Disease treatment in horses encompasses a range of medical interventions and management strategies aimed at addressing various health conditions affecting equine species. These treatments can include pharmacological approaches, such as the administration of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and antiparasitic medications, as well as non-pharmacological methods like physical therapy, dietary adjustments, and surgical procedures. The selection of appropriate treatments depends on the specific disease, its severity, and the individual needs of the horse. This topic brings together peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the efficacy, safety, and advancements in therapeutic options for equine diseases, providing insights into best practices and emerging trends in equine veterinary medicine.
Magnusson U.The ongoing emergence of antibiotic resistance jeopardizes efficacy of antibiotics in curing animals from bacterial infections that threaten their health, welfare and productivity. This review gives an overview of antimicrobial use data in food-producing animals, a discussion on how antimicrobials are used for some infections in the reproductive system in cattle, the horse and pig in Europe where there are differences in treatment practices including options to refine the use of antibiotics, and finally, a presentation of the antibiotic resistance for some bacteria collected from the reproduct...
Budachetri K, Lin M, Yan Q, Chien RC, Hostnik LD, Haanen G, Leclère M, Waybright W, Baird JD, Arroyo LG, Rikihisa Y.Potomac horse fever (PHF) is an acute and potentially fatal enterotyphlocolitis of horses with clinical signs that include anorexia, fever, diarrhea, and laminitis. Its incidence is increasing despite a commercially available vaccine. PHF is caused by Neorickettsia risticii, and the recently rediscovered and classified . PHF diagnosis is currently accomplished using serology or nested PCR. However, both methods cannot distinguish the two species that cause PHF. Further, the current real-time PCR test fails to detect Thus, in this study, two species-specific real-time PCR assays based on a...
Yamada ALM, do Prado Vendruscolo C, Marsiglia MF, Sotelo EDP, Agreste FR, Seidel SRT, Fülber J, Baccarin RYA, da Silva LCLC.Combined chondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine (GlcN) has been widely used in oral formulations to prevent and treat osteoarthritis. CS is effective for controlling pain in osteoarthritic patients, whereas GlcN can stimulate glycosaminoglycan synthesis, thus reducing extracellular matrix degradation. Although several studies have been published on this topic, the effectiveness of treatment with oral CS and GlcN remains uncertain. The objective of this study was to analyze the progression of experimentally induced osteoarthritis in horses and verify the effectiveness of an oral compound base...
Van Steenkiste G, Boussy T, Duytschaever M, Vernemmen I, Schauvlieghe S, Decloedt A, van Loon G.Atrial tachycardia (AT) can be treated by medical or electrical cardioversion but the recurrence rate is high. Three-dimensional electro-anatomical mapping, recently described in horses, might be used to map AT to identify a focal source or reentry mechanism and to guide treatment by radiofrequency ablation. Objective: To describe the feasibility of 3D electro-anatomical mapping and radiofrequency catheter ablation to characterize and treat sustained AT in horses. Methods: Nine horses with sustained AT. Methods: Records from horses with sustained AT referred for radiofrequency ablation at Ghen...
Martinez PS, Whitley RD, Plummer CE, Richardson RL, Hamor RE, Wellehan JFX.To examine the relationship between Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MICs) and response to therapy of 6 Fusarium spp. and 5 Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from equine ulcerative keratitis cases. Methods: Fungi were identified by morphology and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with sequencing and evaluated at the University of Texas Fungal Testing Laboratory for susceptibility to three azole antifungals (miconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole), natamycin, and two echinocandins (anidulafungin, caspofungin). A Mann-Whitney rank sum test was used for the compariso...
Moreno-Martinez F, Byrne D, Raisis A, Waldmann AD, Hosgood G, Mosing M.Equine respiratory physiology might be influenced by the presence of an endotracheal tube (ETT). This experimental, randomized cross-over study aimed to compare breathing pattern (BrP) and ventilation distribution in anesthetized horses spontaneously breathing room air via ETT or facemask (MASK). Six healthy adult horses were anesthetized with total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA; xylazine, ketamine, guaiphenesin), breathing spontaneously in right lateral recumbency, and randomly assigned to ETT or MASK for 30 min, followed by the other treatment for an additional 30 min. During a second anesthe...
