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.
Albini S, Abril C, Franchini M, Hüssy D, Filioussis G.Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) is a nonfermentative bacterium, which is naturally resistant against a panel of commonly-used antibiotics. It is frequently isolated from humans with chronic respiratory disease, e.g. cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In veterinary medicine S. maltophilia is perceived to be a mere coloniser. We herewith report 7 strains of S. maltophilia isolated from animals, of which 5 strains were harvested from 3 horses, a dog and a cat with chronic respiratory disease. The dog isolate showed resistance to trimethoprim / sulphamethoxazol...
Francisco I, Arias M, Cortiñas FJ, Francisco R, Mochales E, Sánchez JA, Uriarte J, Suárez JL, Morrondo P, Sánchez-Andrade R, Díez-Baños P....Two groups of autochthonous Pura Raza Galega (PRG) horses, one comprising 483 animals under a silvopasturing regime, and the other comprising 72 PRG horses managed in farms, were used to analyse the effect of silvopasture on infection by endoparasites. Results were considered according to the age and the sex of the horses. Faecal samples were individually collected from each animal and analysed by the coprological flotation, sedimentation and migration techniques. Coprocultures were also done to identify the main strongylid genera affecting the horses. Eggs from the gastrointestinal nematoda P...
Yamanaka T, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Kondo T, Matsumura T.In horse populations, influenza A virus subtype H3N8 (equine influenza virus, EIV) is a very important pathogen that leads to acute respiratory disease. Recently, EIV has emerged in dogs, and has become widespread among the canine population in the United States. The interspecies transmission route had thus far remained unclear. Here, we tested whether the interspecies transmission of EIV to dogs could occur as a result of close contact with experimentally EIV-infected horses. Three pairs consisting of an EIV-infected horse and a healthy dog were kept together in individual stalls for 15 conse...
Hof K, Shibly S, Berger S.A 13-year-old Standardbred gelding was referred for evaluation of continuous abdominal pain. Rectal examination revealed a dislocated large colon (Dislocatio coli ad dextram). The horse showed muscle fasciculations and appeared lethargic. It was sent to surgery because of persistent colic. In transit the gelding showed an unstable walk and immediately prior to surgery a wide-based stance in the hindlimbs. Laparotomy revealed a retroflexion of the large colon and a secundary mesenterial volvulus. After surgery the horse remained recumbent. Due to the comatose state and poor prognosis the geldin...
Russell CL, Heesom KJ, Arthur CJ, Helps CR, Mellor PS, Day MJ, Torsteinsdottir S, Björnsdóttir TS, Wilson AD.Culicoides spp. are vectors of several infectious diseases of veterinary importance and a major cause of allergy in horses and other livestock. Their saliva contains a number of proteins which enable blood feeding, enhance disease transmission and act as allergens. We report the construction of a novel cDNA library from Culicoides nubeculosus linked to the analysis of abundant salivary gland proteins by mass spectrometry. Fifty-four novel proteins sequences are described including those of the enzymes maltase, hyaluronidase and two serine proteases demonstrated to be present in Culicoides sali...
Singh BR.Sixty-nine vaginal swabs and 138 rectal swabs collected from 195 equids were analysed for the presence of thermotolerant bacteria, that is, bacteria surviving at 60+/-0.1 degrees C for one hour. Thermotolerant Escherichia coli, Enterobacter species, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus species and Pseudomonas species were isolated from 41, 16, nine, three and three of the 138 rectal swabs, respectively; seven of the E coli and two of the Enterobacter species isolates survived pasteurisation at 63.8+/-0.1 degrees C for 30 minutes. All except three E coli, two Enterobacter species and one Proteus spec...
Saulez MN, Dzikiti B, Voigt A.Two of 348 horses that underwent gastrointestinal surgery under general anaesthesia developed perforations in their tracheas caused by the endotracheal tube. In one case the damage was probably caused when the horse was being moved from the induction room for surgery and excessive traction was exerted on the tube when the anaesthetic machine was moved too far ahead of the horse. The trachea of the other horse may have been damaged when it was intubated.
