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.
Banks KL, McGuire TC.Surface receptors on peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes from normal and immunodeficient horses have been studied. Sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) coated with IgG, IgM, and complement but not IgG(T), readily bound to normal equine monocytes and neutrophils. More than 4000 molecules of IgG were required to sensitize each SRBC for adherence to monocytes, and more than 12,000 molecules were required for adherence to neutrophils. Young horses with a severe combined immunodeficiency had an almost total absence of lymphocytes, but normal numbers of monocytes and neutrophils. The number of receptors...
Dutta SK.An adenovirus was isolated from a foal with respiratory tract disease. The virus produced cytopathic effects (CPE) in equine embryo kidney (EEK) cell culture, contained deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), was resistant to chloroform and pH 3, and was moderately resistant to heat. The virus caused hemagglutination of human (type O) erythrocytes. Viral density was 1.34 g/cm,3 and diameter was 75 nm. An adenovirus-associated virus (AAV) isolated from the infected cell culture was 22 nm in diameter. These viruses are classified as equine adenovirus and equine AAV.
Azzie MA.Contrary to common belief, Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus can be pathogenic to horses. History of cases of a particular stud, necropsy findings, diagnosis, and successful treatment with hexachlorophene and with dichlorvos are recorded. The presence of eggs can be established by a special flotation technique.
Duncan JL, Dargie JD.The migratory route of infective Strongylus vulgaris larvae was determined: penetration of small and large intestine into the lumina of submucosal arteries, migration up the arterial tree, reaching the cranial mesenteric site by three weeks, where the larvae develop to the mature 4th stage. After 3-4 months they exsheath and the young adults migrate down the arteries towards the intestines, to the limit of arterial narrowing, from where they rupture from nodules into the lumen of the intestine. The prepatent period is about 6 months. The clinical syndrome was similar to, but less severe than t...
Mackenzie CD.The basic components of the immune system, and the defence mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract, are briefly reviewed. Histological studies in 84 equine foetuses showed that lymphoid cells begin populating the thymic primordium at 11-12 weeks, the mesenteric lymph nodes at 13 weeks, the spleen at 25 weeks and the intestinal lamina propria at 13-14 weeks' gestation. Lymphocytes were seen in the intestinal epithelium very early in gestation. Histological signs of response to antigenic stimulation were seen in five foetuses, indicating that the horse is likely to be capable of mounting an imm...
Merritt AM, Bolton JR, Cimprich R.Pertinent questions regarding the history of a horse with diarrhoea are listed, as are diagnostic procedures that might be included in a complete clinical work-up. For purposes of discussion, diarrhoea is regarded as "acute" or "chronic" wherein the former concerns cases where the features of the disease are severe with progressive electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, toxaemia, or other life-threatening manifestations and the latter refers to cases that have been prolonged for a month or more. Patterns of disease, including results of diagnostic techniques, are stressed. In the "acute" category...
Pedersen CE, Eddy GA.Polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic examination of viruses selected from the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) complex revealed distinct strain to strain differences in profiles of the two virion envelope proteins. The core protein was identical in all viruses tested. We detected five electrophoretic patterns into which the virus strains could be classified and these were designated alpha (alpha), beta (beta), gamma (gamma), delta (delta), and episolon (episolon). Isolates representing variant E of subtype I exhibited a profile characterized by only one apparent envelope band. The epizo...
Rhim JS, Ro HS, Kim EB, Gilden RV, Huebner RJ.A horse skin cell line (E. Derm, NBL-6, CCL-57) was susceptible to focus formation by the Kirsten mouse sarcoma virus, feline sarcoma virus (ST stain) and the MSV pseudotypes with woolly monkey, gibbon monkey, RD-114, AT-124, baboon placenta and murine xenotropic (BALB/c 3T3 and C57L/JD) type-C viruses. Foci were detected within 5 days after infection and the transformed cells continued to produce infectious virus and group-specific antigen of their respective type-C leukemia viruses. The transformation efficiency of various type-C sarcoma viruses in horse cells was also very high.
Mansmann RA.Little has been written about the use of antibiotics in the horse. This article is based on personal experiences related to equine clinical medicine and literature review and certainly does not represent all the possible therapeutic regimens that can he employed in the horse. There are two concepts that this article will emphasize. First and most importantly, when an infective process is suspected in a patient, cul-tures and sensitivities are the most important determinations to be made prior to antibiotic therapy. Whether in the treatment of a single case or in the treatment of a herd problem...
