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.
Kay AT, Hunt RJ, Rodgerson DH, Spirito MA, Santschi EM, Payne RJ.To describe the characteristics of osteomyelitis lesions of the patella and to report short- and long-term outcome after treatment in 8 foals. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Foals (n = 8). Methods: Medical records (2003-2007) and radiographs of foals that had osteomyelitis of the patella were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included clinical, radiographic, and surgical findings consistent with osteomyelitis of the patella, and a long-term follow-up of >15 months. Information acquired included signalment, hematologic and serum biochemical profile results, clinical and radiographic si...
Hébert L, Moumen B, Pons N, Duquesne F, Breuil MF, Goux D, Batto JM, Laugier C, Renault P, Petry S.The Taylorella genus comprises two species: Taylorella equigenitalis, which causes contagious equine metritis, and Taylorella asinigenitalis, a closely-related species mainly found in donkeys. We herein report on the first genome sequence of T. asinigenitalis, analyzing and comparing it with the recently-sequenced T. equigenitalis genome. The T. asinigenitalis genome contains a single circular chromosome of 1,638,559 bp with a 38.3% GC content and 1,534 coding sequences (CDS). While 212 CDSs were T. asinigenitalis-specific, 1,322 had orthologs in T. equigenitalis. Two hundred and thirty-four T...
Cesarini C, Macieira S, Girard C, Drolet R, d'Anjou MA, Jean D.The costochondral junction constitutes a potential site of infection in septic foals and it could be favored by thoracic trauma. Standard radiographs and ultrasonography are useful tools for diagnosis of this condition and ultrasound-guided needle aspiration could permit the definitive confirmation of infection. La jonction costochondrale constitue un site potentiel d’infection chez le poulain septicémique et le développement de l’infection pourrait être favorisée par un traumatisme costal. Les radiographies standards et l’échographie sont des aides diagnostiques et l’aspiration ...
Abutarbush SM.This report describes 2 foals with esophageal laceration due to ingestion of foreign bodies. Endoscopic examination of the esophagus revealed full thickness esophageal laceration in 1 colt and partial thickness laceration of the esophagus in the other. The esophageal obstruction was relieved by repetitive esophageal lavages and flush under general anesthesia in both foals. Lacération et obstruction œsophagiennes causées par un corps étranger chez deux jeunes poulains âgés de moins de 1 an. Ce rapport décrit deux poulains âgés de moins de 1 an souffrant d’une lacération œsophagienn...
Zantingh AJ, Gaughan EM, Bain FT.A 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding was evaluated after a 10-week history of occasional straining during urination and dark red urine production after exercise. Physical examination findings were within normal limits. After 2 weeks of clinical signs, ultrasonography had found no abnormalities in the kidneys or bladder. A freely voided urine sample revealed an elevated protein concentration (500 mg/dL; reference range: <100 mg/dL) and few red blood cells. Vitamin C supplementation was suggested to acidify the urine, as was provision of a salt block to encourage water intake.
Lem MF, Vincent KP, Pone JW, Joseph T.It is important to understand the biology and health impact of parasites affecting horses in the Western highlands of Cameroon. Objective: to evaluate the prevalence and intensity of infection of gastrointestinal helminths in these animals. Methods: A total of 894 horses (367 males and 527 females), and aged ≤1 to ≥7 years old were examined. A parasitological investigation of faeces was carried out using two techniques: concentration method of Full Born Willis (flotation in saturated solution of sodium chloride) and Mc Master Technique. Conclusions: From the results the overall prevalence ...
Ferris NP, Clavijo A, Yang M, Velazquez-Salinas L, Nordengrahn A, Hutchings GH, Kristersson T, Merza M.Two lateral flow devices (LFD) for the detection of vesicular stomatitis (VS) virus (VSV), types Indiana (VSV-IND) and New Jersey (VSV-NJ) were developed using monoclonal antibodies C1 and F25VSVNJ-45 to the respective VSV serotypes. The performance of the LFDs was evaluated in the laboratory on suspensions of vesicular epithelia and cell culture passage derived supernatants of VSV. The collection of test samples included 105 positive for VSV-IND (92 vesicular epithelial suspensions and 13 cell culture antigens; encompassing 93 samples of subtype 1 [VSV-IND-1], 9 of subtype 2 [VSV-IND-2] and 3...