Duffy CW, Morrison LJ, Black A, Pinchbeck GL, Christley RM, Schoenefeld A, Tait A, Turner CM, MacLeod A.African animal trypanosomiasis, or Nagana, is a debilitating and economically costly disease with a major impact on animal health in sub-Saharan Africa. Trypanosoma vivax, one of the principal trypanosome species responsible for the disease, infects a wide host range including cattle, goats, horses and donkeys and is transmitted both cyclically by tsetse flies and mechanically by other biting flies, resulting in a distribution covering large swathes of South America and much of sub-Saharan Africa. While there is evidence for mating in some of the related trypanosome species, Trypanosoma brucei...
Sanada Y, Senba H, Mochizuki R, Arakaki H, Gotoh T, Fukumoto S, Nagahata H.To establish a reliable diagnostic measure for equine Anoplocephala perfoliata infection, the impact of deworming was examined in 12 Thoroughbreds to which bithionol (5-10 mg/kg body weight) was administered and feces were examined by the modified Wisconsin method using sucrose solution. One day after the administration, cestode eggs were detected in previously fecal egg-negative 3 horses and increased in the other 9 horses. The optimum time for post-deworming egg detection was examined in following horses: 17 mares were administered bithionol and 10 mares were used as controls. The fecal egg ...
Nieto JE, Snyder JR, Vatistas NJ, Jones JH.To develop a protocol to induce and maintain gastric ulceration in horses and to determine whether gastric ulceration affects physiologic indices of performance during high-speed treadmill exercise. Methods: 20 healthy Thoroughbreds. Methods: Each horse was acclimatized to treadmill exercise during a 2-week period. Subsequently, baseline data were collected (day 0) and each horse began an incrementally increasing exercise training program (days 1 through 56). Beginning on day 14, horses were administered omeprazole (4 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h until day 56) or no drug (10 horses/group) and underwent a...
Bowers JR, Slocombe RF.A 4-year-old crossbred, Welsh Mountain Pony gelding was presented with multiple, thick, round, raised, 3 to 8 mm diameter nodular lesions on the medial aspects of both ears. The nodules did not involve the epidermis and were observed to develop over several months. Punch biopsies were taken and histopathological examination returned a diagnosis of auricular chondrosis. Neither auricular chondrosis nor auricular chondritis has been reported in horses, although it has been recorded in cats, dogs, laboratory animals and humans.
Cilliers I, Williams J, Carstens A, Duncan NM.Four horses were presented to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital with histories of facial asymmetry, nasal discharge or obstruction of normal nasal passage airflow. Radiographic examination of the maxillary sinuses of 2 cases revealed well circumscribed, unilateral, mineralised masses; the other 2 cases showed less mineralisation. The masses were accessed for further investigation by surgically created frontonasal bone flaps or trephination of the maxillary sinuses. Diagnosis of osteoma was confirmed histopathologically in 3 of the cases and of ossifying fibroma in the 4th. Two hor...
Hart KA, Slovis NM, Barton MH.Transient hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction occurs frequently in critically ill humans and impacts survival. The prevalence and impact of HPA axis dysfunction in critically ill neonatal foals are not well characterized. Objective: (1) HPA axis dysfunction occurs in hospitalized neonatal foals, and is characterized by inappropriately low basal serum cortisol concentration or inadequate cortisol response to exogenous adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH); (2) hospitalized foals with HPA axis dysfunction have more severe disease and are less likely to survive than hospitalized fo...
Modrá H, Svobodová Z.This article reports the most frequent cases of poisoning in farm animals, horses, cats, dogs, wild animals, fish and honey-bees in the Czech Republic. At present, there are fewer cases of acute poisoning caused by high doses of toxic substances but there are more and more cases of chronic poisoning as a consequence of environmental pollution.
Du Toit N, Burden FA, Baedt LG, Shaw DJ, Dixon PM.Equine cheek teeth (CT) diastemata often cause deep periodontal food pocketing and are therefore regarded as a painful dental disorder of equidae. However there appears to be no information available on the size or shape of these diastemata. This post mortem study examined 16 donkey skulls (mean age = 32-years) containing 45 CT diastemata to define the anatomical shape and dimensions of these diastemata, and of the associated periodontal food pockets that occur with this disorder. Diastemata were found to more commonly involve mandibular (56.0%) compared with maxillary CT (44.0%), and 71.0% of...