Spriet M.Positron emission tomography (PET) has established itself as a pertinent tool in equine musculoskeletal imaging in the last few years. With the ability to provide functional information regarding both bone and soft tissues, PET has found several clinical applications in horses. PET is currently used in horses as an enhanced bone scan, providing high-resolution 3-dimensional information, in particular for imaging of the racehorse fetlock. Combined with CT and MRI, PET is particularly pertinent in horses for the assessment of subchondral bone and enthesis. The development of a dedicated PET scan...
Vitoria A, Laborda A, Serrano-Casorrán C, Fuente S, Romero A, Vázquez FJ. There are different indications for endovascular surgery in horses, mainly the treatment of guttural pouch mycosis. Traditionally, these procedures are carried out by open arteriotomy of the common carotid artery (CCA), although less invasive percutaneous ultrasound-guided carotid access (PUGCA) has been described in experimental horses. In human medicine, commercial closure systems are used to seal these arterial puncture sites and reduce complications. The aims of this study are to retrospectively describe our experience with PUGCA in clinical cases and to report, for the first time, the us...
Löfgren M, Ekman S, Ekholm J, Engström M, Fjordbakk CT, Svala E, Holm Forsström K, Lindahl A, Skiöldebrand E.Autologous conditioned serum (ACS) is used to treat osteoarthritis in horses, although its effects are not fully investigated. Objective: To investigate the effects of equine serum and conditioned serum on chondrocytes stimulated with interleukin (IL)-1β and cartilage explants with mild osteoarthritis. Methods: In vitro experimental study. Methods: The effect of three different serum preparations (unincubated control [PS], serum incubated 24 h [PS24h] and serum incubated 24 h in ACS containers [PCS]) pooled from lame horses were tested in two in vitro models. IL-1β and IL-1 receptor anta...
da Cunha Neto CAV, Badial PR, de Oliveira-Filho JP, de Andrade DGA, Araujo JP, Borges AS.Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is a genetic disease that alters collagen biosynthesis. Affected horses exhibit fragile, hyperextensible skin, especially over the dorsal region. Although ultraviolet (UV) radiation seems to contribute to the regional distribution of lesions and worsening of clinical signs, the molecular mechanisms involved are largely unknown. Objective: To evaluate the effect of solar radiation on matrix metalloproteinase MMP1, MMP8 and MMP13 gene expression in the dorsal and ventral skin of HERDA-affected and HERDA-unaffected horses [wild-type (WT) horses]....
Katrinaki V, Estrada RJ, Mählmann K, Kolokythas P, Lischer CJ.The outcome and interpretation of intra-synovial diagnostic analgesia of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) and the navicular bursa (NB) remain in dispute, and no objective studies have been carried out to establish the percentage of improvement over time from these two analgesia techniques. Objective: To investigate the qualitative and time-dependent outcome of DIPJ-A and NB-A in naturally occurring forelimb lameness. Methods: Case series. Methods: Twenty-three clinical cases with forelimb lameness were evaluated objectively using a body mounted inertial sensor system (BMIS). Lameness wa...
Laseca N, Molina A, Valera M, Antonini A, Demyda-Peyrás S.Copy number variations (CNVs) are a new-fangled source of genetic variation that can explain changes in the phenotypes in complex traits and diseases. In recent years, their study has increased in many livestock populations. However, the study and characterization of CNVs in equines is still very limited. Our study aimed to investigate the distribution pattern of CNVs, characterize CNV regions (CNVRs), and identify the biological pathways affected by CNVRs in the Pura Raza Española (PRE) breed. To achieve this, we analyzed high-density SNP genotyping data (670,804 markers) from a large cohort...
Bergh A, Asplund K, Lund I, Boström A, Hyytiäinen H.Soft tissue mobilization is frequently used in the treatment of sport and companion animals. There is, however, uncertainty regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of these methods. Therefore, the aim of this systematic literature review was to assess the evidence for clinical effects of massage and stretching in cats, dogs, and horses. A bibliographic search, restricted to studies in cats, dogs, and horses, was performed on Web of Science Core Collection, CABI, and PubMed. Relevant articles were assessed for scientific quality, and information was extracted on study characteristics, species,...
