The study of diseases in horses encompasses a wide range of conditions affecting equine health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic abnormalities. These diseases can impact various systems within the horse, such as respiratory, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal systems, and can lead to significant health challenges. Research in this area focuses on understanding the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of equine diseases. Common diseases studied include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, and laminitis. This page provides access to peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, clinical presentation, and management strategies of diseases in horses, contributing to the advancement of equine veterinary medicine.
Kelmer G, Tatz A, Bdolah-Abram T.To describe indwelling cephalic or saphenous vein catheter use for intravenous regional limb perfusion (ID-IV-RLP) to treat horses with synovial injury (contamination/infection) of the distal aspect of the limb. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Horses (n = 44; 45 limbs) treated with proximal ID-IV-RLP. Methods: Horses had ID-IV-RLP using a cephalic (21 limbs) or saphenous (24 limbs) vein. Amikacin was the most frequently used antibiotic. Number of perfusions ranged from 3 to 21 (median 7). A cast was applied to 14 injured limbs (1 tube cast, 1 full-limb cast, 2 foot casts, and 10 h...
Dong JB, Zhu W, Cook FR, Goto Y, Horii Y, Haga T.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) has posed a major challenge and caused significant losses to the equine industry worldwide. PCR detection methods have considerable potential as an adjunct to conventional serological diagnostic techniques. However, most published PCR methods, including that recommended by the OIE, were designed using laboratory-adapted virus strains and do not function with field isolates of EIA virus (EIAV). In the present study, a nested PCR assay for detection of EIAV proviral DNA in peripheral blood cells of naturally infected horses was developed. Primer sets were designed ...
Tee SY, Horadagoda N, Mogg TD.Flaviviruses, including Kunjin virus, are arboviruses that cause encephalomyelitis in humans and horses. This case report describes an Arabian gelding exhibiting neurological signs of flavivirus encephalomyelitis, the diagnostic investigation and confirmation of an unreported case of Kunjin virus equine encephalomyelitis in Australia.
Oliveira-Filho JP, Cagnini DQ, Badial PR, Pessoa MA, Del Piero F, Borges AS.Cassia occidentalis is a bush from the Leguminosae family, subfamily Caesalpinoideae, and is a toxic plant of veterinary interest due to the occasional contamination of animal rations. This report describes the clinical and histopathological findings of an outbreak of C. occidentalis poisoning in horses. Twenty mares were poisoned after consuming ground corn contaminated with 8% of C. occidentalis seeds. Of the 20 animals affected, 12 died: 8 mares were found dead, 2 died 6 h after the onset of clinical signs compatible with hepatic encephalopathy and the 2 other animals were subjected to euth...
Ball BA, Almeida J, Conley AJ.Endocrinological assays are important for evaluation of mares with granulosa-cell tumours (GCTs), and our research in mares indicates that anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) may be a good biomarker for this type of ovarian tumour. Objective: To evaluate the use of serum AMH concentrations for endocrine diagnosis of GCTs in mares. Methods: Archived serum samples (n = 403) previously assayed for determination of serum inhibin, testosterone and progesterone concentrations (GCT panel) were assayed for serum AMH concentrations using a heterologous enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay previously validated b...
Atta EH, de Sousa AM, Schirmer MR, Bouzas LF, Nucci M, Abdelhay E.The standard regimen for HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplant (BMT) in severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is cyclophosphamide (Cy) and horse antithymocyte globulin (ATG). Horse ATG has been replaced by rabbit ATG in many countries due to the unavailability of the former product. This study was designed to assess if these ATG preparations are interchangeable in the preparative regimen for matched related BMT in SAA. Forty consecutive BMTs were retrospectively analyzed: 20 received Cy plus horse ATG and 20 received Cy plus rabbit ATG as the preparative regimen. Conditioning with rabbit ATG was...
Salas Y, Márquez A, Canelón J, Perazzo Y, Colmenárez V, López JA.Pythium insidiosum is a pathogenic oomycete known since 1890 that causes pythiosis in mammals. In this report, seven P. insidiosum isolates were recovered from Venezuelan horses and were characterized. The strains were recovered from biopsied tissues and kunkers collected from granulomatous masses located on the hind limb and from a nodular lesion in the left upper eyelid, which decrease the ability of the horses to be used for working purposes. The methods used to identify P. insidiosum isolates were based on the production of sporangia and zoospores, histopathology and PCR assay. To further ...
