Topic:Disease
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.
Associations between postrace atrial fibrillation and measures of performance, racing history and airway disease in horses. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common performance limiting arrhythmia in racehorses. High dose exercise and airway disease promote AF in humans. Few studies have investigated epidemiological factors associated with AF in horses. Objective: Explore variables relating to performance, exercise volume and postrace endoscopic findings in horses with AF. Methods: A total of 164 horses with poor race performance and postrace AF were compared to 321 horses with poor performance without AF (PP) and 314 horses performing to expectation (TE). Methods: Horse-level and race-level variables for horses...
Positron emission tomography assessment of metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures post surgical repair: Prospective study in 14 racehorses. To assess 18F-sodium fluoride (18F-NaF) positron emission tomography (PET) findings associated with metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fractures at the time of fracture repair and through healing. Methods: Prospective descriptive study. Methods: Fourteen Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: 18F-NaF PET was performed within 4 days of surgical metacarpal/metatarsal condylar fracture repair, on both the injured and contralateral limb. Follow-up PET scans were offered at 3- and 5-months post fracture repair. Areas of abnormal uptake were assessed using a previously validated grading system. Results: Ei...
Equine non-septic tenosynovitis: A systematic literature review of site-specific pathological lesions, outcomes and surgical complications. Non-septic tenosynovitis is a clinically relevant and often performance limiting musculoskeletal injury in the horse. Objective: To review the published literature to determine which tendon sheaths are commonly affected by non-septic tenosynovitis and to describe the most frequently reported pathological lesions, outcomes, and surgical complications in equine non-septic tenosynovitis. Methods: Systematic review. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in July 2021 from the online search engines PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science Core, VetMed Resource and ProQuest Theses & Dissertations. Th...
Epidemiology and Control of Rabies in Cattle and Equines in Rondônia State, a Brazilian’s Legal Amazon Area. Rabies is a fatal neglected tropical zoonosis, and its significance for domestic herbivores in the rural cycle is probably associated with rainforest deforestation, livestock, and agricultural expansion. This epidemiological survey aimed to study the occurrence of rabies in bovines and equines in the state of Rondônia, located in the Brazilian's Legal Amazon, between the years 2002 and 2021, correlating these findings with the prophylactic strategies adopted by the local sanitary agency for rabies control. During this period, 201 cases were observed in bovines and 23 in equines. A downward tr...
Molecular and Cellular Evaluation of Horses With Summer Pasture Associated Asthma Syndrome. Equine asthma is an airway disease that affects a large number of horses annually leading to considerable economic losses in the horse industry. Despite advances in research in this area, there is still a lack of information on its etiology and molecular characterization in pasture associated asthma. The objective of the current study was to characterize the inflammatory disease of lower airways in horses maintained on pasture through cytologic and immunologic profile during the summer in a tropical environment by analysis of the gene expression of Th1 cytokines (IFN- λ, IL-8), Th2 cytokines ...
Development of multiplex gold nanoparticles biosensors for ultrasensitive detection and genotyping of equine herpes viruses. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) biosensors can detect low viral loads and differentiate between viruses types, enabling early diagnosis and effective disease management. In the present study, we developed GNPs biosensors with two different capping agent, citrate-GNPs biosensors and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-GNPs biosensors for detection of EHV-1 and EHV-4 in multiplex real time PCR (rPCR). Citrate-GNPs and PVP-GNPs biosensors can detect dilution 10 of EHV-1 with mean Cycle threshold (Ct) 11.7 and 9.6, respectively and one copy as limit of detection, while citrate-GNPs and PVP-GNPs biosensors can de...
Detection of fungi in the airways of horses according to the sample site: a methodological study. Fungal detection in equine airways may be performed on either tracheal wash (TW) or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by either cytology or culture. However, method comparisons are sparse. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of fungi in airways of horses according to the sample site and laboratory methodology. Sixty-two adult horses, investigated in the field or referred for respiratory disease, were included. Tracheal wash, and BALF collected separately from both lungs, were collected using a videoendoscope. Fungi were detected in cytologic samples examined by light microscopy, an...
