Disease transmission in horses refers to the spread of infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites among equine populations. These pathogens can be transmitted through various routes, including direct contact, vector-borne transmission, or environmental exposure. Factors influencing disease transmission include horse density, management practices, and biosecurity measures. Understanding the mechanisms and conditions that facilitate the spread of diseases is essential for developing effective prevention and control strategies. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the modes of transmission, risk factors, and management practices related to infectious diseases in horses.
Lawton K, Keller SM, Barnum S, Arredondo-Lopez C, Spann K, Pusterla N.While some companion animals have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, their role in the COVID-19 pandemic has remained poorly investigated. Equids are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 based on the similarity of the human ACE-2 receptor and reports of infection. Clinical disease and prevalence factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in equids have not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and selected prevalence factors in 1186 equids presented for various conditions to a Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital over a two-year period. ...
Yoon J, Park T, Kim A, Park J, Park BJ, Ahn HS, Go HJ, Kim DH, Lee JB, Park SY, Song CS, Lee SW, Choi IS.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) is one of the etiological agents of Theiler's disease, causing fulminant hepatitis; however, its transmission route and pathogenesis remain unclear. In the present study, we aimed to determine EqPV-H shedding in oral/nasal/vaginal swabs or semen samples from horses living in Korea using nested polymerase chain reaction. We then used the data obtained to investigate various risk factors associated with EqPV-H including viral shedding, hepatopathological changes, and genetic diversity. Our data revealed occurrence of EqPV-H shedding in these animals (oral: 3/...
Kumar D, Antiya SP, Patel SS, Pandit R, Joshi M, Mishra AK, Joshi CG, Patel AC.Since December 2019, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been spreading worldwide, triggering one of the most challenging pandemics in the human population. In light of the reporting of this virus in domestic and wild animals from several parts of the world, a systematic surveillance study was conceptualized to detect SARS-CoV-2 among species of veterinary importance. Nasal and/or rectal samples of 413 animals (dogs n= 195, cattle n = 64, horses n = 42, goats n = 41, buffaloes n = 39, sheep n = 19, cats n = 6, camels n = 6, and a monkey n = 1) were collected from d...
Zamarchi TBO, Henriques AL, Krolow TK, Krüger RF, Rodrigues GD, Munari A, Pessoa FAC, Camargo ELMA.Tabanidae is one of the most diverse families of hematophagous dipterans. Tabanids, in general, are mechanical vectors of some pathogens. Given the vector importance and the lack of knowledge of the tabanid fauna in horses in Amazon Forest fragments of the state of Rondônia, this work aimed to determine the season that the different species of horse flies prefer to carryout hematophagy on horses and verify whether the horse fly community remains the same throughout the year. The sampling areas for tabanid captures were in the municipality of Monte Negro, Western Amazon, Brazil. Four new occur...
Williams NJ, Slovis NM, Browne NS, Troedsson MHT, Giguėre S, Hernandez JA.Diarrhea remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal foals, and correct identification of etiologic agents is essential for effective disease management. Objective: To examine the association between diarrhea and detection of Enterococcus durans or other enteropathogens in neonatal foals on 1 breeding farm in Kentucky, USA. Methods: Fifty-nine Thoroughbred foals and their broodmares. Methods: Prospective observational study. Study foals and broodmares were sampled and tested for E. durans and other enteropathogens during the first 10 days after foaling. The frequency of...
Tomlinson JE, Van de Walle GR.Equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H) is highly prevalent and causes subclinical to fatal hepatitis, which can occur in outbreaks. Whereas iatrogenic transmission is well documented, the mode of horizontal transmission is not known. The virus is shed in nasal, oral and fecal secretions, and PO transmission has been reported in a single horse. Objective: Investigate the efficiency of PO and nasal transmission of EqPV-H in a larger cohort. Methods: Prospective experimental transmission study. Eleven EqPV-H-negative horses were inoculated with 5 × 10 genome equivalents EqPV-H. Serum PCR and s...