Traversa D, Otranto D, Milillo P, Latrofa MS, Giangaspero A, Di Cesare A, Paoletti B.In order to evaluate infection occurrence and the potential zoonotic role of horse isolates of Giardia duodenalis, 431 individual fecal samples were genetically characterized by PCR tests -coupled sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Thirty-seven (8.6%) animals resulted infected by different Assemblage. The presence of sub-Assemblage was assessed by characterizing the β-giardin gene for 16 of the 37 positive horses. Ten isolates showed 99.6% to 100% homology with the sub-Assemblage described as B1-2 and B1-6, three Assemblage A showed 99.8% homology with sub-Assemblage A1, while one Assembla...
Matheis FL, Birkmann K, Ruetten M, Pot SA, Spiess BM.A 10-year-old German Warmblood gelding was referred to the Equine Department of the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland, for an iris mass OD, lethargy, intermittent fever, and coughing. Ophthalmic examination revealed a 7 × 9 mm raised, fleshy, whitish to pinkish, vascularized iris mass at the 2 o`clock position OD. Fundic examination showed multifocal round, brown to black, slightly raised lesions with indistinct margins and a surrounding hyperreflective zone OU. Physical examination revealed a temperature of 39.2 °C, sinus tachycardia, preputial and ventral edema, and an e...
Sponseller BA, Clark SK, Friedrich RA.Determining mechanisms of viral escape to particular epitopes recognized by virus-neutralizing antibody can facilitate characterization of host-neutralizing antibody responses as type- versus group-specific, and provides necessary information for vaccine development. Our study reveals that a single N-glycan located in the 5' region of the Wyoming wild-type equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) principal neutralizing domain (PND) accounts for the differences in neutralization phenotype observed between PND variants, while variations in charged amino acids within the PND do not appear to play a ...
Karakulska J, Fijałkowski K, Nawrotek P, Pobucewicz A, Poszumski F, Czernomysy-Furowicz D.The aim of this study was an analysis of the staphylococcal flora of the nasal cavity of 42 healthy horses from 4 farms, along with species identification of CoNS isolates and determination of resistance to 18 antimicrobial agents, particularly phenotypic and genotypic methicillin resistance. From the 81 swabs, 87 staphylococci were isolated. All isolates possessed the gap gene but the coa gene was not detected in any of these isolates. Using PCR-RFLP of the gap gene, 82.8% of CoNS were identified: S. equorum (14.9%), S. warneri (14.9%), S. sciuri (12.6%), S. vitulinus (12.6%), S. xylosus (11....
Vanel M, Olive J, Gold S, Mitchell RD, Walker L.Deep digital flexor (DDF) tendinopathy is one of the most frequent causes of foot lameness and the prognosis is guarded. The progress of lesion healing may be followed by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to formulate a prognosis and to adapt the rehabilitation program. We assessed the correlation of outcome with total tendon damage and temporal resolution of MR abnormalities. Images from 34 horses with DDF tendinopathy that had undergone at least two low-field standing MR examinations of the foot (mean 2.5 ± 1.3 times) were reviewed. No horse having a T1-GRE hyperintense lesion over 30 mm in l...
Holmes JM, Gilkerson JR, El Hage CM, Slocombe RF, Muurlink MA.A 5-year-old Thoroughbred mare presented with signs of severe pain and was taken to exploratory laparotomy based on suspicion of an acute abdominal lesion. A mild gastrointestinal lesion was discovered, but was considered disproportional to the severity of signs displayed. The mare was later euthanased because of intractable pain. Comprehensive postmortem examination, including polymerase chain reaction testing of central nervous system tissue samples, allowed a definitive diagnosis of Murray Valley encephalomyelitis to be made. This case demonstrates the variability of clinical presentations ...
Lu Z, Zhang J, Huang CM, Go YY, Faaberg KS, Rowland RR, Timoney PJ, Balasuriya UB.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) are members of family Arteriviridae; they are highly species specific and differ significantly in cellular tropism in cultured cells. In this study we examined the role of the two major envelope proteins (GP5 and M) of EAV and PRRSV in determining their cellular tropism. We generated three viable EAV/PRRSV chimeric viruses by swapping the N-terminal ectodomains of these two proteins from PRRSV IA1107 strain into an infectious cDNA clone of EAV (rMLVB4/5 GP5ecto, rMLVB4/5/6 Mecto and rMLVB4/5/6 GP5&Mect...