Richard EA, Fortier GD, Lekeux PM, Van Erck E.Any disorder impairing a performance horse's ability to ventilate its lungs and exchange oxygen compromises exercise performance in any discipline. Since bronchoalveolar lavage was described in horses in the early 1980s, laboratory evaluation of respiratory fluids, along with clinical and functional assessment of the respiratory system, has become a relevant step in the diagnosis of respiratory disease affecting performance. The aim of this review is to provide objective information to assist clinicians in interpreting laboratory findings by (1) summarising published cytological references val...
Schumacher J, Livesey L, DeGraves F, Blagburn B, Ziska S, Caldwell M, Brock K.This study was undertaken to determine whether resistance to moxidectin had developed in a large herd of draught horses, maintained on a small acreage, which had been routinely treated with moxidectin for five years. Faeces were collected for egg counts immediately before moxidectin gel was administered orally, and seven, 30, 60 and 90 days later. The faecal egg counts were significantly reduced at seven and 30 days after treatment, but were not significantly different from pretreatment counts at 60 and 90 days after treatment. There was no evidence of resistance having developed.
Ulrich R, Eydner M, Grün A, Haydn J, Baumgärtner W.This report describes the macroscopic, histologic, immunohistologic and ultrastructural characteristics ofa biphasic malignant mesothelioma in the peritoneal and pleural cavity of a 13-year-old Icelandic pony mare, which exhibited recurrent ascites clinically. Immunohistology was performed employing multiple monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratins (CK) and vimentin. The ultrastructural examination included the quantitative evaluation of the length to diameter ratio of the microvilli. Post mortem examination revealed a severe ascites and hydrothorax. The serosal surfaces of the peritoneum an...
Dzieciatkowski T, Chmielewska A, Turowska A, Tucholska A, Bańbura MW.In previous experiments, we have demonstrated that the presence of equine herpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) enhanced plaque formation in cell cultures infected with equine herpesvirus type 1. To determine whether a specific region of the EHV-2 genome is responsible for this effect, we have constructed a library of Bam HI fragments of the EHV-2 genome ligated into pcDNA plasmid. Equine dermal (ED) cell cultures were subsequently transfected with the constructs, passaged 5 times, tested for the presence of the plasmids and infected with EHV-1 at MOI = 0.01. Only in cultures transfected with the pcDNA/Bam HI...
Tallmadge RL, McLaughlin K, Secor E, Ruano D, Matychak MB, Flaminio MJ.Many features of the equine immune system develop during fetal life, yet the naïve or immature immune state of the neonate renders the foal uniquely susceptible to particular pathogens. RT-PCR and immunohistochemical experiments investigated the progressive expression of developmental B cell markers and immunoglobulins in lymphoid tissues from equine fetus, pre-suckle neonate, foal, and adult horses. Serum IgM, IgG isotype, and IgA concentrations were also quantified in pre-suckle foals and adult horses. The expression of essential B cell genes suggests active development and gene recombinati...
Van de Walle GR, Goupil R, Wishon C, Damiani A, Perkins GA, Osterrieder N.Epidemiological studies have shown that a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the equid herpesvirus type 1 DNA polymerase gene is associated with outbreaks of highly lethal neurological disease in horses. Reverse genetics experiments further demonstrated that a G(2254) A(2254) nucleotide mutation introduced in neurovirulent strain Ab4, which resulted in an asparagine for aspartic acid substitution (D(752) N(752)), rendered the virus nonneurovirulent in the equine. Here, we report that the nonneurovirulent strain equid herpesvirus type 1 strain NY03 caused lethal neurological disease in horses af...
Vetter J.Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is the fifth most distributed common weed species of the world. Its ecological distribution is very wide, and the plant can grow and spread successfully on many types of soil. The cover of P. aquilinum is--in some cases--remarkable (e.g., in the United Kingdom). Bracken fern contains different poisonous agents: some cyanogen glycosides, factors (agents) of antithiamine character (thermolabile thiaminase and thermostable other compounds) and factors of carcinogenic activity (first of all ptaquiloside). This paper summarises and reviews different toxicological ...
Long MT, Mines MT, Knowles DP, Tanhauser SM, Dame JB, Cutler TJ, MacKay RJ, Sellon DC.Sarcocystis neurona was isolated from the blood of a 5-month-old Arabian foal with severe combined immunodeficiency. The foal had been inoculated approximately 3 weeks previously with 5 x 10(5) sporocysts that were isolated from the intestines of an opossum and identified by restriction enzyme analysis of PCR products as S. neurona. The isolate obtained from the blood of this foal was characterized by genetic, serologic, and morphologic methods and identified as S. neurona (WSU1). This represents the first time that S. neurona has been isolated from any tissue after experimental infection of a...