Abdel-Shafy S, Abdullah HHAM, Elbayoumy MK, Elsawy BSM, Hassan MR, Mahmoud MS, Hegazi AG, Abdel-Rahman EH.Piroplasmosis and anaplasmosis are serious tick-borne diseases (TBDs) that are concerning for the public and animal health. This study aimed to detect the molecular prevalence and epidemiological risk factors of Piroplasma and Anaplasma species in animal hosts and their associated ticks in Egypt. A total of 234 blood samples and 95 adult ticks were collected from animal hosts (112 cattle, 38 sheep, 28 goats, 26 buffaloes, 22 donkeys, and 8 horses) from six provinces of Egypt (AL-Faiyum, AL-Giza, Beni-Suef, Al-Minufia, Al-Beheira, and Matruh). Blood and tick samples were investigated by polymer...
Gonzalez-Obando J, Forero JE, Zuluaga-Cabrera AM, Ruiz-Saenz J.Equine influenza is a highly contagious disease caused by the H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV), which is endemically distributed throughout the world. It infects equids, and interspecies transmission to dogs has been reported. The H3N8 Florida lineage, which is divided into clades 1 and 2, is the most representative lineage in the Americas. The EIV infects the respiratory system, affecting the ciliated epithelial cells and preventing the elimination of foreign bodies and substances. Certain factors related to the disease, such as an outdated vaccination plan, age, training, and close contact ...
Figuerola J, Jiménez-Clavero MÁ, Ruíz-López MJ, Llorente F, Ruiz S, Hoefer A, Aguilera-Sepúlveda P, Jiménez-Peñuela J, García-Ruiz O....Reports of West Nile virus (WNV) associated disease in humans were scarce in Spain until summer 2020, when 77 cases were reported, eight fatal. Most cases occurred next to the Guadalquivir River in the Sevillian villages of Puebla del Río and Coria del Río. Detection of WNV disease in humans was preceded by a large increase in the abundance of in the neighbourhood of the villages where most human cases occurred. The first WNV infected mosquitoes were captured approximately one month before the detection of the first human cases. Overall, 33 positive pools of and one pool of were found. Se...
Pathak A, Gulati BR, Maan S, Mor S, Kumar D, Soman R, Punia S, Chaudhary D, Khurana SK.Rotaviruses are the most common viral agents associated with foal diarrhea. Between 2014 and 2017, the annual prevalence of rotavirus in diarrheic foals ranged between 18 and 28% in Haryana (India). Whole-genome sequencing of two equine rotavirus A (ERVA) isolates (RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV4/2017 and RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV6/2017) was carried out to determine the genotypic constellations (GCs) of ERVAs. The GCs of both the isolates were G3-P[3]-I8-R3-C3-M3-A9-N3-T3-E3-H6, a unique combination reported for ERVAs so far. Both the isolates carried VP6 of genotype I8, previously unreported from equines. U...
Graham H, van Kalsbeek P, van der Goot J, Koene MGJ.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease affecting horses, donkeys, mules and zebras, caused by the intracellular apicomplexan protozoa and . The geographical distribution of EP is closely related to the distribution of its vector tick species belonging to the genera of and . Since the discovery of ticks in 2007 and the first reported autochthonous cases in the South of the Netherlands in 2012, no data on the (sero)prevalence of EP in horses in the Netherlands have been reported and it remains unclear whether and have been able to establish themselves in the Netherlands. This stu...
Fouché N, Remy-Wohlfender F, Blau D, Franzen J, Gurtner C, Seuberlich T, Unger L, Gerber V.Outbreaks of equine coronavirus (ECoV) infections have been described in different parts of the world including Europe. The aim of this report was to describe clinical signs, diagnostic work-up and outcome of the first documented outbreak of ECoV in Switzerland in order to raise the awareness for the disease and its various clinical presentations. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 26 horses. Of these, seven horses developed clinical disease ranging from mild signs such as fever and anorexia to severe signs of acute colitis. One horse died due to severe endotoxemia and circulatory shock seco...
Suminda GGD, Bhandari S, Won Y, Goutam U, Kanth Pulicherla K, Son YO, Ghosh M.Increasing globalization, agricultural intensification, urbanization, and climatic changes have resulted in a significant recent increase in emerging infectious zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are becoming more common, so innovative, effective, and integrative research is required to better understand their transmission, ecological implications, and dynamics at wildlife-human interfaces. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) methodologies have enormous potential for unraveling these contingencies and improving our understanding, but they are only now beginning to be realized in livestock resea...