Cissell DD, Wisner ER, Textor J, Mohr FC, Scrivani PV, Théon AP.The computed tomography (CT) features of tumors involving the nasal cavity and/or paranasal sinuses of 15 horses were reviewed. The 15 tumors included five neuroendocrine tumors/neuroblastomas, two undifferentiated carcinomas, two myxosarcomas, and one each of nasal adenocarcinoma, hemangiosarcoma, chondroblastic osteosarcoma, anaplastic sarcoma, myxoma, and ossifying fibroma. All tumors except the ossifying fibroma were iso- or hypoattenuating relative to masseter muscle. Thirteen of the fifteen tumors exhibited moderate or marked osteolysis of adjacent cortical bone and 14/15 were characteri...
Goodman LB, Wimer C, Dubovi EJ, Gold C, Wagner B.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) induces a variety of disease manifestations, including respiratory disease, abortions, and myeloencephalopathy. Several vaccines are commercially available but could not previously be distinguished by serologic testing from infection with EHV-1 (or the closely related EHV-4). Currently available vaccines are not reliably protective against the severe manifestations of the disease, including fatal myeloencephalopathy. We determined immunological parameters that can differentiate vaccinated from previously infected animals by comparing humoral and cellular EHV-1-spec...
Zhang L, Franchini M, Wehrli Eser M, Jackson EK, Dip R.Several reports have suggested a role for adenosine in the pathogenesis of chronic airway conditions and this has led to new therapeutic strategies to limit airway inflammation. In this study, detectable levels of adenosine in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from 11 horses with non-infectious lower-airway inflammation and 14 healthy controls are reported, with significantly higher values in horses with airway inflammation. Although these increased levels did not correlate with changes in neutrophil percentage in BAL, a positive association between adenosine levels and signs of lower airwa...
Becker AC, Stock KF, Distl O.Detailed movement evaluations of warmblood foals and mares were performed in connection with regular breeding events of the Oldenburg horse breeding societies in 2009 and 2010. Unfavourable movement characteristics considered indicative for impaired balance were noted by a special judge (SJ) and the regular judges of the breeding events (RJ) and served as the basis for definition of new movement traits. Detailed movement information on 3374 foals and 2844 mares showed that more severe findings like irregular motion pattern in hind legs or irregularity in general motion pattern occurred only sp...
Archer RM, Gordon SJ, Carslake HB, Collett MG.A 3-month-old female Warmblood foal was presented after displaying signs of colic with pyrexia for 5 days. Results: The foal continued to show signs of colic, frequently passed urine, and was pyrexic with an elevated white blood cell count. The umbilical stalk was thickened but there was no evidence of purulent material. Exploratory laparotomy revealed an enlarged left umbilical artery remnant tightly adhered to the bladder wall. The left umbilical artery continued to an aneurysm involving the distal aorta. The foal was subject to euthanasia and post-mortem examination confirmed a spherical ao...
Furness JB, Poole DP.The functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is under the control of the most extensive system of peripheral neurons in the body, the enteric nervous system, and the largest endocrine system of the body, the GEP endocrine system. The enteric nervous system in large mammals contains 500 million neurons, and the GEP endocrine system produces more than 30 hormones. Numerous enteric neuropathies affecting both humans and animals have been described and digestive disorders affect commercially important species, such as horses and cattle. The most severe enteric neuropathies (e.g., lethal white syn...
Geburek F, Stadler P.Conventional treatments of equine tendon injuries lead to an unsatisfactory healing process that usually results in a relatively high recurrence rate. Therefore, in recent years so-called regenerative therapeutics were studied scientifically in vitro and in laboratory animals. These include substances that ideally lead to the formation of replacement tissue, which in contrast to the low quality scar, has similar functional properties as the original intact tendon. Currently, a plethora of different substrates is either commercially available or can be produced in practice with the help of kits...
