (WNV) infections in Austria during the transmission seasons 2015 and 2016 are shown. Altogether WNV nucleic acid was detected in 21 humans, horses, wild birds and mosquito pools. In detail: in four human clinical cases [two cases of West Nile fever (WNF) and two cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND)]; eight blood donors [among 145,541 tested donations], of which three remained asymptomatic and five subsequently developed mild WNF; two horses with WNND, of which one recovered and one had to be euthanized; ...
Bailey KE, Gilkerson JR, Browning GF.Equine rotaviruses were first detected in foals over 30 years ago and remain a major cause of infectious diarrhoea in foals. During this time, there has been substantial progress in the development of sensitive methods to detect rotaviruses in foals, enabling surveillance of the genotypes present in various horse populations. However, there has been limited epidemiological investigation into the significance of these circulating genotypes, their correlation with disease and the use of vaccination in these animal populations. Our knowledge of the pathogenesis of rotavirus infection in foals is ...
Barker CM, Reisen WK, Kramer VL.The California Mosquito-Borne Virus Surveillance and Response Plan recently was developed to provide a semi-quantitative means for assessing risk for western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) or St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) viruses and to provide intervention guidelines for mosquito control and public health agencies during periods of heightened risk for human infection. West Nile virus recently has arrived in California, and the response plan also will provide a baseline for assessing the risk for human and equine infection with this virus. In the response plan, overall risk is calculated by ave...
Young JJ, Coulombier D, Domanović D, Zeller H, Gossner CM.West Nile virus (WNV) infection is notifiable in humans and equids in the European Union (EU). An area where a human case is detected is considered affected until the end of the mosquito transmission season (week 48) and blood safety measures have to be implemented. We used human and equine case notifications between 2013 and 2017 to define the WNV distribution in the EU and to investigate the relevance of using equine cases as a complementary trigger for blood safety measures. Adding areas with equine cases to the definition of an affected area would have a major impact on blood safety measur...
Costa DG, Marvulo MF, Silva JS, Santana SC, Magalhães FJ, Filho CD, Ribeiro VO, Alves LC, Mota RA, Dubey JP, Silva JC.Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, state of Pernambuco, Brazil, which has a varied biodiversity including alien species or sinantropic animals. The objective here was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic and wild animals from Fernando de Noronha archipelago, Brazil. Between July 2007 and May 2010, blood samples were collected from 764 animals (533 domestic and 231 wild animals). Sera were tested by the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT) or the modified agglutination test (MAT), or by both. Antibodies to T. g...
Vittecoq M, Lecollinet S, Jourdain E, Thomas F, Blanchon T, Arnal A, Lowenski S, Gauthier-Clerc M.In recent years, the number of West Nile virus (WNV) cases reported in horses and humans has increased dramatically throughout the Mediterranean basin. Furthermore, the emergence of Usutu virus (USUV) in Austria in 2001, and its subsequent expansion to Hungary, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Germany, has given added cause for concern regarding the impact of the spread of flaviviruses on human and animal health in western Europe. Despite frequent detection of WNV and USUV cases in neighboring countries, no case of WNV has been detected in France since 2006 and USUV has never...
Cêtre-Sossah C, Baldet T, Delécolle JC, Mathieu B, Perrin A, Grillet C, Albina E.Bluetongue (BT) and African Horse Sickness (AHS) are infectious arthropod-borne viral diseases affecting ruminants and horses, respectively. Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, a biting midge, is the principal vector of these livestock diseases in Africa and Europe. Recently bluetongue disease has re-emerged in the Mediterranean Basin and has had a devastating effect on the sheep industry in Italy and on the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearics, but fortunately, has not penetrated onto mainland France and Spain. To survey for the presence of C. imicola, an extensive light-trap ...
Attoui H, Mohd Jaafar F.Many novel emerging orbiviruses have been isolated in the past 15 years. Important viruses include Peruvian horse sickness virus (PHSV) and Yunnan orbivirus (YUOV), pathogens of equids which were originally isolated almost simultaneously from 1997 to 1999 in the People's Republic of China, Australia and Peru. YUOV has also been isolated from cattle, sheep and a dog. The isolation of YUOVfrom a dog is not the first case of an orbivirus being isolated from a carnivore. Bluetongue virus and African horse sickness virus were earlier detected in carnivores which fed on contaminated meat. PHSV and Y...
Wilson WD.Myeloencephalopathy is an uncommon manifestation of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), but it can cause devastating losses during outbreaks on individual farms. Clinical signs of neurologic disease reflect a diffuse multifocal hemorrhagic myeloencephalopathy secondary to vasculitis and thrombosis. Sudden onset and early stabilization of signs, including ataxia, paresis, and urinary incontinence; involvement of multiple horses on the premises; and recent history of fever, abortion, or viral respiratory disease in the affected horse or herdmates are typical features, although there is considerable va...
Melandri V, Guimarães AÉ, Komar N, Nogueira ML, Mondini A, Fernandez-Sesma A, Alencar J, Bosch I.In an effort to detect West Nile virus (WNV) in Brazil, we sampled serum from horses and chickens from the Pantanal region of the state of Mato Grosso and tested for flavivirus-reactive antibodies by blocking ELISA. The positive samples were further confirmed for serological evidence of WNV infection in three (8%) of the 38 horses and one (3.2%) of the 31 chickens using an 80% plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT80). These results provide evidence of the circulation of WNV in chickens and horses in Pantanal.