Songsri J, Mala W, Wisessombat S, Siritham K, Cheha S, Noisa N, Wongtawan T, Klangbud WK. O157:H7 is enterohemorrhagic , which produces verocytotoxin or Shiga toxin. It is a well-known cause of severe diseases in humans worldwide. Cattle and other ruminants are the main reservoirs of this organism. Sports animals, such as fighting bulls, riding horses, and fighting cocks, are economic animals in Southern Thailand. This study aimed to identify O157:H7 from the rectal swabs of these sports animals and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated bacteria. Unassigned: The rectal swabs were collected from 34 fighting bulls, 32 riding horses, and 31 fighting cocks. ...
Fourie I, Snyman J, Williams J, Ismail A, Jansen van Vuren P, Venter M.Although Old World alphaviruses, Middelburg- (MIDV) and Sindbis virus (SINV), have previously been detected in horses and wildlife with neurologic disease in South Africa, the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of MIDV and SINV infections in animals are not well documented. Clinical samples from horses across South Africa with acute or fatal neurologic and febrile infections submitted between 2014-2018 were investigated. In total, 69/1084 (6.36%) and 11/1084 (1.01%) horses tested positive for MIDV and SINV, respectively, by real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR. Main signs/outcomes for ...
Kydd J, Nielsen M, Waller A.Julia Kydd, Martin Nielsen and Andrew Waller highlight some of the key presentations given at last year's 11th International Equine Infectious Diseases Conference, which was held virtually.
Kareche H, Daly JM, Laabassi F.Equine influenza (EI) is one of the most contagious respiratory infections in horses, donkeys and mules, caused by equine influenza A virus (EIV). It remains a disease with a strong economic stake for the equine industry. This review focuses on the epidemiological situation of EIV in the Maghreb area, which includes Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. There is serological evidence for extensive circulation of EIV in the Maghreb area since the early 1970s, but reports of detailed investigation of outbreaks are scarce with no documented isolation or molecular characterization of EIV from Tunisia. Isol...
Meister TL, Arroyo LG, Shanahan R, Papapetrou MA, Reinecke B, Brüggemann Y, Todt D, Stang A, Hazlett M, Baird JD, Steinmann E.Theiler's disease (TD) is a (sub-)acute hepatitis in adult horses and one of the most common causes of acute hepatic failure. Recent findings indicate that equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H) likely causes TD and that its transmission occurs via iatrogenic and/or natural routes. Following the death of an EqPV-H positive mare with TD, close-contact mares and foals in the same paddock were monitored to evaluate if there was any evidence of EqPV-H. For this purpose, the serum of close contact horses was examined 6 and 42 days after the mare's death for the presence of EqPV-H DNA and changes in l...
O'Connor M.Zoonotic diseases are those which originate in animals but are transmitted to humans often through an intermediate host such as a wild animal. In Australia Hendra virus (HeV) is a disease of horses with occasional human fatalities and which is spread by the fruit bat. This article explores the lessons learnt from managing the Queensland outbreak of HeV in 1994. The legal framework for the notification and management of prohibited matter including zoonotic diseases in Queensland and New South Wales has been strengthened by provisions in the Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW) which create strong penalti...
El-Khatib AH, Engel AM, Weigel S.Hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclpropylglycine (MCPrG) are formed by some maple trees (Acer species) and have been associated with incidences of atypical myopathy among horses in pastures. In this work, a simple and sensitive ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method without derivatization was developed for the quantification of HGA and MCPrG in maple samples and validated according to EU guidelines. The LOQ presented here for HGA (16.4 µg/kg) is considerably lower than the lowest published LOQ (500 µg/kg). This method confirms that sycamore and ...
Di Azevedo MIN, Lilenbaum W.Leptospirosis may be associated with important syndromes in equines, including reproductive ones. Recently, our group demonstrated a reproductive syndrome of leptospirosis in ruminants (Bovine Genital Leptospirosis - BGL), that presents its own agent, particular diagnostic methods, and specific treatment and prevention, requiring special attention. We realized that the genital syndrome of leptospirosis may not be exclusive to ruminants and may also affect horses. The aim of the present study is to gather the available data on leptospirosis in equine reproduction and propose a new genital lepto...
Val-Calvo J, Darcy J, Gibbons J, Creighton A, Egan C, Buckley T, Schmalenberger A, Fogarty U, Scortti M, Vázquez-Boland JA.A multidrug-resistant clone of the animal and human pathogen Rhodococcus equi, MDR-RE 2287, has been circulating among equine farms in the United States since the 2000s. We report the detection of MDR-RE 2287 outside the United States. Our finding highlights the risk for MDR-RE spreading internationally with horse movements.