Recombinant Salmonella enterica OmpX protein expression and its potential for serologically diagnosing Salmonella abortion in mares. abortion in mares is caused by subspecies serovar infection and is characterized by premature (abortion) or non-viable fetus birth. Although all horses are susceptible to infection, the condition is more often clinically manifested in pregnant mares, with most abortions recorded in young females. In addition, nonspecific clinical disease signs and poorly sensitive and effective bacteriological diagnostic methods hinder rapid and reliable infection diagnoses. Immunochemical methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunochromatography assays can facilitate effective and...
Prevalence and Factors Related to Leishmania infantum Infection in Healthy Horses (Equus caballus) from Eastern Spain. Leishmaniosis is a zoonosis caused by spp., an intracellular protozoan parasite. This parasite is transmitted by sandflies, and the disease is endemic in the Mediterranean basin. In recent years, the number of species which could be a reservoir of the parasite is increased. One of the most relevant species is the horse, due to their contact with humans and ability to control the disease, thus being a possible silent reservoir. In this study, we have analyzed the prevalence and factors related to infection in healthy horses in the Mediterranean region. Epidemiological data and serum samples w...
Association of equine gammaherpesvirus-5 with facial lymphohistiocytic interface dermatitis in seven adult horses from the United States. Equine herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) is commonly found in healthy asymptomatic horses worldwide. Although a cause-and-effect relationship has not been thoroughly determined, this virus has been associated with several disease conditions including equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF) and 1 case of interface dermatitis. The authors searched the New York State Animal Health Diagnostic Center database for cases of equine interface dermatitis between 2007 and 2022. Ten cases were identified and scrutinized for viral inclusion bodies which were present in 5 of 10 cases. Two similar cases with inter...
Diversity and functional prediction of fungal communities in different segments of mongolian horse gastrointestinal tracts. Anaerobic fungi are effective fibre-degrading microorganisms in the digestive tract of horses. However, our understanding of their diversity and community structure is limited, especially in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. For the first time, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyse and predict fungal microbial diversity in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract of Mongolian horses. The results revealed that the richness and diversity of fungi in the hindgut of Mongolian horses were much higher than those in the foregut. The foregut was dominated by Basid...
Ionophores. Ionophores are a class of polyether antibiotics that are commonly used as anticoccidial agents and growth promotants in ruminant diets. Ionophores transport ions across lipid membranes and down concentration gradients, which results in mitochondrial destruction, reduced cellular energy production, and ultimately cell death. Cardiomyocytes are the primary target in equine patients when exposed to toxic concentrations and the clinical disease syndrome is related to myocardial damage. Animals can survive acute exposures but can have permanent heart damage that may result in acute death at future ...
Alterations of the bacterial ocular surface microbiome are found in both eyes of horses with unilateral ulcerative keratitis. Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies in healthy equine eyes have shown a more diverse ocular surface microbiota compared to culture-based techniques. This study aimed to compare the bacterial ocular surface microbiota in both eyes of horses with unilateral ulcerative keratitis (UK) with controls free of ocular disease. Conjunctival swabs were obtained from both ulcerated eyes and unaffected eyes of 15 client-owned horses with unilateral UK following informed consent, as well as from one eye of 15 healthy horses. Genomic DNA was extracted from the swabs and sequenced on an Illumina platform...
A case of equine piroplasmosis in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Equine piroplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. A competition horse that had been imported to the Equestrian Park for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and had a fever over 40°C and severe anemia was diagnosed with equine piroplasmosis by blood smear and direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Theileria equi. Treatment with protozoan anthelmintics and whole blood transfusion diminished the fever, improved the anemia, and allowed the horse to return home safely. Preparation for routine cases of this infection should include the development of a s...
Comparison of the broncoalveolar lavage fluid proteomics between foals and adult horses. Neonates have different cellular composition in their bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) when compared to foals and adult horses; however, little is known about the non-cellular components of BALF. The objective of this study was to determine the proteomic composition of BALF in neonatal horses and to compare it to that of foals and adult horses. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples of seven neonates (< 1 week age), four 5 to 7-week-old foals, and six adult horses were collected. Quantitative proteomics of the fluid was performed using tandem mass tag labeling followed by high resolution l...