Geurden T, Smith ER, Vercruysse J, Yazwinski T, Rehbein S, Nielsen MK.This reflection paper complements the WAAVP (World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology) general anthelmintic efficacy guideline, which outlines the general principles of anthelmintic efficacy evaluation across all animal host species. It provides background to the recommendations made in the WAAVP general anthelmintic efficacy guideline, with insights into the discussions leading to specific recommendations in the general guideline or the absence thereof. Furthermore, this paper discusses recent technological advancements with potential value to the evaluation of anthelm...
Seabaugh KA, Barrett MF, Rao S, McIlwraith CW, Frisbie DD.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common problem in horses. Several oral supplements have been proposed as treatments for horses with OA. The object of this study was to evaluate the use of the oil extract from the seeds of (BO) for the treatment of experimentally induced OA in horses. OA was induced in 16, 2-5 year old horses in one middle carpal joint on Day 0; the other limb underwent a sham operation. Once daily oral treatment with BO or placebo was initiated on Day 0 and continued to Day 70. All horses were exercised 5 days a week starting on Day 14 through Day 70. The horses were evaluated every...
Gazzonis AL, Morganti G, Porcellato I, Roccabianca P, Avallone G, Gavaudan S, Canonico C, Rigamonti G, Brachelente C, Veronesi F. is a protozoan causing human zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) and visceral-cutaneous canine leishmaniosis (CanL) in the Mediterranean Basin. is able to infect a large number of wild and domestic species, including cats, dogs, and horses. Since the 1990s, clinical cases of equine leishmaniasis (EL), typically characterized by cutaneous forms, have been increasingly diagnosed worldwide. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of clinical forms of EL in CanL-endemic areas in Italy, where exposure of equine populations was ascertained from recent serological surveys. For t...
Lee DH, Lee EB, Seo JP, Ko EJ.Despite vaccination, equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus (EHV) infections still cause highly contagious respiratory diseases in horses. Recently, concurrent vaccination with EIV and EHV was suggested as a new approach; however, there have been no reports of concurrent vaccination with recombinant canarypox EIV and inactivated EHV vaccines. In this study, we aimed to compare the EIV-specific immune responses induced by concurrent administrations of a recombinant canarypox EIV vaccine and an inactivated bivalent EHV vaccine with those induced by a single recombinant canarypox EIV...
Kendall A, Ekman S, Skiöldebrand E.Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophin that has been implicated in pain signaling, apoptosis, inflammation and proliferation. The resultant effects depend on interaction with two different receptors; tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) and p75 . NGF increases in synovial fluid from osteoarthritic joints, and monoclonal antibody therapy is trialed to treat osteoarthritis (OA)-related pain. Investigation of the complex and somewhat contradictory signaling pathways of NGF is conducted in neural research, but has not followed through to orthopaedic studies. The objectives of this study were to compare t...
Gilbertie JM, Schaer TP, Engiles JB, Seiler GS, Deddens BL, Schubert AG, Jacob ME, Stefanovski D, Ruthel G, Hickok NJ, Stowe DM, Frink A, Schnabel LV.The leading cause of treatment failure in Staphylococcus aureus infections is the development of biofilms. Biofilms are highly tolerant to conventional antibiotics which were developed against planktonic cells. Consequently, there is a lack of antibiofilm agents in the antibiotic development pipeline. To address this problem, we developed a platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-derived biologic, termed BIO-PLY (for the BIOactive fraction of Platelet-rich plasma LYsate) which has potent in vitro bactericidal activity against S. aureus synovial fluid free-floating biofilm aggregates. Additional in vitro st...
Cantatore F, Marcatili M, Withers J.Stiff-person syndrome is a well-recognised disease in humans, whilst cases of stiff-horse syndrome (SHS) have been rarely reported in the veterinary medicine literature. SHS is a progressive immunomediated disorder of the central nervous system leading to a disturbance of gamma amino butyric acid transmission at the neuromuscular junction in which antibodies are produced against the enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase. A 6 year-old Irish Sport Horse was presented for investigation of involuntary violent contraction of hindlimb and back muscles triggered by stress. The diagnosis of SHS was made ...