Baek S, Maloney JG, Molokin A, George NS, Cortés Vecino JA, Santin M. is a common intestinal protist in humans and animals worldwide. Wild and domestic animals are thought to be reservoirs of subtypes that also infect humans. There are limited studies on the prevalence and subtype distribution of in horses. In this study, 185 fecal samples were collected from horses (1 month to 17 years of age) in four regions of Colombia (Sabana de Bogotá, Costa Atlántica, Llanos Orientales, and Bogotá D.C.). presence and subtypes were determined by PCR and next generation amplicon sequencing. Eighty-one (43.8%) horses were positive for , with positive horses in all four...
Li B, Wang H, Liang G.Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes, belonging to the family, genus. It was first isolated from mosquitoes in Malaysia in 1955, being widespread in island countries in the South Pacific region. Since the beginning of the 21st century, GETV expanded its range and geographical distribution from low-latitude tropical regions to 60° north latitude, being isolated from 17 different species of mosquitoes belonging to five genera of Culicidae (, , , and ), as well as from midges in Eurasia. Molecular genetic evolution analysis revealed large molecular differences betw...
Petrucciani A, Yu G, Ventresca M.Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) is an arbovirus that, while it has been known to exist since the 1930's, recently had a spike in cases. This increased prevalence is particularly concerning due to the severity of the disease with 1 in 3 symptomatic patients dying. The cause of this peak is currently unknown but could be due to changes in climate, the virus itself, or host behavior. In this paper we propose a novel multi-season deterministic model of EEE spread and its stochastic counterpart. Models were parameterized using a dataset from the Florida Department of Health with sixteen years of ...
Bolwell C, Gee E, Adams B, Collins-Emerson J, Scarfe K, Nisa S, Gordon E, Rogers C, Benschop J.The objectives of this study were to determine if horses located near an outbreak of leptospirosis in alpacas had titres indicative of a previous or current infection and, if so, to determine the magnitude in change of titres over time. Further, the objective was to determine if horses with high titre results were shedding in their urine. Blood samples were collected from twelve horses located on or next to the farm with the outbreak in alpacas, on day zero and at four subsequent time points (two, four, six and nine weeks). The microscopic agglutination test was used to test sera for five se...
KAPLAN MM, PAYNE AM.In 1957 the World Health Organization arranged a survey of horse and swine sera in a number of countries in order to gain information on the role and importance of animals in the epidemiology of influenza. The veterinary services of the countries concerned were requested to obtain blood specimens from these animals, if possible both before and after the human pandemic of Asian influenza. This paper reports on the results of haemagglutination-inhibition and complement-fixation tests performed on these sera in WHO Influenza Centres and other collaborating laboratories.It is apparent from these r...
Simonato G, Danesi P, Frangipane di Regalbono A, Dotto G, Tessarin C, Pietrobelli M, Pasotto D.Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are based on the establishment of a therapeutic relationship between animals and beneficiaries that is certain to provide positive effects, while currently, it reads as if AAIs aim at exposing stakeholders to potential risk of infection. The surveillance of zoonotic pathogens is necessary for guaranteeing common health. This study investigated the presence of potentially zoonotic parasites, including dermatophytes, in animals involved in AAIs. Between 2015 and 2017, 190 animals (equids, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and goats) were investigated. Anam...
López RH, Soto SU, Gallego-Gómez JC.West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the genus Flavivirus, and it is transmitted between Culex sp. mosquitoes and avian hosts. Equids and humans are commonly infected with WNV as dead-end hosts, and the signs and symptoms of infection range from mild illness to neurologic symptoms as encephalitis, meningitis and sometimes death. Previous phylogenetic studies have classified WNV into six genetically distinct lineages and provided valuable insight on WNV dispersal patterns within the Americas and its emergence in different geographic areas. In this study, we isolated, sequenced and genetically c...
Schwaber MJ, Navon-Venezia S, Masarwa S, Tirosh-Levy S, Adler A, Chmelnitsky I, Carmeli Y, Klement E, Steinman A.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection or colonization has become a serious emerging condition in equine hospitals. Following the detection of MRSA in asymptomatic hospitalized horses and in two horses with post-operative wound infections, an investigation was conducted. Twelve of 84 horses (14.3%) and 16 of 139 personnel (11.5%) were MRSA carriers. The profile of the dominant MRSA strain common to horses and staff was multi-drug-resistant, spa-type t535, SCCmec type V, pvl-negative. MLST of a representative isolate yielded sequence type (ST) 5. The risk of MRSA carriage ...