Vaughan JA, Tkach VV, Greiman SE.Digeneans are endoparasitic flatworms with complex life cycles and distinct life stages that parasitize different host species. Some digenean species harbour bacterial endosymbionts known as Neorickettsia (Order Rickettsiales, Family Anaplasmataceae). Neorickettsia occur in all life stages and are maintained by vertical transmission. Far from benign however, Neorickettsia may also be transmitted horizontally by digenean parasites to their vertebrate definitive hosts. Once inside, Neorickettsia can infect macrophages and other cell types. In some vertebrate species (e.g. dogs, horses and humans...
Donahue JM, Timoney PJ, Carleton CL, Marteniuk JV, Sells SF, Meade BJ.This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of Taylorella asinigenitalis in a subset of the donkey population of Michigan and in other equids on farms on which the organism was identified. Other aims were to further characterize the carrier state in terms of persistence and preferred sites of colonization of T. asinigenitalis in the male donkey as well as determine the genotype of any isolates of the organism. Initial testing of 43 donkeys and 1 mule turned up 4 (9.3%) donkeys culture positive for T. asinigenitalis. The 4 culture-positive donkeys resided on 2 farms accommodating a ...
Christensen M, Jacobsen S, Ichiyanagi T, Kjelgaard-Hansen M.Major acute phase proteins (APPs) have proven diagnostically useful in dogs, cats and horses with routine use facilitated by commercially available automated heterologous assays. An automated assay applicable across all three species would highly facilitate further dissemination of routine use, and the aim of this study was to validate an automated latex agglutination turbidimetric immunoassay based on monoclonal anti-human serum amyloid A (SAA) antibodies for measurement of canine, feline and equine SAA. Serum samples from 60 dogs, 40 cats and 40 horses were included. Intra- and inter-assay i...
Friesen KM, Johnson GD.Reproductive potential was assessed for stable fly cohorts fed cattle, chicken, or horse blood. Flies provided chicken blood oviposited 20% more eggs per day than did those fed cattle or horse blood. However, flies provided cattle or horse blood were fecund 50% longer. When both egg viability and number of eggs produced were considered, lifetime reproductive potential was almost twice as high for flies fed cattle or chicken blood than for flies fed horse blood. Maternal investment, which took egg production and volume into account, was higher in cohorts fed cattle blood (70 mm3) when compared ...
Nemeth NM, Blas-Machado U, Hopkins BA, Phillips A, Butler AM, Sánchez S.A 15-year-old American Quarter horse mare was euthanized because of poor response to therapy for severe diarrhea. Significant gross findings were limited to the large intestines. The walls of the cecum and colon were thickened with widely scattered nodules in the mucosa and submucosa that extended into the enlarged colic lymph nodes. Microscopically, there was severe granulomatous typhlocolitis, lymphangitis, and lymphadenitis, with many intralesional Gram-positive, non-acid-fast coccobacilli and few cyathostomes. Intralesional bacteria were immunohistochemically and polymerase chain reaction ...
Lunney JK, Kai C, Inumaru S, Onodera T.This special issue of Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology summarizes the Proceedings of the 9th International Veterinary Immunology Symposium (9th IVIS) held August 2010, in Tokyo, Japan. Over 340 delegates from 30 countries discussed research progress analyzing the immune systems of numerous food animals and wildlife, probing basic immunity and the influence of stress, genetics, nutrition, endocrinology and reproduction. Major presentations addressed defense against pathogens and alternative control and prevention strategies including vaccines, adjuvants and novel biotherapeutics. A spe...
Korosue K, Murase H, Sato F, Ishimaru M, Kotoyori Y, Nambo Y.The object of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of measuring the differences in the values of the serum total protein (DVSTP) concentration of foals and the refractometry index (DVRI) of the milk of dams before and after nursing of the colostrum for assessing failure of passive transfer (FPT) in foals. Serum samples from 31 foals were collected before the first nursing and other 1 to 6 times between 4 and 24 hr after birth. Paired colostrum and milk samples were collected from 14 of their dams at the same time. Serum samples were analyzed for IgG concentration using a single radial imm...