Bollig ER, Granick JL, Webb TL, Ward C, Beaudoin AL.Antimicrobials are critical for medicine, but the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effectiveness of these valuable drugs. In USA, there are no national- or state-level programs or policies in place to track antibiotic use (AU) in dogs, cats, and horses, despite acknowledgement of this sector's importance to both the AMR problem and its solution. AU measurement is a key part of antibiotic stewardship and AMR prevention. This study aimed to fill existing gaps in the veterinary professions' knowledge of antibiotic prescribing in small animals and horses. To address this aim...
Stemmet GP, Robert MP, Smit Y.Sinusitis is a common occurrence in horses and often develops secondary to dental disease. Extraction of cheek teeth in horses is associated with variable degrees of complications and although postoperative displacement and retention of alveolar plugs has been identified as one such potential complication, few cases of resulting sinusitis have been reported. This manuscript describes a four-year-old Thoroughbred mare that was presented for chronic unilateral left-sided mucopurulent nasal discharge after extraction of the left maxillary second molar tooth two months earlier. Radiographic and co...
Stange LM, Krieter J, Czycholl I.Equine headshaking syndrome (EHS) is characterised as non-physical and involuntary movement of the horse's head and neck. Although EHS is clinically simple to diagnose, its aetiopathogenesis often remains unclear. The aim of this study was to gain an overview of signalment and therapy possibilities used in France and Switzerland. To do this, an online survey was developed and distributed via newsletters. A total of 933 complete, answered surveys from France ( = 804) and Switzerland ( = 129) were evaluated. The median age in France was 12.4 years (CH = 14.3). Mostly geldings were affected (58.5...
Lean NE, Bertin FR, Ahern BJ.To assess the effect of vocal cordectomy on airflow across equine larynges at different Rakestraw grades of arytenoid abduction using a unidirectional airflow model. Methods: Ex vivo, repeated measures. Methods: Twenty cadaveric equine larynges. Methods: The right arytenoid cartilage was maximally abducted in all larynges. Each larynx was assigned a Rakestraw grade A or B, and the left arytenoid was abducted accordingly. Each larynx was tested under 3 conditions: intact, left vocal cordectomy (LVC), and bilateral vocal cordectomy (BVC). Translaryngeal pressure and airflow were measured, and di...
Coultous RM, Sutton DGM, Boden LA.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is currently not endemic in the UK, despite a lack of formal surveillance and the presence of carrier horses in the equine population. Pathogen establishment would have significant welfare and economic impacts on the national equine industry, but the disease is often overlooked by UK practitioners. Objective: To assess the risk of disease entry, exposure and consequences to the UK equine population. Methods: Qualitative risk assessment. Methods: A qualitative risk assessment was constructed utilising the current World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) published fra...
Contentin R, Jammes M, Bourdon B, Cassé F, Bianchi A, Audigié F, Branly T, Velot É, Galéra P.Equine osteoarthritis (OA) leads to cartilage degradation with impaired animal well-being, premature cessation of sport activity, and financial losses. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies are promising for cartilage repair, but face limitations inherent to the cell itself. Soluble mediators and extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by MSCs are the alternatives to overcome those limitations while preserving MSC restorative properties. The effect of equine bone marrow MSC secretome on equine articular chondrocytes (eACs) was analyzed with indirect co-culture and/or MSC-conditioned media ...
Boye JK, Bulkeley EA, Dujovne GA.To describe uterine prolapse, predispositions, and outcomes in mares treated between 1988 and 2019. 24 mares with uterine prolapse. Clinical records were retrospectively reviewed, and follow-up information was gathered. The Mann-Whitney U test and Fisher exact test were used to analyze results for history and outcome variables for potential association with mare survival to hospital discharge. The χ2 test was used to compare breed distribution. Age was known in 23 mares (median, 11.1 years). For 15 mares with exact known parity, the median parity was 3 births (range, 1 to 13 births). For 22 m...