Nielsen CF, Reisen WK, Armijos MV, Maclachlan NJ, Scott TW.Although horse cases frequently are reported during West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks, few investigations have focused on the epidemiology of this transmission. From April to October 2003 to 2005, mosquito abundance and infection were monitored 3 days per week at an equine research facility at the University of California, Davis. Thirty-two nonvaccinated horses enrolled as controls in a vaccine study were bled monthly, and their serum was tested for evidence of WNV infection by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). In 2004, one positive Culex pipiens pool was associated with a single hors...
McLean RG, Calisher CH, Parham GL.Blood samples collected in September and November 1980 from 87 horses in southwestern Michigan were examined for virus isolation and for plaque-reduction neutralizing antibody against selected arboviruses. Cache Valley virus was isolated from the blood of a clinically normal horse in St Joseph County in September. The age-specific antibody prevalence for Cache Valley virus indicated enzootic transmission in the study area. The high antibody prevalence and the lack of age-specific antibody prevalence indicated sporadic, but intense, exposure to Jamestown Canyon virus. Low prevalences of antibod...
Vieira FT, Acosta ICL, Martins TF, Filho JM, Krawczak FDS, Barbieri ARM, Egert L, Fernandes DR, Braga FR, Labruna MB, Dietze R.This work aims to identify and quantify the percentage of Rickettsia spp., Ehrlichia spp., Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. positive pet dogs, and to identify ticks collected on these animals in the state of Espírito Santo, in the Southeast region of Brazil. The study included 378 dogs, 226 females and 152 males, of various breeds and ages (mean age of 4.1 years). All animals were examined for ticks, and whole blood was collected and processed by conventional PCR protocols for Babesia spp., Anaplasmataceae, Hepatozoon spp. and by real-time PCR for Ehrlichia canis. Of the 378 dogs examined, 15...
Ward MP, Brady TH, Couëtil LL, Liljebjelke K, Maurer JJ, Wu CC.An outbreak of salmonellosis in a population of hospitalized horses resulted in the closure of a teaching hospital for a period of 10 weeks. Fecal samples were collected from suspected cases and cultured for Salmonella. Salmonella isolates were characterized using antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and phage typing. Thirty-three cases of infection by a multidrug-resistant strain of S. typhimurium were detected. The index case was admitted on 26 August 1999. Fifteen (45%) cases occurred between April and June 2000. PFGE results suggested that this stra...
Konkle DM, Nelson KM, Lunn DP.An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred at a veterinary hospital, involving multiple species, including humans. The index case was an infected dairy calf that presented with diarrhea. Several other cases of cryptosporidial diarrhea subsequently developed during a 1-month period. The key features of this outbreak were the multiple species affected, the increased morbidity in immunocompromised neonates, and the failure of implemented control measures to contain the disease.
Stojecki K, Sroka J, Cencek T, Dutkiewicz J.Faecal samples from 297 farm animals were collected from 18 households in distinct sites of the Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lake District of eastern Poland. They included samples from 86 cattle (Bos taurus), 84 pigs (Sus scrofa f. domestica), 81 sheep (Ovis aries), 10 horses (Equus caballus), and 36 dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). The samples were examined for the presence of Giardia intestinalis by the Direct Fluorescence Assay (DFA) and semi-nested PCR. All amplicons were sequenced on both strands. By DFA, cysts of Giardia spp. were detected in 66 of 297 faecal samples (22.2%). Positive specimen...
Journal of medical entomologyAugust 9, 2006
Volume 43, Issue 4 762-773 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2006)43[762:DACOBB]2.0.CO;2
Morshed MG, Scott JD, Fernando K, Geddes G, McNabb A, Mak S, Durden LA.The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), has a wide geographical distribution in Ontario, Canada, with a detected range extending at least as far north as the 50th parallel. Our data of 591 adult I. scapularis submissions collected from domestic animals (canines, felines, and equines) and humans during a 10-yr period (1993-2002) discloses a monthly questing activity in Ontario that peaks in May and October. The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmidt, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner was detected in 12.9% of I. scapularis adults collected from domesti...