Ankringa N, Wijnberg ID, Boerma S, Ijzer J.A 6-year-old Friesian stallion was examined because of signs of exercise intolerance, stiff gait and symmetrical hind weakness, and increased serum liver enzymes. On presentation, the horse showed muscle atrophy of the hindquarters. Neurological investigation showed no abnormalities. Laboratory findings revealed a prolonged prothrombin time and increased levels of alkaline phosphatase (AF), aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT), gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and bile acids. Histological evaluation of the liver revealed severe cirrhosis and intracytoplasmic greyish ...
Živković S, Pavlović I, Mijatović B, Trailović I, Trailović D.This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, intensity and risk factors (age and gender) promoting the intestinal helminthic infections of the Domestic mountain ponies and Balkan donkeys in Serbia. Methods: Prevalence, intensity and risk factors influencing helminth infection in horses (n=39) and donkeys (n=18) at the site of Nature Park Stara Planina, were studied from May to Sep 2015. The presence of one or several gastrointestinal helminth species was confirmed by faecal flotation in 97.43% of horses and 88.88% of donkeys included in the monitoring. The identified helminth species were ,...
Lawson AL, Pittaway CE, Sparrow RM, Balkwill EC, Coles GC, Tilley A, Wilson AD.Anoplocephala perfoliata is the commonest equine tapeworm, the adult parasites are attached in groups close to the ileocaecal valve causing marked inflammatory pathology. This work aimed to characterize the nature of the in vivo mucosal immune response to A perfoliata, and to investigate the role of A perfoliata excretory-secretory components in modulating in vitro immune responses. Real-time PCR detected elevation of IL13 and TGFβ transcription in early-stage A perfoliata infection. In late-stage infection, IL-13, IL4 and Ifn transcripts were reduced while the regulatory cytokines, TGFβ...
Yamanaka H, Shimatani S, Tanaka M, Katsu T, Ono B, Shinoda S.The hemolytic activity of Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin (VVH) against erythrocytes from several animal species (sheep, horse, cow, rabbit, chicken) was investigated. VVH was active against erythrocytes from all species, but the amount of VVH causing 50% hemolysis under identical conditions (hemolytic susceptibility to VVH) differed. The degree of 125I-labeled VVH (125I-VVH) binding to each erythrocyte species correlated with the susceptibility of the cells to hemolysis. However, marked differences in the binding ability of 125I-VVH were not observed against liposomes constructed with lipids from...
Laing G, Christley R, Stringer A, Ashine T, Cian F, Aklilu N, Newton R, Radford A, Pinchbeck G.Respiratory disease is a common cause for presentation of working horses to clinics in Ethiopia and a priority concern for owners. Objective: To identify risk factors for and association of pathogens with respiratory signs in working horses. Methods: Unmatched case-control study. Methods: Cases were those animals recently coughing (last 7 days) or observed with coughing, nasal discharge or altered respiration at the time of examination. A physical exam and respiratory endoscopy were performed including a tracheal wash sample to detect the presence of pathogens and serology performed on blood....
Posnett ES, Fehrsen J, De Waal DT, Ambrosio RE.The ability of the Babesia equi repetitive probes, pSE2 and pSB20, to detect parasites in blood from experimentally infected, naturally infected and carrier animals was tested using a spot hybridization assay. The clinical course of the experimentally infected horses was monitored using microscopy, indirect fluorescent antibody tests, packed cell volume, temperature and the probe assay. The probes sensitively monitored the parasite level during the development of the disease and correlated well with the other parameters tested. The sensitivity of the probe assay was superior to that of light m...
Home WA, Ford JE, Gibson DM.Analysis of 10 cDNA encoding lambda L chains of horse Ig indicated that this species may employ a relatively small number of variable region (V lambda) genes in the splenic B cell population. The V lambda sequences of all of the cDNA analyzed were closely related (> 88% identity at the nucleotide level) and were characterized by a deletion of the amino acid residue at position 3 compared with V lambda sequences so far described in other species. The 10 V lambda sequences could be grouped into three groups, V lambda 1 to V lambda 3, on the basis of a number of linked substitutions. Sequences...
Cohen ND, Wallis DE, Neibergs HL, Hargis BM.Salmonella was identified in feces from horses, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genus-specific oligonucleotide primers. Feces from healthy horses were determined to be culture negative and PCR negative for Salmonella. Fecal samples were inoculated with known numbers of colony-forming units (CFU) of S. enteritidis. The fecal samples were enriched overnight in tetrathionate broth, and then DNA was extracted and amplified by PCR using genus-specific primers. Sensitivity of the assay extended to 10 degrees CFU Salmonella enteritidis/g feces; sensitivity of microbiologic culture with ...