Daniels A, Pezzanite LM, Griffenhagen GM, Hendrickson DA.The frequency of surgical site infection (SSI) following orthopaedic implant placement in horses has been reported but not compared with respect to specific antibiotic protocols administered. To determine factors associated with SSI in horses undergoing proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) arthrodesis including perioperative antibiotic protocols. Records were evaluated (2010-2019), and horses undergoing PIPJ arthrodesis were identified. Patient signalment, supervising surgeon, reason for surgery, limb, implants placed, anaesthetic time, duration casting/coaptation postoperatively, antibiotic ...
Anastasi E, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Hondalus MK, Willingham-Lane JM, MacArthur I, Cohen ND, Roberts MC, Vazquez-Boland JA.The objective of this study was to identify the molecular mechanism of macrolide resistance in the actinomycete Rhodococcus equi, a major equine pathogen and zoonotic agent causing opportunistic infections in people. Methods: Macrolide-resistant (n = 62) and macrolide-susceptible (n = 62) clinical isolates of R. equi from foals in the USA were studied. WGS of 18 macrolide-resistant and 6 macrolide-susceptible R. equi was performed. Representative sequences of all known macrolide resistance genes identified to date were used to search the genome assemblies for putative homologues. PCR w...
Ciarlet M, Reggeti F, Piña CI, Liprandi F.Two group A rotavirus strains isolated from diarrheic foals in Venezuela were classified as belonging to G14 serotype by cross-neutralization tests and on the basis of the homology of the sequenced VP7 gene. This report confirms that rotavirus strains of G14 serotype specificity circulate among equine populations.
Rubio-Martínez LM, Cruz AM.Regional limb perfusion involves administration of an antimicrobial solution into the vasculature of a selected portion of the limb that has been isolated from the systemic circulation by controlled application of a tourniquet. The technique provides high antimicrobial concentrations in the region of interest and greatly contributes to the elimination of infection.
Madigan JE, Hietala S, Muller N.A 2-year field study was performed to determine the capability of increasing Rhodococcus equi specific antibody in foals via plasma transfusion or mare vaccination, to determine the kinetics of R. equi (ELISA) antibody decay and to assess the protective effects of these procedures in foals on a farm endemic for R. equi. Plasma donors were vaccinated with a killed R. equi bacterin and produced high levels of anti-R. equi antibodies, which were harvested by plasmapheresis. In Experiment 1, 68 foals were given 1 litre of hyperimmune plasma intravenously (i.v.) between 1-60 days of age. Foal plasm...
Knottenbelt DC.This article discusses the main treatments for sarcoid and the specific difficulties of these. It explains to some extent why the frustrations of a condition for which there is no single treatment option have led to the burgeoning of an industry of irrational treatments. The factors that need to be considered before selecting an option for treatment are wider than is the case in most other disease entities as a result of the complexity of the condition, its variable phenotypes, and the individual perceptions and experiences of both veterinarians and owners.
Revenaugh MS.Veterinarians have begun using extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in horses, although relatively little information has been published about its efficacy or mechanism of action. As a clinician, it can be difficult to know if and when ESWT should be recommended. Case studies in which ESWT is used to treat advanced OA in horses are discussed. ESWTseems to be a valuable adjunct for management of equine OA. It is the purpose of this article to discuss indications and techniques as well as to share clinical experiences using ESWT in the treatment of OA in ...
León G, Herrera M, Vargas M, Arguedas M, Sánchez A, Segura Á, Gómez A, Solano G, Corrales-Aguilar E, Risner K, Narayanan A, Bailey C, Villalta M....In the current global emergency due to SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, passive immunotherapy emerges as a promising treatment for COVID-19. Among animal-derived products, equine formulations are still the cornerstone therapy for treating envenomations due to animal bites and stings. Therefore, drawing upon decades of experience in manufacturing snake antivenom, we developed and preclinically evaluated two anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal equine formulations as potential alternative therapy for COVID-19. We immunized two groups of horses with either S1 (anti-S1) or a mixture of S1, N, and SEM mosaic (anti-Mix) ...