Petzinger E.At the forefront of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA) poisoning is the chronic ingestion of contaminated hay, which causes liver damage resulting in an ongoing fatal liver cirrhosis or in the veno-occlusive disease in liver or lung, respectively. The symptomatology of PA-poisoning is not identical for all animal species, and also includes central nervous symptoms. In affected horses significantly elevated levels of hepatogenic serum enzymes and an increase of the retention time for bromosulfophthalein indicates the fatal outcome of the intoxication. Chronic seneciosis of horses is incurable. Rabbits...
Deeg CA, Eberhardt C, Hofmaier F, Amann B, Hauck SM.Autoimmune uveitis is an intraocular inflammation that arises through autoreactive T-cells attacking the inner eye, eventually leading to blindness. However, the contributing molecular pathomechanisms within the affected tissues remain as yet elusive. The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a highly dynamic structure that varies tremendously and influences the encompassing tissue. In order to assess ECM re-modeling in autoimmune uveitis, we investigated the expression of ECM molecules fibronectin and osteopontin in vitreous and retina samples. This was carried out in the only spontaneous animal mode...
Michau TM, Davidson MG, Gilger BC. To determine the complications and nonrecurrence rates following superficial lamellar keratectomy, bulbar conjunctivectomy, and adjunctive carbon dioxide (CO(2)) photoablation for corneolimbal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the horse. Methods: Retrospective study. Sample population Twenty-four horses with corneolimbal SCC. Methods: Medical records of horses diagnosed with corneolimbal SCC that was surgically excised and where CO(2) photoablation was used as an adjunctive therapy from 2000 to 2007 were reviewed. Signalment, prior therapy, tumor location and size, complications,...
Dicht S, Del Chicca F, Fürst A.Ectopic teeth occur because of failure of the first branchial cleft to close during development and are found mostly in young horses. Such dentigerous cysts are often located at the base of the ear, forming a notable swelling with a fistula, as it was the case with the two year old Iceland mare «Runa». In order to confirm the diagnosis, x-ray images were taken, which is also necessary to locate the ectopic tooth correctly. While operating, the whole cystic membrane should be removed and it is important to prevent adjacent nerves and blood vessels from damage. Prognosis for complete healing a...
Defontis M, Vaillancourt D, Grand FX.This prospective study aims to compare three different sampling techniques for the collection of endometrial cytological specimens in the mare: the guarded culture swab, the uterine cytobrush and the low volume uterine flush. Methods: The study population consisted of six healthy Standardbred mares in dioestrus. In each mare an acute endometritis was induced by performing a low- volume uterine flush 6days after ovulation using a sterile isotonic solution (lactated Ringer's solution or ViGro™ Complete Flush Solution). Two days after initiating inflammation, samples were collected from each ma...
Petzinger E.Pyrrolizidine alkaloids belong to a class of phytotoxins which are present in more than 6000 plant species. The disease seneciosis in farm animals represents the severe poisoning by pyrrolizidine alkaloids from plants of the genus Senecio. This form of poisoning has been known since the end of the 19th century in Germany, the USA, Canada and New Zealand, and is mainly caused by Senecio jacobaea and related Senecio spp. in farm animals, including poultry. Animal poisoning by pyrrolizidine alkaloids is of worldwide importance. In Germany poisoning of horses and cattle by Senecio jacobaea, which ...
Hondalus MK, Sweeney CR, Mosser DM.A Rhodococcus equi radiobinding assay has been developed using organisms labeled with 3H-uracil. These labeled organisms resemble their unlabeled counterparts with respect to colony morphology, viability, and buoyant density. Bacteria routinely incorporate between 5 x 10(-3) and 5 x 10(-2) counts per minute per colony forming unit (cfu) which in this assay allows the detection of fewer than 0.2 cfu per macrophage. Once incorporated, greater than 90% of the label remains bacterial associated for at least 4 h postlabeling. The majority of the label is trichloroacetic acid precipitable, partition...
Carminatti A, Chitolina MB, Ribeiro AB, Forest M, Collet SG, Prestes AM, Camillo G.To facilitate exploration of the immense range of gastrointestinal parasites in horses and the impact of parasitism on equine health, the present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence and risk factors associated with these infections in horses reared in different management systems in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Samples were collected from 208 horses: 91 from extensive, 64 from semi-extensive, and 53 from intensive rearing systems. The identified helminths included those of the Strongylida order (80.29%), Parascaris equorum (3.36%), Oxyuris equi (4.33%), and Anoplocephala spp. (1.92%...