Hamond C, Martins G, Lawson-Ferreira R, Medeiros MA, Lilenbaum W.The objective of this study was to demonstrate the presence of leptospires in equine urine, as evidence for a potential role of horses in transmission of this organism. Thoroughbred horses (aged 2-5 years, n = 276) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were studied. After a severe storm, the premises of the animals remained flooded for 72 h. Blood samples for serology were collected on days 20 and 35 (day of storm = day 0). On day 20, 132 (47·8%) horses were seroreactive (titre ≥200) and, of these, 23 (31·0%) had increased antibody titres on day 35. Furthermore, 34 urine samples (for PCR and cultur...
Petinaki E, Spiliopoulou I.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains one of the most virulent human pathogens and has also recently been recognized as such in the veterinary settings. Companion animals, including dogs, cats, horses, small exotic animals, wildlife animals, and livestock, may constitute a reservoir for MRSA transmission to humans and vice versa. The evolution, emergence, and risk factors for MRSA transmission among colonized or infected animals are reviewed in the present paper, and infection control practices are discussed.
Ramadan RM, Taha NM, Auda HM, Elsamman EM, El-Bahy MM, Salem MA.Equine piroplasmosis is not fully understood regarding pathogenicity, prophylaxis, host immune response expression, and specific vectors. Accurately identifying the parasite vector is crucial for developing an effective control plan for a particular infection. This study focused on morphologically identifying two Hyalomma species (H. anatolicum and H. marginatum) and one Rhipicephalus annulatus (R. annulatus) at the species level. The identification process was followed by phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining method based on the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COXI) gene as a specifi...
Kumsa B, Tamrat H, Tadesse G, Aklilu N, Cassini R.A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the species composition and prevalence of ixodid ticks infesting horses in three agroecological zones in central Ethiopia. For this purpose, a total of 1,168 horses were examined for tick infestation. An overall prevalence of 39.04% of tick infestation on horses was recorded. A total of 917 adult ticks were collected from infested horses. Amblyomma, Boophilus, Rhipicephalus, and Hyalomma genera with the respective prevalence of 3.2%, 1.8%, 29.2%, and 4.7% were identified. In the study, Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi was encountered with the hig...
Zanet S, Bassano M, Trisciuoglio A, Taricco I, Ferroglio E.Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi is a disease affecting the health and the international movement of horses. In order to assess prevalence of Piroplasmid infection in the Northwestern part of Italy and to evaluate the associated risk factors, whole blood was collected from 135 horses from 7 different stables across the study area. PCR and sequencing were used to assess prevalence of infection and to identify detected Piroplasms to species level. A total of 23 horses (P=17.04%; CI95%: 10.70-23.38%) was found to be infected with Piroplasms and T. equi was th...
Donahue JM, Smith BJ, Redmon KJ, Donahue JK.A study was conducted to evaluate a recently available fluorescent antibody test (FAT) conjugate for the detection of leptospires in tissues of aborted and stillborn horses, to determine the leptospira antibody titers and compare serologic test results with FAT results, and to determine the prevalence of leptospira-induced abortions and stillbirths in the equine population of central Kentucky. From July 1, 1988 through June 30, 1989, 15 (2.5%) of 594 submissions (fetuses, stillborn foals, and/or placentas) were diagnosed as leptospirosis by the FAT (14 of 15 tested) and/or microscopic agglutin...
Favaro PF, Fernandes WR, Reischak D, Brandão PE, Silva SOS, Richtzenhain LJ.Equine influenza is one of the major respiratory infectious diseases in horses. An equine influenza virus outbreak was identified in vaccinated and unvaccinated horses in a veterinary school hospital in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, in September 2015. The twelve equine influenza viruses isolated belonged to Florida Clade 1. The hemagglutinin and neuraminidase amino acid sequences were compared with the recent isolates from North and South America and the World Organisation for Animal Health recommended Florida Clade 1 vaccine strain. The hemagglutinin amino acid sequences had nine substitutions, com...
Aguilar CM, Rangel EF, Deane LM.In an endemic area of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Rio de Janeiro State where a mule had been found infected, a systematic search among equines was performed, resulting in the detection of Leishmania parasites in skin lesions of 30.8% of the animals, which included horses and mules. The eventual role of equines in the epidemiology of the human disease is being investigated.