Pitel PH, Lindsay DS, Caure S, Romand S, Pronost S, Gargala G, Mitchell SM, Hary C, Thulliez P, Fortier G, Ballet JJ.Sarcocystis neurona is considered a leading cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a common infectious neurological disease in horses in the Americas. EPM-like cases associated with S. neurona peptide reactive antibodies in Western blots were recently described in Normandy, France. In this report, antibodies reacting with S. neurona merozoites were detected using an agglutination assay at titers ranging from 50 to 500 in sera from 18/50 healthy horses from two farms with a previous EPM-like case. Higher values were found in older animals. Four out of six horses which traveled or st...
Gussmann K, Czech C, Hermann M, Schaarschmidt-Kiener D, von Loewenich FD.A 22-year old mare from Switzerland was admitted to an equine clinic in May 2011. She presented with fever, lethargy, icteric mucous membranes, reduced alertness, an unsteady gait and ataxia. An Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection was confirmed by blood smear and PCR. The mare was treated with oxytetracylin and recovered rapidly, but she still suffered from a slight atactic gait disturbance at 3 weeks post infection. Eine 22 Jahre alte Stute aus der Schweiz wurde im Mai 2011 in eine Pferdeklinik aufgenommen. Die klinischen Symptome bestanden in Fieber, Abgeschlagenheit, ikterischen Schleimhäu...
Platt R, Sponseller BA, Chiang YW, Roth JA.The cell-mediated immune (CMI) response of foals to virulent equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection was evaluated by multi-parameter flow cytometry (FCM). Ten 7-8-month-old EHV-1 seronegative foals were infected intranasally with virulent EHV-1 and 10 foals served as uninfected controls. Blood samples were collected 6 and 7 weeks after infection to test for specific CMI responses to live heterologous EHV-1 recall antigen. The activation markers included major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), intracellular interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin 4 (IL-4). The results from both...
Stokes SM, Belknap JK, Engiles JB, Stefanovski D, Bertin FR, Medina-Torres CE, Horn R, van Eps AW.Continuous digital hypothermia can prevent the development and progression of laminitis associated with sepsis but its effects on laminitis due to hyperinsulinaemia are unknown. Objective: To determine the effects of continuous digital hypothermia on laminitis development in the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp model. Methods: Randomised, controlled (within subject), blinded, experiment. Methods: Eight clinically normal Standardbred horses underwent laminitis induction using the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp model (EHC). At initiation of the EHC, one forelimb was continuously cooled (...
De Lorenzi L, Genualdo V, Iannuzzi A, Di Meo GP, Perucatti A, Mancuso R, Russo M, Di Berardino D, Parma P, Iannuzzi L.A 4-year-old male horse of Friesian breed with normal body conformation, development and libido, and showing an evident ventral penis deviation with hypospadias, underwent both cytogenetic and genetic investigation. Although the karyotype showed normal male arrangement (2n = 64,XY), one telomere of horse (ECA) chromosome 1 was shorter than both the other one and those of a normal horse (control), as revealed by CBA- and RBA-banding, and by Ag-NOR and FISH-mapping techniques using telomere PNA probes. Genetic investigation of the SRY and MAMLD1 coding sequences revealed a normal SRY sequence an...
Marañón G, Manley W, Cayado P, García C, de la Muela MS, Vara E.Colic could be accompanied by changes in the morphology and physiology of organs and tissues, such as the intestine. This process might be, at least in part, due to the accumulation of oxidative damage induced by reactive oxygen (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS), secondary to intestinal ischemia. Glutathione (GSH), being the major intracellular thiol, provides protection against oxidative injury. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ischemia-induced intestinal injury could be related with alterations in GSH metabolism. Results: Ischemia induced a significant increase in lip...
Ellenberger MA, Kaeberle ML, Roth JA.A lymphocyte blastogenic assay was developed to serve as an in vitro correlate of cell-mediated immunity to Rhodococcus (Corynebacterium) equi (R equi) in the equine species. Lymphocytes obtained from a group of experimental ponies showed no response in cell culture to R equi heat extract or lysozyme extract antigens. Ponies were assigned to groups for experimental inoculation. Three ponies were inoculated subcutaneously with live R equi, 3 were given live R equi by intranasal and intratracheal routes, and 4 ponies were left untreated. Lymphocytes from all inoculated ponies had a mitogenic res...