Lester GD, Bolton JR, Cullen LK, Thurgate SM.Myoelectric activity was monitored from the terminal ileum, cecum, and colonic pelvic flexure by use of AgpAgCl bipolar electrodes in 4 adult horses before, during, and after general anesthesia. Horses were anesthetized by way of 3 commonly used regimens, including xylazine (1.1 mg/kg of body weight) and ketamine hydrochloride (2.2 mg/kg); thiopental sodium (7.7 mg/kg), followed by halothane vaporized in oxygen; and thiopental sodium (2.5 g) in guaifenesin (100 mg/ml) solution given to effect, followed by halothane in oxygen. All 3 anesthetic regimens decreased intestinal spike-burst activity ...
Campbell MD, Bellamy JE, Searcy GP.The microhematocrit heat-precipitation methods of Millar et al (1971) and Schalm et al (1975) were compared with the reference clottable protein method of Ratnoff and Menzie (1951) in the measurement of plasma fibrinogen concentration in horses. The millar et al method was more precise and accurate and showed better positive correlation with the reference method than did the Schalm et al method. There was no significant difference in the plasma fibrinogen concentration between healthy Thoroughbreds and healthy horses of other breeds. Horses with bacterial pneumonia and abscesses had significan...
Collatos C, Barton MH, Prasse KW, Moore JN.Components of the coagulation and fibrinolytic cascades, prothrombin and activated partial thromboplastin times, endotoxin activity, and albumin concentration were measured in blood and peritoneal fluid from 20 healthy horses and from 153 horses with acute gastrointestinal tract diseases at admission. Overall, 77% (117/153) of affected horses survived to discharge from the hospital, and 85% (82/97) of horses discharged were reported to be normal 9 to 14 months later. Significant differences in hemostatic factors were more common in peritoneal fluid than in blood. Tissue plasminogen activator, ...
Aleman M, Vedavally U, Pusterla N, Wensley F, Berryhill E, Madigan JE.Comprehensive descriptions of equids with granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) with neurologic or muscle disease and other atypical presentations are scarce in the literature. Objective: Describe the clinical signs, laboratory findings, treatment, and outcome of equids with EGA with emphasis on neurologic and muscle disease. Methods: Thirty-eight horses, 1 donkey. Methods: Retrospective study. Equids with EGA were included. The electronic data base was searched from January 2000 to December 2022 using the words anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, granulocytic, and rickettsia. Signalment and clinical data w...
López-Martínez MJ, Lamy E, Cerón JJ, Ayala I, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Henriksen IH, Muñoz-Prieto A, Hansen S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is currently one of the more frequent diseases in horses. We aimed to identify changes in the salivary proteome in horses with EGUS at diagnosis and after successful treatment by using gel proteomics. Saliva samples were collected from nine horses with EGUS before and after treatment and nine matched healthy controls. SDS-PAGE (1DE) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) were performed, and significantly different protein bands and spots were identified by mass spectrometry. Horses with EGUS had increases in proteins such as adenosine deaminase (ADA)...
Clarke E, Varela L, Jenkins RE, Lozano-Andrés E, Cywińska A, Przewozny M, van Weeren PR, van de Lest CHA, Peffers M, Wauben MHM.Osteoarthritis causes progressive joint deterioration, severe morbidity, and reduced mobility in both humans and horses. Currently, osteoarthritis is diagnosed at late stages through clinical examination and radiographic imaging, hence it is challenging to address and provide timely therapeutic interventions to slow disease progression or ameliorate symptoms. Extracellular vesicles are cell-derived vesicles that play a key role in cell-to-cell communication and are potential sources for specific composite biomarker panel discovery. We here used a multi-omics strategy combining proteomics and p...