Monahan CM, Chapman MR, French DD, Klei TR.During a series of dose-titration experiments designed to evaluate the efficacy of moxidectin oral gel against equine gastrointestinal parasites, infection with Onchocerca cervicalis was diagnosed in 25 of 82 ponies prior to treatment. Microfilariae were identified in full-thickness skin biopsies taken from the ventral midline. Treatment with moxidectin in single doses of 300, 400, or 500 micrograms/kg of body weight was 100% effective in eliminating microfilariae from 20 skin biopsies taken 14 days posttreatment, whereas 5 microfilaria-positive ponies in 2 control groups remained positive fol...
Kydd JH, Hannant D, Robinson RS, Bryant N, Osterrieder N.Equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory and neurological disease and late gestation abortion in pregnant mares. Current vaccines contain either inactivated or live EHV-1, but fail to provide complete clinical or virological protection, namely prevention of nasopharyngeal shedding and cell-associated viraemia. Thus, the development of novel products, such as modified live virus (MLV) vaccines which stimulate virus-specific, humoral and cell mediated immune responses more effectively remains a priority. Two groups of weaned foals (n = 6 each group) were used in a longitudinal, prospec...
Frellstedt L, McKenzie HC, Barrett JG, Furr MO.Endotoxemia is responsible for severe illness in horses. Individuals can become clinically unresponsive to the endotoxin molecule after an initial exposure; a phenomenon referred to as 'endotoxin tolerance' (ET). ET has been observed clinically in horses in vivo; however, cytokine expression associated with ET has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a method for inducing ET in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro, and to describe selected cytokine responses which are associated with ET. ET was induced by culturing cells with three c...
Elshafie EI, Sani RA, Hassan L, Sharma R, Bashir A, Abubakar IA.Apart from occasional reports of clinical disease affecting horses, there is no information about Trypanosoma evansi in horses in Peninsula Malaysia. Thus, a cross-sectional study was conducted in eight states in Peninsula Malaysia to determine the active presence of T. evansi in horses. A total of 527 blood samples were obtained and examined by haematocrit centrifugation technique (HCT), Giemsa-stained thin blood smear (GSS), morphometric measurements, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloning of PCR products. The results showed an overall parasitological prevalence of 0.57% (3/527, CI: 1.6...
Curik I, Fraser D, Eder C, Achmann R, Swinburne J, Crameri R, Brem G, Sölkner J, Marti E.To investigate whether the equine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene region influences the production of mould-specific immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE), alleles of the equine leukocyte antigen (ELA-A) locus and three microsatellite markers (UM-011, HTG-05 and HMS-42) located on the same chromosome as the equine MHC were determined in 448 Lipizzan horses. Statistical analyses based on composite models, showed significant associations of the ELA-A and UM-011 loci with IgE titres against the recombinant Aspergillus fumigatus 7 antigen (rAsp f 7). UM-011 was also significantly associate...
Wilson J, De Donato M, Appelbaum B, Garcia CT, Peters S.Overtraining syndrome (OTS) is the reduction in performance due to excess training and lack of proper recovery, which can lead to a chronic deprivation of energy and reduction in the repair of damage that can accumulate over time. Here, the effect of acute, intense physical exercise on the expression of innate and adaptive immune genes in 12 racing-bred American Quarter Horses, after resting for 3 days and immediately after intense exercise for 1.8 miles were compared. The expression of 84 genes related to innate and adaptive immune responses was analyzed. Significant variation among individua...
Kuzmina TA.Analysis of the influence of horse-keeping conditions by contamination of the environment (pastures, paddocks, and stalls) by the strongylid infective larvae (L(3)) was carried out at various types of horse farms, hippodromes, and riding clubs in Ukraine. A total of 1,237 horses from three types of horse-keeping conditions were examined. Epidemiological studies of stall and grazing area (pasture and paddocks) contamination by L(3) were performed at hippodrome (stalled horse-keeping) and horse farms with stall/paddock-keeping and stall/pasture-keeping conditions. Grass and stall litter samples ...