Zhou T, Yuan XF, Hou SH, Tu YB, Peng JM, Wen JX, Qiu HJ, Wu DL, Chen HC, Wang XJ, Tong GZ.In the early 1970s, the Chinese Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) vaccine, EIAV(DLA), was developed through successive passages of a wild-type virulent virus (EIAV(L)) in donkeys in vivo and then in donkey macrophages in vitro. EIAV attenuation and cell tropism adaptation are associated with changes in both envelope and long terminal repeat (LTR). However, specific LTR changes during Chinese EIAV attenuation have not been demonstrated. In this study, we compared LTR sequences from both virulent and attenuated EIAV strains and documented the diversities of LTR sequence from in vivo and in v...
Suagee JK, Corl BA, Swyers KL, Smith TL, Flinn CD, Geor RJ.High glycaemic feeds are associated with the development of insulin resistance in horses. However, studies that evaluated the effect of high glycaemic feeds used horses that either ranged in body condition from lean to obese or were fed to increase body condition over a period of months; thus, the ability of high glycaemic feeds to induce insulin resistance in lean horses has not been determined. This study evaluated the insulin sensitivity of 18 lean horses fed a 10% (LO; n = 6), 20% (MED; n = 6) or 60% (HI; n = 6) non-structural carbohydrate complementary feed for 90 days. Alth...
Rotchanapreeda T, Sae-Chew P, Lohnoo T, Yingyong W, Rujirawat T, Kumsang Y, Payattikul P, Jaturapaktrarak C, Intaramat A, Pathomsakulwong W....Pythiosis, a life-threatening disease caused by , has been increasingly diagnosed worldwide. A recently developed immunochromatographic test (ICT) enables the rapid diagnosis of pythiosis. During the 3-year clinical implementation of ICT in Thailand, we collected the laboratory reports of 38 animals with suspected pythiosis and detected ICT false-positive results in three horses and a dog with basidiobolomycosis. and cause infections with indistinguishable clinical and microscopic features. This study investigated cross-reactive antibodies by probing and crude extracts and cell-free synthe...
Starik E, Ginter A, Coppe P.A monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against the equine arteritis virus (EAV) nucleocapsid (N) protein was used for indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using viral antigen from different sources. The same mAb was labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate for direct immunofluorescence tests (DIFTs). The N-specific mAb appeared to be suitable for the detection in both ELISA and DIFT of different EAV strains and field isolates from semen and tissue samples after passage in lines of RK-13, Vero and fetal equine kidney cells. The ELISA described is an easy and fast method which can ...
Leadon D, O'Toole D, Duggan VE.The Irish Horse Industry expanded during the Celtic Tiger boom years, then contracted in the current economic recession. High value horses were traditionally controlled through sale at public auction, private sales and sales to dealers; these are now also being reduced by decreases in production (> 40%), and increases in retirement, re-homing, euthanasia and disposal through Category 2 plants and abattoirs. The absence or banning of horse abattoirs has been shown to have very significant welfare social and economic consequences in the USA. This study described the currently available data o...
Rossdale PD.This review summarises comparative aspects of equine pregnancy and birth. The allantochorion covers the entire endometrial surface of the mare's uterus and the placenta is microcotyledonary and epitheliochorial in structure. The foetus has, therefore, to pass through the allantochorion at birth. The umbilical cord has amniotic and allantoic portions and remains intact after delivery, enabling an arterial venous circulation to be maintained for several minutes. Maternal IgG does not cross the placental barrier and passive transfer post-natally is essential for immune status. Gestation in Thorou...
Welsh CE, Parkin TDH, Marshall JF.As antimicrobial resistant bacterial strains continue to emerge and spread in human and animal populations, understanding prescription practices is key in benchmarking current performance and setting goals. Antimicrobial prescription (AP) in companion veterinary species is widespread, but is neither monitored nor restricted in the USA and Canada. The veterinary use of certain antimicrobial classes is discouraged in some countries, in the hope of preserving efficacy for serious human infections. Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the rate of prescription of a number of 'reserved'...