Auer U, Kelemen Z, Vogl C, von Ritgen S, Haddad R, Torres Borda L, Gabmaier C, Breteler J, Jenner F.Musculoskeletal disease is a common cause of chronic pain that is often overlooked and inadequately treated, impacting the quality of life of humans and horses alike. Lameness due to musculoskeletal pain is prevalent in horses, but the perception of pain by owners is low compared with veterinary diagnosis. Therefore, this study aims to establish and validate a pain scale for chronic equine orthopaedic pain that is user-friendly for horse owners and veterinarians to facilitate the identification and monitoring of pain in horses. The newly developed musculoskeletal pain scale (MPS) was applied t...
Ibrahim L, Buschmann E, van Loon G, Cornillie P.Three-dimensional electro-anatomical mapping, previously performed in horses with atrial arrhythmias, has demonstrated the medial region of the caudal vena cava (CaVC), 1-8 cm caudal to the fossa ovalis, as an anatomical predilection site for atrial tachycardia associated with areas of slow conduction and conduction block. Slow conduction has also been recorded in the cranial vena cava (CrVC). Objective: To investigate the morphological characteristics of the myocardial sleeves (MS) in the CaVC and CrVC, in order to identify a potential substrate of right sided atrial arrhythmias. Methods: C...
Domańska-Kruppa N, Wierzbicka M, Stefanik E.Back pain is common in ridden horses. Back diseases in horses include Impinging Dorsal Spinous Processes, Ventral Spondylosis, Osteoarthritis of Articular Process, Intervertebral Discs Disease, Vertebral Fractures, Conformational Abnormalities, Desmopathy of the Supraspinous Ligament, Desmopathy of the Intraspinous Ligament, and Longissimus Muscle Strain. Back pain may also develop as a result of lameness (particularly hindlimb lameness). A poorly fitting saddle and an unbalanced rider are also considered important factors influencing the development of back pain in horses. The conventional di...
Jasiński T, Turek B, Kaczorowski M, Brehm W, Skierbiszewska K, Bonecka J, Domino M.Osteoarthritis (OA) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) occurs spontaneously in humans and various animal species, including horses. In humans, obtaining tissue samples is challenging and clinical symptoms appear late in the disease progression. Therefore, genetically modified, induced, and naturally occurring animal models play a crucial role in understanding the pathogenesis and evaluating potential therapeutic interventions for TMJ OA. Among the naturally occurring models, the equine TMJ OA model is characterized by slow, age-related progression, a wide range of clinical examinations, and ...
Faulkner JE, Joostens Z, Broeckx BJG, Hauspie S, Mariën T, Vanderperren K.Injuries of the sagittal groove of the proximal phalanx (P1) in equine athletes are considered to predominantly occur due to chronic bone stress overload. Objective: To describe the range of abnormalities that is present in the sagittal groove in a large group of horses diagnosed with sagittal groove disease (SGD) on low-field MRI. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional. Methods: Medical records were searched to identify initial MRI images of horses diagnosed with SGD and these were blindly evaluated using a semi-quantitative grading scheme and novel SGD MRI classification system reflecting p...
Deniz Ö, Ekinci G, Onmaz AC, Derelli FM, Fazio F, Aragona F, Hoven RVD.Rhodococcus equi (R. equi), a gram-positive facultative intracellular pathogen, is a common cause of pneumonia in foals and represents a major cause of disease and death. The aim of the present study was to investigate the time-depended changes in White Blood Cells (WBC), basophils (Baso), neutrophils (Neu), lymphocytes (Lymf), monocytes (Mon), eosinophils (Eos), platelet (PLT) counts, fibrinogen (Fbg) concentration, interferon (IFN-α, IFN-γ) and interleukins (IL-2 and IL-10) in foals with clinical R. equi pneumonia. The main treatment was with azithromycin-rifampicin for 14 days. Blood was ...
Samir A, Abdel-Moein KA, Zaher HM.The upsurge of diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs)/plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase (pAmpC) among animals constitutes an emerging threat for humans and animals. This study investigated the burden of ESBL-/pAmpC-producing diarrheagenic E. coli among diarrheic foals and its potential public health implications. Rectal swabs were collected from 80 diarrheic foals. These swabs were processed to isolate and identify ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli using a selective culture medium, biochemical tests, phenotypic identification, and molecular identificati...