Cruz F, Fores P, Mughini-Gras L, Ireland J, Moreno MA, Newton JR.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 4 (EHV-4) have a worldwide distribution and cause respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal death and myeloencephalopathy in susceptible horses. Given the scarcity of serological EHV-1/EHV-4 data in Spain, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the seroprevalence of EHV-1/EHV-4 and to identify potential horse-level and stud farm-level factors associated with EHV-1/EHV-4 in the breeding Spanish Purebred (SP) horse population in central Spain. Serum samples from 334 SP unvaccinated horses, collected between September 2011 and November...
Cappelli K, Cook RF, Stefanetti V, Passamonti F, Autorino GL, Scicluna MT, Coletti M, Verini Supplizi A, Capomaccio S.Equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus with an almost worldwide distribution that causes persistent infections in equids. Technical limitations have restricted genetic analysis of EIAV field isolates predominantly to gag sequences resulting in very little published information concerning the extent of inter-strain variation in pol, env and the three ancillary open reading frames (ORFs). Here, we describe the use of long-range PCR in conjunction with next-generation sequencing (NGS) for rapid molecular characterization of all viral ORFs and known transcription factor binding mot...
Takai S, Kawazu S, Tsubaki S.Humoral immune response to intestinal Rhodococcus (Corynebacterium) equi in horses was studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Anti-R. equi immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, and IgA antibodies were demonstrated in the healthy horse population. Adult horse levels of anti-R. equi IgM and IgG antibodies were reached by 5 to 9 weeks of age in two healthy newborn foals. R. equi was recovered from the foals in the range of 10(3) to 10(4) per g of intestinal contents. A 1-week-old foal was infected with R. equi by mouth daily for 9 weeks. The foal did not show any clinical signs of illness. Anti-R. ...
Ramos CP, Lopes EO, Oliveira Júnior CA, Diniz AN, Lobato FCF, Silva ROS.Considering the lack of studies evaluating the performance of commercially available methods for diagnosis of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection (CDI) in animals, the present study aimed to assess an immunochromatographic test for detection of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and A/B toxins of C. difficile, also evaluated by an ELISA kit, in foals and neonatal piglets. Intestinal contents of 47 piglets and feces of 35 foals were tested to GDH antigen and A/B toxins in a lateral flow method (Ecodiagnostica, Brazil). Also, these samples were submitted to A/B toxin detection by an ELIS...
Werners AH.Endotoxins, constituents of the cell wall of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, regularly result in severe illness and death in horses. In endotoxaemia, these constituents are present in the systemic circulation; in septicaemia, whole microbes invade normally sterile parts of the body. Interaction of these endotoxins with pathogen recognition receptors leads to an inflammatory response that cannot always be sufficiently contained and hence needs direct treatment. Over the last decennia, our understanding of the pathophysiology of endotoxaemia and septicaemia has significantly increased....
Misumi K, Sakamoto H, Shimizu R.To investigate the validity of swimming training, the following matters were considered: 1) changes in the performance capacity, 2) changes in the constitution and 3) frequency of locomotor diseases. These were evaluated during a training program including both conventional exercise on a track and swimming. In this study, 24 two-year-old thoroughbred horses were studied, and divided into the following three groups: Group A, trained by only running; Group B, trained by running plus a gradual increase in swimming; Group C, trained by running plus constant swimming. As a result of standardized ex...
Köhne M, Tönissen A, Unruh C, Pruß D, Sieme H.Pyometra is an uncommon condition in mares associated with various symptoms. Here, we report a case of a 13-year-old Icelandic barren maiden mare with recurrent vaginal discharge. Ultrasonographically, the mare displayed intrauterine spherical masses of inhomogenous texture, which were identified as purulent concrements in hysteroscopy. The purulent concrements were successfully removed via uterine lavage after endoscope-assisted comminution. Microbiologic examination of the concrements revealed growth of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus, Actinobacillus species, Pseudomonas aerugino...
Renaud B, François AC, Boemer F, Kruse C, Stern D, Piot A, Petitjean T, Gustin P, Votion DM.Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is seasonal intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds and seedlings of the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) that contain toxins, among them, hypoglycin A (HGA). Literature mentions several cases of AM among gravid mares and in unweaned foals. The objective of this study was to determine whether HGA and/or its metabolite are present in milk from grazing mares exposed to sycamore maple trees as confirmed by detection of HGA and its metabolite in their blood. Four mare/foal couples were included in the study. Both HGA and its metabolite were detectable i...