Matthews JB, McArthur C, Robinson A, Jackson F.Cyathostomins are the primary parasitic pathogens of equids. For over 40 years, these nematodes have been controlled using broad spectrum anthelmintics. Three classes of anthelmintic are currently available for this use but, unfortunately, resistance to each of these has now been recorded in cyathostomin populations. As part of an optimal strategy to control cyathostomin infections in the field, it will be important to identify drug-resistant worms at as early a stage as possible. This objective needs to be supported by methodologies that will allow the accurate comparison of anthelmintic resi...
Wilson JW.Creatine phosphokinase activity was determined in cerebrospinal fluid samples submitted for analysis from 126 animals suspected of having central nervous system disease. Values less than 1 sigma unit/ml were obtained on 32 samples and values less than or equal to 1 sigma unit/ml were obtained on 94 samples. The creatine phosphokinase values were increased in all cases of feline toxoplasmosis and feline infectious peritonitis. From other cases, especially seizure disorders and suspected poisonings, and apparent aid in prognosis for future cases was identified.
Le Vine H, Cuatrecasas P.A cytosolic, macromolecular factor required for the cholera toxin-dependent activation of pigeon erythrocyte adenylate cyclase and cholera toxin-dependent ADP-ribosylation of a membrane-bound 43,000 dalton polypeptide has been purified 1100-fold from horse erythrocyte cytosol using organic solvent precipitation and heat treatment. This factor, 13,000 daltons, does not absorb to anionic or cationic exchange resins, is sensitive to trypsin or 10% trichloroacetic acid and is not extractable by diethyl ether. Activation of adenylate cyclase by cholera toxin requires the simultaneous presence of AT...
Mimoun L, Steinman A, Kliachko Y, Tirosh-Levy S, Schvartz G, Blinder E, Baneth G, Mazuz ML.Equine Neospora infection has been linked to neurological disorders and infertility in horses. This study looked into the risk factors for infection and the exposure to Neospora spp. in horses. The study was performed in two independent populations in Israel. The first consisted of apparently healthy horses, and the second consisted of mares examined during pregnancy and after parturition. Sera samples collected from horses and mares were tested for Neospora exposure by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). The study revealed seroprevalence of 24% in apparently healthy horses and 66.4...
Salinas-Mélendez JA, Galván de la Garza S, Riojas-Valdés VM, Wong González A, Avalos-Ramírez R.The aim of the present study was to determine the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in horses from the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Blood serum was obtained from a total of 100 horses residing at different counties in the area. From each animal data was obtained on age, sex, county of residence, presence of ectoparasites and clinical signs. All sera samples were analyzed by indirect immunofluoresence and the sera that resulted positive to this test was analyzed by Western blot. The serological test yielded 34 positive sera at 1:64 dilution, and from them 6 we...
Grobbel M, Lübke-Becker A, Alesík E, Schwarz S, Wallmann J, Werckenthin C, Wieler LH.A total of 120 isolates of Klebsiella spp. and Proteus spp. collected from horses and small animals (dogs and cats) were screened for their susceptibility to 24 different antimicrobial agents. Klebsiella spp. were included from infections of the genital tract (GT) of horses (36 isolates) and the urinary/genital tract (UGT) from dogs and cats (17 isolates), while Proteus spp. were from small animal (dogs and cats) infections of the UGT (37 strains) and the skin (incl. ear/mouth) (30 isolates). In Klebsiella spp. resistance appeared most frequently to ampicillin (53-67%), sulfamethoxazole (19-29...
Skalka B.The occurrence of equi-factor antibodies in sera of mares and their foals was studied on two horse breeding farms, one of which (Farm A) had a positive and the other (farm B) a negative history of R. equi infection of foals. The equi-factor neutralization (EFN) and the reverse Elek-Ouchterlony (REO) precipitation were used as assays. On Farm A, 25 mares positive in both tests (EFN+ REO+) and 25 mares negative in both tests (EFN- REO-) was chosen. On Farm B, a group of 25 EFN- REO+ mares and a group of 25 EFN- REO- mares were studied. The first serum samplings in mares were 1 week ante partum a...