Komar N, Panella NA, Boyce E.We evaluated West Nile (WN) virus seroprevalence in healthy horses, dogs, and cats in New York City after an outbreak of human WN virus encephalitis in 1999. Two (3%) of 73 horses, 10 (5%) of 189 dogs, and none of 12 cats tested positive for WN virus-neutralizing antibodies. Domestic mammals should be evaluated as sentinels for local WN virus activity and predictors of the infection in humans.
Bahuon C, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Bournez L, Leblond A, Beck C, Hars J, Leparc-Goffart I, L'Ambert G, Paty MC, Cavalerie L, Daix C, Tritz P, Durand B....West Nile virus (WNV) infection is a non-contagious disease mainly transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes from the genus Culex. The virus is maintained in a mosquito-bird-mosquito cycle, and can accidentally be transmitted to mammalian hosts. Among mammalian hosts, equines and humans are the most sensitive to WNV infection and can develop severe meningoencephalitis. As WNV infections are zoonotic and can be severe in humans and equines, West Nile fever is considered to be a public and animal health concern. After a silent period of almost ten years, WNV re-emerged in France at the per...
Sears K, Knowles D, Dinkel K, Mshelia PW, Onzere C, Silva M, Fry L.Control of , the primary cause of equine theileriosis, is largely reliant on acaracide use and chemosterilization with imidocarb dipropionate (ID). However, it is currently unknown if ID is effective against , the recently identified second causative agent of equine theileriosis, or if the drug maintains effectiveness against in the presence of co-infection. The purpose of this study was to address these questions using ID treatment of the following three groups of horses: (1) five infected horses; (2) three - infected horses; and (3) three - infected horses. Clearance was first evaluated u...
Bannai H, Nemoto M, Ochi A, Kikuchi T, Kobayashi M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.To clarify the factors causing an outbreak in 2014 of Getah virus infection among racehorses at the Miho training center, Japan, we isolated virus strains and performed an epizootiological investigation of affected horses and related horse populations. Three Getah virus isolates were recovered from clinical samples, and one of them (14-I-605) was used in a virus-neutralizing test. Of the affected horses (n = 33), 20 (60.6%) were 2-year-olds. We investigated the histories of Getah virus vaccination of the affected horses and the whole population at the Miho training center. Among the 2-year-old...
Riet-Correa F, Rivero R, Odriozola E, Adrien Mde L, Medeiros RM, Schild AL.In the current study, mycotoxicoses of ruminants and horses are reviewed, with an emphasis on the occurrence of these diseases in South America. The main mycotoxicoses observed in grazing cattle include intoxications by indole-diterpenoid mycotoxins (Paspalum spp. contaminated by Claviceps paspali, Lolium perenne infected by Neotyphodium lolii, Cynodon dactylon infected by Claviceps cynodontis, and Poa huecu), gangrenous ergotism and dysthermic syndrome (hyperthermia) caused by Festuca arundinacea (syn. Festuca elatior) infected by Neotyphodium coenophialum (syn. Acremonium coenophialum), and ...
Taylor J, Thompson K, Annand EJ, Massey PD, Bennett J, Eden JS, Horsburgh BA, Hodgson E, Wood K, Kerr J, Kirkland P, Finlaison D, Peel AJ, Eby P....In October 2021, the first contemporary detection of Hendra virus genotype 2 (HeV-g2) was made by veterinary priority disease investigation in a horse near Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, as part of routine veterinary priority disease surveillance. This discovery followed an update of Hendra virus diagnostic assays following retrospective identification of this variant from 2015 via sentinel emerging infectious disease research, enabling timely detection of this case. The sole infected horse was euthanized in moribund condition. As the southernmost recognised HeV spill-over detection to...
Ulbert S.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic virus that circulates in birds and is transmitted by mosquitoes. Incidentally, humans, horses and other mammals can also be infected. Disease symptoms caused by WNV range from fever to neurological complications, such as encephalitis or meningitis. Mortality is observed mostly in older and immunocompromised individuals. In recent years, epidemics caused by WNV in humans and horses have become more frequent in several Southern European countries, such as Italy and Greece. In 1999, WNV was introduced into the USA and spread over North America within a couple o...
Seo MG, Lee SH, Ouh IO, Lee GH, Goo YK, Kim S, Kwon OD, Kwak D.Members of the genus Coxiella can be transmitted from ticks to humans during contact with animals; Coxiella may thus spread from the infected horses or ticks to humans. In this study, the presence of Coxiella burnetii and Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLE) in ticks found on infested horses was determined using PCR and genotyping. A total of 213 ticks were randomly collected from 51 horses (4-5 ticks per horse) raised on Jeju Island, Korea, between 2009 and 2013. All ticks were morphologically identified as adult Haemaphysalis longicornis, a predominant tick species widespread in Korea. Based on...
Pauvolid-Corrêa A, Tavares FN, Costa EV, Burlandy FM, Murta M, Pellegrin AO, Nogueira MF, Silva EE.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...