Systemic aspergillosis associated with acute enterocolitis in foals. Aspergillosis is an uncommon disease in horses, but it can be fatal. We report two cases of systemic aspergillosis in foals that occurred in a short period in the same region of southern Brazil. In addition, a literature review of similar cases was also performed. Risk factors were attributed to an immunodepression by primary enterocolitis and corticosteroid treatment, the damage in the epithelium, and multiple antibacterial treatments, which allowed local fungal proliferation, tissue invasion and spread of infection, leading to death. Since the antemortem diagnosis of aspergillosis in foals i...
Novel Genotype of Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis Associated with Mastitis in an Arabian Filly: Genomic Approaches and Phenotypic Properties. Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (Sde) is a commensal bacterium of horses that causes opportunistic infections. The aim of the work was to study genotypic and phenotypic properties of the Sde strain related to equine neonatal mastitis. Sde was isolated from an 8 day-old filly and sequenced for genome analysis, antibiotic susceptibility tests and virulence factor (VF) assays. The Sde strain presented the novel emm-subtype stC839.12 and the novel multilocus-sequence type ST-670, which belonged to a specific equine genotype group. Although no specific genotypic mechanisms related to ...
Effect of pro-inflammatory cytokine priming and storage temperature of the mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome on equine articular chondrocytes. Osteoarthritis (OA) is an invalidating articular disease characterized by cartilage degradation and inflammatory events. In horses, OA is associated with up to 60% of lameness and leads to reduced animal welfare along with extensive economic losses; currently, there are no curative therapies to treat OA. The mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome exhibits anti-inflammatory properties, making it an attractive candidate for improving the management of OA. In this study, we determined the best storage conditions for conditioned media (CMs) and tested whether priming MSCs with cytokines can enh...
Identification of Burkholderia mallei Isolates with Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. Burkholderia mallei is the main cause of glanders as a dangerous contagious zoonosis disease that is mostly observed in single-hoofed animals, especially horses. Modern molecular techniques have been recently employed to improve epidemiology for identifying and searching for strains of this bacterium at different times and locations. Due to the unknown number of circulating strains and lack of preventive methods, glanders is still observed in the form of epidemics. The present study aimed to evaluate six field isolates plus two laboratory strains of Borkolderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudoma...
Survey of horse transportation in Switzerland: practices and issues. This study aimed to describe equine transportation practices and transport-related behavioural and health problems in Switzerland and to identify possible associations between them. An online survey was disseminated to Swiss equine industry members and questioned respondents' details, transport practices (before, during, and after journeys), horse transport-related behavioural (TRPBs) and health problems (TRHPs) experienced in the previous 2 years. The survey generated 441 valid responses, analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models (outcomes: TRPBs, TRHPs, injuries, d...
Fasciola hepatica infection in horses in three governorates in northern Egypt: prevalence and risk factors. Fasciola hepatica is a trematode parasite that affects wide range of mammalian hosts including horses. There are no epidemiological data on fasciolosis in Egyptian horses. Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of F. hepatica in horses using ELISA as well as assess the associated risk factors for fasciolosis infection. A total of 400 sera samples of horses from three Egyptian governorates were examined. The overall seroprevalence rate in horses was 13% and the disease was more prevalent in Qalubia (14.17%) and Gharbia (16.67%) which are located at Nile Delta. The likelih...
The effectiveness of hippotherapy simulation exercises for muscle strength, disease activity and quality of life in sedentary adults with ankylosing spondylitis. Newly created systems called hippotherapy simulators (HS) mimic the primitive movements of a live horse. As they are new systems, research examining their usefulness has been well received. The aim of this study is to research the effects of HS on disease activity, quality of life and muscle strength in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Unassigned: In a prospective, assessor-blinded, block-randomized trial, 48 AS patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either HS or conventional home (CH) exercise therapy. All Participants received 48 sessions, that is 4 sessions a we...
Evaluating Trends in Strangles Outbreaks Using Temperature and Precipitation Data in the United States of America for 2018-2022. Strangles is a highly contagious upper respiratory infection of equids that is globally distributed. The causative agent of strangles, subspecies , can be spread through indirect contact with infected fomites, and studies have shown this microbe to live well in varying environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to analyze strangles case numbers across the United States of America from 2018 to 2022 to investigate potential temporal or weather patterns associated with outbreaks. Diagnosed case records were obtained from the Equine Disease Communication Center, university databases,...