Angelone M, Conti V, Biacca C, Battaglia B, Pecorari L, Piana F, Gnudi G, Leonardi F, Ramoni R, Basini G, Dotti S, Renzi S, Ferrari M, Grolli S.Laminitis, a highly debilitating disease of the foot in ungulates, is characterized by pathological changes of the complex lamellar structures that maintain the appendicular skeleton within the hoof. Laminitis is a multifactorial disease that involves perturbation of the vascular, hematological, and inflammatory homeostasis of the foot. Interestingly, the pathogenesis of the disease resembles what is observed in metabolic syndromes and sepsis-induced organ failure in humans and animals. We hypothesized that local administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) mi...
We found a male Hyalomma rufipes Koch, 1844 tick feeding on a horse grazing near Valtice, south Moravia, Czech Republic on October 24, 2019. The horse was born in Czechland and did not leave the country at least during the last five years. Relevant findings of Hyalomma ticks in other parts of central Europe are reviewed, including also records of pre-imaginal Hyalomma marginatum complex ticks on migrating birds all over Europe.
Wada S, Hobo S, Niwa H.To describe the number of cases, etiologies, healing times, and results of microbial culture and susceptibility testing of corneal ulcers in thoroughbred racehorses in Japan. Methods: Retrospective study of the medical records of racehorses belonging to the Japan Racing Association (JRA) from 1997 to 2008. Results: A total of 2846 horses suffered ulcerative keratitis. These horses accounted for 90.5% of all the corneal problems and 54.9% of the entire number of horses with ocular diseases. Running in races was the cause in 64.3% of the cases. The mean healing time of the ulcers developed in ra...
Mambelli LI, Winter GH, Kerkis A, Malschitzky E, Mattos RC, Kerkis I.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), because of their immunomodulation and trophic activities, in addition to their capacity to regenerate damaged tissues, have potential for treatment of many diseases. The success of stem cell therapies depends, in part, on the method of cell delivery, which should provide wide cell distribution and homing in to injured sites. The objective of the present study was to developing a novel strategy for delivery of MSCs into the uterus of mares with endometrosis (degenerative alteration of uterine glands and surrounding stroma). Endometrosis was confirmed in all mares ...
Nielsen MK.Clinically important equine parasites are ubiquitous in managed horse populations. The traditional approach to parasite control is frequent administration of anthelmintics to all horses on a farm. However, increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance is forcing horse owners and veterinarians to shift this control paradigm. Treatment regimens involving routine deworming of all horses throughout the year are now being replaced by more sustainable approaches, which take in to account the importance of maintaining adequate parasite refugia. The selective therapy principle has been recommended for ...
Robin M, Page P, Archer D, Baylis M.African horse sickness (AHS) is an arboviral disease of equids transmitted by Culicoides biting midges. The virus is endemic in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and official AHS disease-free status can be obtained from the World Organization for Animal Health on fulfilment of a number of criteria. AHS is associated with case fatality rates of up to 95%, making an outbreak among naïve horses both a welfare and economic disaster. The worldwide distributions of similar vector-borne diseases (particularly bluetongue disease of ruminants) are changing rapidly, probably due to a combination of globalisa...
Maliye S, Marshall JF.OBJECTIVE To characterize and describe the compensatory load redistribution that results from unilateral hind limb lameness in horses. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 37 client-owned horses. PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed to identify horses with unilateral hind limb lameness that responded positively (by objective assessment) to diagnostic local anesthesia during lameness evaluation and that were evaluated before and after diagnostic local anesthesia with an inertial sensor-based lameness diagnosis system. Horses were grouped as having hind limb lameness only, hind limb and...
Sweeney CR, Holcombe SJ, Barningham SC, Beech J.Frequency of aerobic and anaerobic isolates in 327 aspirates and in 123 pleural fluid samples from 327 horses with pneumonia or pleuropneumonia and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the aerobes were reported. Of the 327 horses, 75% survived, 20% were euthanatized, and 5% died. Tracheobronchial aspirates or pleural fluid specimens from 25 of the horses did not yield growth. Of the remaining 302 horses, 221 had only aerobic organisms isolated, whereas only anaerobes were isolated from 6 of the 302 horses. The remaining 75 horses had mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infections. The su...