Vera JHS, Fachiolli DF, Ramires LM, de Lima Saes I, Yamada PH, Gonçalves JA, de Oliveira K, do Amarante AFT, de Soutello RVG.The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the efficacy of three anthelmintic drugs, i.e. fenbendazole, ivermectin and moxidectin; to determine the genera and species of the most abundant strongyles; and to investigate parasite control measures used in herds of horses in the western region of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. This study was onducted between February and December 2013 on 10 farms in this region. Coprological evaluations were conducted for counting the numbers of eggs per gram of feces (EPG) and coprocultures were made in order to identify third-stage larvae (L3) of str...
Mayhew IG, Donawick WJ, Green SL, Galligan DT, Stanley EK, Osborne J.Over a period of 5 years on a central Kentucky Thoroughbred stud farm 132 foals were evaluated for the presence of cervical vertebral malformation (CVM). Lateral cervical vertebral radiographs were obtained on 70 standing foals. These radiographs were evaluated semi-quantitatively and scored numerically for the presence of stenosis of the vertebral canal, enlarged physeal growth plates, caudal extension of the dorsal border of the orifice of the vertebral canal, angular fixation, delayed ossification of bone and degenerative joint disease. From these scores a total CVM score was given for each...
Morris DD, Moore JN.A study was performed to determine prevalence of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity in serum of equine neonates with presumed sepsis and to determine correlation between serum TNF activity and severity and outcome of disease. Twenty foals less than 21 days old were considered suitable for inclusion in this study by satisfying clinical and laboratory criteria suggestive of septicemia. At admission, blood samples were collected from all foals for determination of serum TNF activity, then clinical course and outcome of disease were recorded. Thirty-one clinically normal foals less than 21 days ...
Marques SM, Scroferneker ML.The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of Onchocerca cervicalis in 1200 adult horses from rural areas of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Umbilical skin specimens measuring 2 x 2 cm were minced, suspended in 10 ml of distilled water and incubated at room temperature overnight. The liquid volume was centrifuged and the sediment was screened for microfilariae. The ligamentum nuchae were totally removed, preserved in ice and dissected for the detection of adult forms of Onchocerca cervicalis. Microfilariae of Onchocerca cervicalis were detected in midventral skin biopsy samples in ...
Laegreid WW, Skowronek A, Stone-Marschat M, Burrage T.There are three clinicopathologic syndromes associated with African horsesickness (AHS) virus infection in horses. These different forms of AHS (pulmonary, cardiac, and fever forms) vary in the organs affected, the severity of lesions, time of onset of clinical signs and mortality rates. We have studied the effects of infection with three cell culture passaged variants of AHS virus in naive North American horses. One of these viruses, AHS/4SP, consistently caused the pulmonary form of AHS with rapid onset of severe pulmonary edema and 100% mortality. A second variant, AHS/9PI, resulted in sign...
Davidson AJ, Hodgkinson JE, Proudman CJ, Matthews JB.To investigate cytokine responses in cyathostomin infection, we quantified mucosal interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-gamma by reverse transcriptase-competitive polymerase chain reaction. The analysis was performed on large intestinal wall samples obtained from six anatomical sites spanning the caecum and colon of 17 naturally exposed horses. The numbers of developing larvae (DL) and early third stage larvae (EL3) were ascertained using transmural illumination and pepsin digestion techniques, respectively. Levels of each cytoki...
Tencza SB, Islam KR, Kalia V, Nasir MS, Jolley ME, Montelaro RC.The control of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infections of horses has been over the past 20 years based primarily on the identification and elimination of seropositive horses, predominantly by a standardized agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay in centralized reference laboratories. This screening for EIAV-seropositive horses has been to date hindered by the lack of a rapid diagnostic format that can be easily employed in the field. We describe here the development of a rapid solution-phase assay for the presence of serum antibodies to EIAV based on fluorescence polarization (FP) (pat...
Lundin C, Sullins KE, White NA, Clem MF, Debowes RM, Pfeiffer CA.Twenty-two foals were divided into groups of intestinal distension and intestinal ischaemia as methods to induce peritoneal adhesions. In the first group, the lumen of a segment of distal small intestine was occluded without extramural vascular compromise and distended with lactated Ringer's solution to a constant pressure of 25 cm H2O for 2 h within the abdomen. The ischaemic group underwent 70 mins total vascular occlusion of identical segments of bowel. Serosal biopsies were obtained before and after each experimental procedure and following 60 mins of reperfusion. Similar biopsies were har...