Histological Evaluation of Resected Tissue as a Predictor of Survival in Horses with Strangulating Small Intestinal Disease. Strangulating small intestinal disease (SSID) in horses carries a poor prognosis for survival, especially following resection of ischaemic tissue. The margins of a resection are principally based on visual appraisal of the intestine during surgery. We hypothesized that histological evaluation of resected tissue may identify occult changes indicative of prognosis. Small intestinal samples from 18 horses undergoing resection for SSID and 9 horses euthanised for reasons unrelated to gastrointestinal pathology were utilised. Histological appearance was used to generate a 'total damage score' (TDS)...
Ferret Models for Henipavirus Infection. Henipaviruses are emerging zoonotic viruses that can cause outbreaks of severe respiratory and neurological disease in humans and animals such as horses. The mechanism by which these viruses can cause disease remain largely unknown and to date there are no therapeutics or vaccines approved for use in humans. Nipah virus is listed on the World Health Organization R & D Blueprint list of epidemic threats. In order to advance the availability of effective therapeutics and vaccines and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large scale crises, animal models are required which recap...
History, Rest and Exercise Score (HRE-S) for assessment of disease severity in horses with trigeminal-mediated headshaking. In horses with trigeminal-mediated headshaking (TMHS), clinical signs are likely to be expression of neuropathic facial pain. Currently, subjective assessment of disease severity is used as measure of compromise of animal's welfare. Objective: To develop and validate a precise scoring system for TMHS: History, Rest and Exercise Score (HRE-S). The HRE-S consists of three subscores: history score (H-S), resting score (R-S) and exercise score (E-S). Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Seven masked observers with different experience used HRE-S to score 40 video recordings taken d...
Core genome multilocus sequence typing analysis of Finnish Taylorella equigenitalis isolates. In Finland, Taylorella equigenitalis, the causative agent of contagious equine metritis (CEM), was first detected in 1992. The aim of this study was to genotype Finnish T. equigenitalis isolates to investigate the epidemiology of the infection in the Finnish horse population. A total of 34Â T. equigenitalis isolates from 24 horses obtained during 1992-2021 were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) and subsequent local ad hoc core genome multi-locus sequence typing (cgMLST) targeting 1259 loci. Classical MLST profiles were extracted from the whole-genome sequence data. Three novel MLST ty...
Longitudinal humoral immune response and maternal immunity in horses after a single live-attenuated vaccination against African horse sickness during the disease outbreak in Thailand. African horse sickness (AHS) has become a newly emerging disease after an outbreak in northeastern Thailand in March 2020. Mass vaccination in horses with live-attenuated AHS virus (AHSV) vaccine is essential for AHS control and prevention. This study aimed to monitor the longitudinal humoral immune response before and after a single vaccination using a live-attenuated vaccine against AHS in stallions, mares, and pregnant mares, including maternal immunity in foals born from pregnant mares during the outbreak in Thailand. Unassigned: A total of 13 stallions and 23 non-pregnant and 21 pregnant ...
Evaluation of a novel real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for identifying H3 equine influenza virus in Kazakhstan. Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious disease that causes fever and upper respiratory tract inflammation. It is caused by influenza virus A, belonging to the family, with subtypes H3N8 and H7N7. This study presents data on the development of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay using TaqMan probes to detect the H3 subtype of EI virus (EIV). Unassigned: The evaluation of the developed RT-PCR assay involved five strains of EIV as positive controls and ten nasopharyngeal swab samples collected from horses. RNA was isolated using the GeneJet Viral DNA and RNA Purification K...
Bovine Papillomavirus Type 1 Infection in an Equine Congenital Papilloma. Papillomas are benign epithelial lesions protruding on the epithelial surfaces as finger-like or warty projections. These lesions are often caused by papillomavirus (PV) infection. Congenital papillomas have been reported in foals. However, to date, no evidence of PV infection has been provided. In the present paper, we describe the main clinical-pathological features of a congenital papilloma observed in a foal. In addition, biomolecular tests demonstrated BPV1 infection in the case under study. Such data stimulate further investigations, even on archived samples, aiming to clarifying the eti...