Minke JM, Toulemonde CE, Coupier H, Guigal PM, Dinic S, Sindle T, Jessett D, Black L, Bublot M, Pardo MC, Audonnet JC.To determine onset and duration of immunity provided by a 2- or 3-dose series of a new canarypox-vectored recombinant vaccine for equine influenza virus (rCP-EIV vaccine) expressing the hemagglutinin genes of influenza H3N8 virus strains A/eq/Kentucky/94 and A/eq/Newmarket/2/93 in ponies. Methods: Forty-nine 1- to 3-year-old male Welsh Mountain Ponies that were seronegative for equine influenza virus. Methods: Vaccinated and control ponies were challenged with aerosolized influenza virus A/eq/Sussex/89 (H3N8), representative of the Eurasian lineage of circulating influenza viruses. In trial 1,...
Hoffman AM, Staempfli HR, Willan A.The costly nature of intensive care for neonatal foals prompted a study of predictive variables for survival in a referral hospital. Applying stepforward logistic regression to parameters that differed significantly (P less than 0.10) between survivors (S) and nonsurvivors (NS) in a retrospective study (n = 56), two variables retained statistical significance [anion gap (AG, P = 0.0047) and venous PO2 (PvO2, P = 0.0342)], thus forming the basis for a predictive equation for survival: the Pn (probability of NS) = eA/(1 + eA) where A = -1.46 - 0.107 (PvO2) + 0.213 (AG). The predictive equation w...
Chiam R, Sharp E, Maan S, Rao S, Mertens P, Blacklaws B, Davis-Poynter N, Wood J, Castillo-Olivares J.African horse sickness virus (AHSV) causes a non-contagious, infectious disease in equids, with mortality rates that can exceed 90% in susceptible horse populations. AHSV vaccines play a crucial role in the control of the disease; however, there are concerns over the use of polyvalent live attenuated vaccines particularly in areas where AHSV is not endemic. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative approaches for AHSV vaccine development. We have carried out a pilot study to investigate the ability of recombinant modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) vaccines expressing VP2, VP7 or NS3 genes...
Mirza MH, Bommala P, Richbourg HA, Rademacher N, Kearney MT, Lopez MJ.Mechanisms to reduce lameness associated with osteoarthritis (OA) are vital to equine health and performance. This study was designed to quantify response to autologous, intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in horses with OA. Kinetic gait analysis was performed on 12 horses with unilateral forelimb lameness and OA in the same limb before and after intra-articular anesthesia (IAA). Radiographs and kinetic data were obtained before and 6 and 16 weeks after PRP administration to same joint, 4 weeks after IAA. Statistical evaluations included filtration effect on platelet concentration, ...
Wilson JM, McKenzie E, Duesterdieck-Zellmer K.To define which biologic, electrophysical and other modalities are used in horses for injury or performance issues, a questionnaire regarding 38 modalities was distributed to eight veterinary groups. A total of 305 complete or partial responses were obtained from over 10 geographic regions; 75.4% from private equine practice or regional private equine referral hospitals, 14.1% from university teaching hospitals or satellite clinics, 8.2% from private mixed animal practice, and 2.3% from veterinary rehabilitation centers. The majority of respondents were located in the USA (60%), Europe (25.6%)...
Luna SP, Angeli AL, Ferreira CL, Lettry V, Scognamillo-Szabó M.Pharmacopuncture, the injection of subclinical doses of drugs into acupoints reduces drug undesirable side effects, residues in animal consumption products and treatment costs in large animals. Acepromazine (Acp) produces several undesirable effects, such as hypotension. Previous studies with the injection of 1/10 of Acp dose in dog acupoints showed its advantage for sedation, minimizing undesirable effects. Eight horses were randomly submitted to four different treatment protocols according to a Latin Square double-blind design: (i) 0.1 ml kg(-1) of saline subcutaneously injected at the cervi...
Bullitta S, Re GA, Manunta MDI, Piluzza G.Mediterranean farmers traditionally utilized plants, animals, and minerals sourced locally to treat their animals. Research is needed to understand at what extent such knowledge of domestic animal care still survives and to document such traditions for further developments. Methods: We carried out our field study to recover ancient ethno-veterinary practices by means of questionnaires and interviews to farmers in rural areas of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy). Quantitative indices were used to evaluate the distribution and diversity of the acquired information. Results: We report ...