Cornick JL, Seahorn TL.During a 3 1/2-year period, cardiac arrhythmias were identified in 6 of 67 horses diagnosed with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis (DPJ). Arrhythmias were detected by auscultation of irregular cardiac rhythm and subsequently were characterized by electrocardiographic evaluation. Arrhythmias included frequent second-degree atrioventricular block, ventricular ectopic depolarizations, and atrioventricular conduction disturbance. In 4 horses, arrhythmias resolved with recovery from the primary problem. One horse died suddenly 66 hours after admission, and another was euthanatized at 72 hours after adm...
Blunden AS, Mackintosh ME.A series of 31 thoroughbreds and 18 non-thoroughbreds was examined post mortem to assess what bacteria might be present in the lower respiratory tract, and to assess their significance by correlating the bacteriological findings with histological changes in the lung. The distal trachea and seven representative lung sites were swabbed in each case. Sixty-six per cent of the sites were sterile with remaining sites producing scanty growths of mainly coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp., E. coli, Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. Anaerobes, mainly Clostridium perfringens, Bacteroides fragilis a...
Sano Y, Matsuda K, Osaki K, Miyasho T, Tsuda T, Taniyama H.A male Thoroughbred fetus was aborted on day 251 of pregnancy. Gross and histological examinations detected systemic granulomatous lesions in many superficial and visceral lymph nodes and organs including the liver, tonsils, lungs, thymus, spleen, right thyroid gland and gastrointestinal tract, and suppurative placentitis, pyogranulomatous amnionitis and intralesional acid-fast bacilli were also detected. An examination of the DNA base sequence of the β subunit of RNA polymerase demonstrated that Mycobacterium avium strain 104 had infected several organs. To the best of our knowledge, this is...
Nostell K, Lindåse S, Edberg H, Bröjer J.There is little evidence that horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) have higher resting blood pressures than horses with normal insulin sensitivity. However, there are indications that EMS horses have an altered dynamic response to the cardiovascular effects of insulin. Objective: To examine heart rate and the systemic blood pressure response in EMS and control horses during insulin infusion. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Horses were examined with an oral sugar test (OST) and a euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp (EHC). Based on the results from the OST, the horses were classi...
Bolzon C, Joonè CJ, Schulman ML, Harper CK, Villagómez DA, King WA, Révay T.Disorders of sex development (DSD) have long been documented in domestic animal species including horses. However, there is only a single report of an androgen receptor (AR) mutation causative of such a DSD syndrome in a horse pedigree. Here, we present a new familial AR mutation in horses. A missense mutation (c.2042G>C) at AR exon 4 explains the segregation of the DSD in a Thoroughbred horse pedigree. The mutation, expected to affect the ligand-binding domain of the AR protein, led to complete androgen insensitivity of 64,XY SRY+, testicular DSD individuals. Additionally, the design of a ...
Ven S, Decloedt A, De Clercq D, Vera L, Rademakers F, van Loon G.Aortic regurgitation (AR) can have an important clinical impact and in some cases leads to left ventricular (LV) failure. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) is an echocardiographic technique that has been used in horses to detect LV dysfunction. Objective: To examine whether TDI detects changes in radial myocardial wall motion in horses with AR compared with control horses. Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Echocardiography was performed in 30 healthy Warmblood horses and 34 Warmblood horses with AR, subdivided in groups with mild, moderate or severe AR. TDI measurements were performed on six se...
Bischofberger AS, Fürst AE, Torgerson PR, Carstens A, Hilbe M, Kircher P.OBJECTIVE To characterize delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of cartilage (dGEMRIC) features of healthy hyaline cartilage of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) of horses, to determine whether dGEMRIC can be used to differentiate various stages of naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the DIPJ, and to correlate relaxation times determined by dGEMRIC with the glycosaminoglycan concentration, water content, and macroscopic and histologic findings of hyaline cartilage of DIPJs with and without osteoarthritis. SAMPLE 1 cadaveric forelimb DIPJ from each of 12 adult warmblood horses. PROCEDURES T1-...
Wilsher S, Allen WR.There is a paucity of information on factors that influence placental development in the horse. Objective: Changes in nutrition, particularly around the time of proliferative placental growth, can affect development of the placenta and fetal growth. Objective: To investigate the effects of 2 planes of nutrition and an unforeseen infection-mediated nutritional insult on placental and fetal development in the mare. Methods: Twenty maiden Thoroughbred fillies, age 3 or 4 years, mated to one Thoroughbred stallion, were maintained on either High or Moderate food intake throughout pregnancy. In mid-...