Pineau V, Ter Woort F, Julien F, Vernant M, Lambey S, Hébert C, Hanne-Poujade S, Westergren V, van Erck-Westergren E.Gastric disease is highly prevalent in sport horses and may lead to poor performance, cause behavioral changes and impact welfare. Objective: Assess whether diet affects gastric disease and pain expression during riding, and whether it has an impact on physiological and locomotor variables during an exercise test, including jumps. Methods: Nine healthy show-jumping Warmbloods trained at the same stable. Methods: Prospective observational cohort study. The horses receiving a pelleted diet, high in sugar and starch (>30%), were examined at T0 and after 12 weeks (T12) of changing to a cooked, m...
Duaso J, Perez-Ecija A, Martínez E, Navarro A, De Las Heras A, Mendoza FJ.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease affecting equids worldwide. Diagnosis is based on direct methods (blood smear or PCR) or indirect methods (serology); however, these techniques yield positive and negative results. Thus, an alternative, reliable, rapid, and cost-effective complementary tool, such as hematologic parameters and newly described hematologic ratios, could help in the EP diagnosis. This study describes the changes induced by piroplasmosis infection on hematologic parameters and ratios in horses. PCR-positive horses exhibited anemia and thrombocytopenia, whereas PCR...
Ahedor B, Otgonsuren D, Zhyldyz A, Guswanto A, Ngigi NMM, Valinotti MFR, Kothalawala H, Kalaichelvan N, Silva SSP, Kothalawala H, Acosta TJ....Theileria equi causes equine piroplasmosis, an economically significant disease that affects horses and other equids worldwide. Based on 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA sequences), T. equi can be classified into five genotypes: A, B, C, D, and E. These genotypes have implications for disease management and control. However, no conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are available to differentiate the genotypes of T. equi. To overcome this limitation, we developed and evaluated PCR assays specific for the detection of each T. equi genotype. Methods: A pair of forward and reverse primers...
Hüttl J, Reitt K, Meli ML, Meili T, Bönzli E, Pineroli B, Ginders J, Schoster A, Jones S, Tyson GB, Hosie MJ, Pusterla N, Wernike K....Horses and cattle have shown low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, and there is no evidence of experimental intraspecies transmission. Nonetheless, seropositive horses in the US and seropositive cattle in Germany and Italy have been reported. The current study investigated the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in horses and cattle in Switzerland. In total, 1940 serum and plasma samples from 1110 horses and 830 cattle were screened with a species-specific ELISA based on the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and, in the case of suspect positive results, a surrogate virus neutralizat...
Wang T, Li S, Hu X, Geng Y, Chen L, Liu W, Zhao J, Tian W, Wang C, Li Y, Li L.Equid alphaherpesvirus 8 (EqHV-8) is one of the most economically important viruses that is known to cause severe respiratory disease, abortion, and neurological syndromes in equines. However, no effective vaccines or therapeutic agents are available to control EqHV-8 infection. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an antioxidant defense enzyme that displays significant cytoprotective effects against different viral infections. However, the literature on the function of HO-1 during EqHV-8 infection is little. We explored the effects of HO-1 on EqHV-8 infection and revealed its potential mechanisms. Our ...
Tong P, Pan J, Dang Y, Yang E, Jia C, Duan R, Tian S, Palidan N, Kuang L, Wang C, Lu G, Xie J.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is commonly associated with horse abortion. Currently, there are no reported cases of abortion resulting from EHV-1 infection in donkeys. This was the first survey-based study of Chinese donkeys. The presence of EHV-1 was identified by PCR. This survey was conducted in Chabuchar County, North Xinjiang, China, in 2020. A donkey EHV-1 strain (Chabuchar/2020) was successfully isolated in MDBK cells. Seventy-two of 100 donkey sera were able to neutralize the isolated EHV-1. Moreover, the ORF33 sequence of the donkey-origin EHV-1 Chabuchar/2020 strain showed high l...