Silva EC, Oliveira TJ, Moreli FC, Harada LK, Vila MMDC, Balcão VM.In the present research work, we propose a new antimicrobial treatment for pyoderma via cutaneous permeation of bacteriophage particles conveyed in a hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) gel integrating ionic liquid as a permeation enhancer. Ionic liquids are highly viscous fluids constituted exclusively by ions, that are usually hydrolytically stable and promote solubilization of amphipathic molecules such as proteins, hence serving as green solvents and promoting the transdermal permeation of biomolecules. In the research effort entertained herein, the synthesis and use of choline geranate for integr...
Weese JS.Infectious diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in horses, along with economic costs and broader impacts associated with the loss of members of a species that generates income, acts as a working animal and is a companion. Endemic diseases continue to challenge, emerging diseases are an ever-present threat and outbreaks can be both destructive and disruptive. While infectious diseases can never be completely prevented, measures can be introduced to restrict the entry of pathogens into a population or limit the implications of the presence of a pathogen. Objective research ...
Franzén P, Aspan A, Egenvall A, Gunnarsson A, Aberg L, Pringle J.Six horses were experimentally infected by administration of horse blood containing a Swedish strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) signal was consistently detected 2-3 days before appearance of clinical signs and persisted 4-9 days beyond abatement of clinical signs, whereas diagnostic inclusion bodies were 1st noted on average 2.6 +/- 1.5 (SD) days after onset of fever. Clinical signs and hematologic changes were largely indistinguishable from those previously reported for diseases caused by A phagocytophilum (formerly Ehrlichia equi--"Californian agent") a...
Textor JA, Clark KC, Walker NJ, Aristizobal FA, Kol A, LeJeune SS, Bledsoe A, Davidyan A, Gray SN, Bohannon-Worsley LK, Woolard KD, Borjesson DL.Distal extremity wounds are a significant clinical problem in horses and humans and may benefit from mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy. This study evaluated the effects of direct wound treatment with allogeneic stem cells, in terms of gross, histologic, and transcriptional features of healing. Three full-thickness cutaneous wounds were created on each distal forelimb in six healthy horses, for a total of six wounds per horse. Umbilical cord-blood derived equine MSCs were applied to each wound 1 day after wound creation, in one of four forms: (a) normoxic- or (b) hypoxic-preconditioned cells ...
Lu G, Wu L, Ou J, Li S.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first reported in a horse that died of equine serum hepatitis in the USA in 2018, and was determined having a strong association with equine serum hepatitis in the following studies. As a newly discovered virus, the genomic sequences of only seven EqPV-H strains have been reported. Considering this, an epidemiological study was performed to investigate the prevalence of EqPV-H in equines in Guangdong Province in China, and obtain genomic sequences of the field prevalent EqPV-H strains. The detection rate of EqPV-H was finally determined to be 8.33% (95%...
Huber L, Giguère S, Cohen ND, Slovis NM, Hanafi A, Schuckert A, Berghaus L, Greiter M, Hart KA.The combination of a macrolide and rifampicin has been the mainstay of therapy in foals with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia for decades. Recent studies suggest that mass antimicrobial treatment of subclinically affected foals over time has selected for antimicrobial resistance. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of R. equi strains resistant to macrolides and rifampicin at horse breeding farms in Kentucky. A hundred breeding farms in Kentucky were surveyed and R. equi were cultured from soil samples. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and generalized linear modeling (P < 0...
Lowe W, March JK, Bunnell AJ, O'Neill KL, Robison RA.Methods for the rapid detection and differentiation of the Burkholderia pseudomallei complex comprising B. pseudomallei, B. mallei, and B. thailandensis, have been the topic of recent research due to the high degree of phenotypic and genotypic similarities of these species. B. pseudomallei and B. mallei are recognized by the CDC as tier 1 select agents. The high mortality rates of glanders and melioidosis, their potential use as bioweapons, and their low infectious dose, necessitate the need for rapid and accurate detection methods. Although B. thailandensis is generally avirulent in mammals, ...