Harrington DD.Spontaneous Tyzzer's disease is described in quarter horse foals which died suddenly with no clinical history of apparent illness. Significant gross findings included icterus, focal paletan areas in the liver and catarrhal entercolitis. Focal dark red lesions were present in the small intestine of one foal, and the mesenteric lymph nodes of another were enlarged and hyperemic. Histopathologically, the liver showed multiple discrete and confluent foci of necrosis, fatty change, sinusoid congestion and haemorrhage. Bundles of intracytoplasmic bacilli were demonstrated in hepatocytes at the margi...
Krook L, Wasserman RH, Shively JN, Tashjian AH, Brokken TD, Morton JF.A chronic debilitating disease is described in Florida horses. There is progress weight loss and lameness of increasing severity. Plasma calcium is elevated to moderate or severe degree. Anatomical changes include dystrophic calcinosis of elastic tissues, viz. major arteries, tendons and ligaments. A generalized osteopetrosis is present and may be related to hypoparathyroidsim and hypercalcitoninism. The presence of Cestrum diurnum (day-blooming jessamine, day cestrum, wild jasmin) in areas accessible to affected animals, the observation that leaves of the plant were stripped in these areas, a...
Levitt NH, Miller HV, Pedersen CE, Eddy GA.The development of a new diagnostic procedure for the identification of Venezvelan, eastern and western equine encephalomyelitis (VEE, EEE, WEE) viruses is described. The procedure utilizes virus precipitation with reference fluorescein-conjugated gamma globulin, followed by cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Clinical specimens containing varying concentrations of virus yielded, in primary duck embryo cell culture, sufficient virus for detection within 22 to 44 hours. Identification of VEE, EEE and WEE virus in specimens was accomplished by microprecipitation within this time. In contrast to c...
Fontaine M, Aymard-Henry M.From the Revised Nomenclature of WHO, the fowl influenza virus A/Duck/Ukraine/63 (Hav7 Neq2) has the same neuraminidase as the equine virus A/equi 2/Miami/63 (Heq2 Neq2); the A/Chicken Germany "N"/49 virus has the same neuraminidase as the equine virus A/equi 1/Prague/56. A comparative study of the antigenic specificities confirms that the Neq2 neuraminidases are closely connected, whatever their animal origin, and that the fowl strain Hav7 Neq2 can be used for the titration of anti Neq2 antibodies in the serums of animals immunized with the equine virus Heq2 Neq2. The Neqi neuraminidases of v...
Perryman LE, Liu IK.Nine foals with combined immunodeficiency were given hepatic and thymus cells from 68- to 110-day-old (gestational age) fetuses or peripheral blood lymphocytes from nonrelated horses. Clinical signs and lesions consistent with graft vs host reaction were observed in eight of the foals. Diarrhea was observed in these 8 foals, and ulcerative dermatitis, stomatitis, or glossitis was detected in 6 of the 8 foals. Histopathologic changes consisting of necrosis and lymphocyte infiltration were observed in liver, skin, alimentary tract, and less frequently in lymphoid tissues. Changes in complete blo...
Lynch JA.A Staphylococcus aureus infection in a mature horse, resulting from trauma, is described, which proved refractory to antibiotic therapy directed by the results of antibiotic sensitivity testing. After a prolonged course, rapid resolution of the infection was achieved with the administration of an autogenous formalized bacterin.
Valpotić I, Kastelan M, Rudolf M, Gerencer M, Jukić B, Basić I.The percentage of T and B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of horses chronically infected with equine infectious anaemia (EIA) virus was determined and the results were compared with the percentage of these cells in healthy uninfected horses. Cells with membrane receptors for sheep erythrocytes (T and active T lymphocytes) were determined by E and A rosette techniques, while cells with receptors for the C3b component of complement and those with receptors for mouse erythrocytes (B lymphocytes), were determined by the EAC rosette method. The percentage of Fe positive cells was assayed by the...
Doerksen T, Bird E, Henningson J, Palinski R.Here, we report the near-complete genome sequences of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) serotype Indiana isolates from the 2020 U.S. outbreak. The sequences were obtained from swabs collected from Kansas horses in July and August. The four genome sequences help improve our understanding of VSV outbreak dynamics in the United States.
Blue MG, Hannwacker MA.Persistent purulent endometritis in a mare was attributed to an unclassified species of Corynebacterium. Following intrauterine infusions of 20% betadine for 5 days the purulent vulval discharge ceased and the mare appeared clinically normal. Based on histological examination of endometrial biopsy samples, the severe acute inflammatory reaction had largely resolved 2 days after therapy. Three maiden mares considered resistant to bacterial endometritis received single intrauterine inoculations of 1.8 X 10(9) colony-forming units of the Corynebacterium species. The uterine response was followed ...