Knowles DP.Infection of horses with the hemoprotozoan Babesia equi has been reported in southern Florida, US Virgin Islands, part of Asia, Russia, India, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Australia, South America, Central America, Mexico, Philippine Islands and some Caribbean islands. The restrictions placed on the international movement of infected horses has refocused attention on potential methods to control or eliminate infection. Don Knowles here discusses the primary chemotherapeutic compounds that have been used; the current knowledge concerning immune responses that potentially contribute to contr...
Rodriguez C, Taminiau B, Brévers B, Avesani V, Van Broeck J, Leroux AA, Amory H, Delmée M, Daube G.Clostridium difficile has been identified as a significant agent of diarrhoea and enterocolitis in both foals and adult horses. Hospitalization, antibiotic therapy or changes in diet may contribute to the development of C. difficile infection. Horses admitted to a care unit are therefore at greater risk of being colonized. The aim of this study was to investigate the carriage of C. difficile in hospitalized horses and the possible influence of some risk factors in colonization. During a seven-month period, faecal samples and data relating the clinical history of horses admitted to a veterinary...
Pusterla N, Madigan JE, Chae JS, DeRock E, Johnson E, Pusterla JB.We report successful helminthic transmission of Ehrlichia risticii, the causative agent of Potomac horse fever, using trematode stages collected from Juga yrekaensis snails. The ehrlichial agent was isolated from the blood of experimentally infected horses by culture in murine monocytic cells and identified as E. risticii ultrastructurally and by characterization of three different genes.
Gao S, Zeng Z, Wang H, Chen F, Huang L, Wang X.African horse sickness (AHS) is a devastating equine infectious disease. On 17 March 2020, it first appeared in Thailand and threatened all the South-East Asia equine industry security. Therefore, it is imperative to carry out risk warnings of the AHS in China. The maximum entropy algorithm was used to model AHS and Culicoides separately by using climate and non-climate variables. The least cost path (LCP) method was used to analyze the habitat connectivity of Culicoides with the reclassified land cover and altitude as cost factors. The models showed the mean area under the curve as 0.918 and ...
Kidd TJ, Gibson JS, Moss S, Greer RM, Cobbold RN, Wright JD, Ramsay KA, Grimwood K, Bell SC.Pseudomonas aeruginosa is associated with infectious endometritis in horses. Although infectious endometritis is often considered a venereal infection, there is relatively limited genotypic-based evidence to support this mode of transmission. The study sought to determine the relatedness between genital P. aeruginosa isolates collected from a limited geographical region using molecular strain typing. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus PCR typing was performed on 93 isolates collected between 2005 and 2009 from 2058 thoroughbred horses (including 18 stallions) at 66 studs. While P....
Manna G, Cersini A, Nardini R, Bartolomé Del Pino LE, Antognetti V, Zini M, Conti R, Lorenzetti R, Veneziano V, Autorino GL, Scicluna MT.Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are tick-borne pathogens causing equine piroplasmosis infecting the Equidae family in which they cause significant sanitary and economic losses. Furthermore, equine piroplasmosis is included in the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) notifiable diseases list with possible movement restrictions for positive horses. Thirty-nine EDTA and whole-blood samples collected during 2013 and 2014 from symptomatic and asymptomatic horses of Central-Southern Italy were included in the present study either because of their strongly positive results in Real Time (RT) PCRs...
Rüegg SR, Heinzmann D, Barbour AD, Torgerson PR.For the evaluation of the epidemiology of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in a herd of 510 horses in SW Mongolia, several mathematical models of the transmission dynamics were constructed. Because the field data contain information on the presence of the parasite (determined by PCR) and the presence of antibodies (determined by IFAT), the models cater for maternal protection with antibodies, susceptible animals, infected animals and animals which have eliminated the parasite and also allow for age-dependent infection in susceptible animals. Maximum likelihood estimation procedures were used...
Piantedosi D, D'Alessio N, Di Loria A, Di Prisco F, Mariani U, Neola B, Santoro M, Montagnaro S, Capelli G, Veneziano V.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) has been frequently described in donkeys in subtropical and tropical regions, but published data reflecting large scale surveys are very limited in Europe. The seroprevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi was determined in a donkey population from Campania Region in Southern Italy using a commercial indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), and the risk factors associated with the occurrence of the infection were assessed. Of 203 samples, the overall seroprevalence for EP was 57.1% (116/203), with 35.5% (72/203) for B. caballi and 44.3% (90/203) for T. equi. ...