Lebrasseur O, More KD, Orlando L.Equine viral outbreaks have disrupted the socio-economic life of past human societies up until the late 19th century and continue to be of major concern to the horse industry today. With a seroprevalence of 60-80 per cent, equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) is the most common horse pathogen on the planet. Yet, its evolutionary history remains understudied. Here, we screen the sequenced data of 264 archaeological horse remains to detect the presence of EHV-4. We recover the first ancient EHV-4 genome with 4.2× average depth-of-coverage from a specimen excavated in the Southeastern Urals and dated ...
Taha NM, Salem MA, El-Saied MA, Mohammed FF, Kamel M, El-Bahy MM, Ramadan RM.Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected zoonotic disease that causes significant economic losses in livestock and poses health risks to humans, necessitating improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This study investigates CE in donkeys using a multifaceted approach that includes molecular identification, gene expression analysis, serum biochemical profiling, histopathological and immunohistochemical examination, and in vitro drug efficacy evaluation. Molecular analysis of hydatid cyst protoscolices (HC-PSCs) from infected donkey livers and lungs revealed a high similarity to Echinoco...
Pischke S, Knoop EV, Mader M, Kling L, Wolski A, Wagner A, Mueller K, Horvatits T, Stiller J, Wisnewski K, Kohn B, Schulze Zur Wiesch J, Groschup MH....Hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotype 3 infections in Germany are mainly transmitted zoonotically through the consumption of swine meat. Furthermore, there is evidence that pets might come into contact with HEV, but the relevance of companion animals as possible sources of HEV transmission in Germany still needs to be defined. A monitoring study was therefore carried out on dogs, cats, and horses from Germany. In total 365 serum samples from pets (124 dogs, 119 cats, and 122 horses) were tested for HEV by PCR and for anti-HEV antibodies by a commercial ELISA. The HEV seroprevalence determined by th...
Amairia S, Jbeli M, Mrabet S, Jebabli LM, Gharbi M.Sarcocystis spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are two apicomplexan protozoa that infect a broad range of vertebrates, however, little is known about the infection of equids with these parasites. A total of 184 slaughtered equids from slaughterhouses of Bizerte and Tunis located in Northern Tunisia, were examined for meat infections with Sarcocystis spp. and T. gondii by PCR. The prevalence of infections with Sarcocystis spp. and T. gondii were 38% (95% CI: 31-45) and 39.7% (95% CI: 32.6-46.7), respectively. The highest prevalence of infection with Sarcocystis spp. was observed in donkeys (48.6%; 95%C...
Stickle RL, Fessler JF.Equine cryptorchidism was examined by a review of the literature and a retrospective study of 350 horses over a 14-year period. The incidence of left vs right testis retention was nearly equal. On the left side, 75.2% of the retained testes were retained abdominally and 24.8% inguinally; on the right side, 41.8% of the retained testes were retained abdominally and 58.2% inguinally. Preoperative diagnosis by rectal palpation of the vaginal rings was considered a valuable technique, with 87.9% accuracy in 190 horses. Invasive and nonivasive surgical techniques for abdominal cryptorchidectomy and...
Srihongse S, Grayson MA, Morris CD, Deibel R, Duncan CS.An extensive outbreak of eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) occurred in upstate New York during the summer of 1976, with 37 cases confirmed in horses by isolation of virus and/or by serologic examination. Other specimens collected in the affected area yielded 16 further isolates: 9 from 818 pools of 33,365 mosquitoes, 5 from tissues of 64 birds and 2 from 4 sentinel pheasants with serologic conversions. EEE antibodies were also detected in 81 of 499 wild birds tested. Our data implicate sparrows, cowbirds, and catbirds in the amplification of EEE virus and Culiseta melanura mosquitoes as v...
Qi M, Ji X, Zhang Y, Wei Z, Jing B, Zhang L, Lin X, Karim MR, Wang H, Sun M.Giardia duodenalis is a zoonotic intestinal parasite infecting humans and mammals worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of G. duodenalis in racehorses in China and genetically characterized it. In total, 621 fecal samples were collected from racehorses at 17 equestrian clubs in 15 cities in China. Forty-eight (7.7%) animals from 11 equestrian clubs were positive for G. duodenalis of assemblages A (n = 10), B (n = 36), and E (n = 2), based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of this parasite were...
