Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
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.
Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in two ponies. Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (NSH) is uncommon in horses. Aim of this report is evaluate an alternative therapeutic approach and provide more information on the diagnostic procedures, through detailed microscopic findings of the bone lesions pony with NSH. Administration of tiludronate along with a balanced diet can be used in a treatment protocol for ponies with NSH. This case report suggests that tiludronate can be used to ameliorate the clinical signs of NSH.
Validation of a Risk Index Model for Predicting Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus Transmission to Horses in Florida. Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus (EEEV) is the most pathogenic arbovirus endemic to the United States. EEEV primarily infects birds but can be fatal to humans, horses, and some other mammals. Although EEEV transmission occurs in the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Midwestern United States, the largest number of horse and human cases have been reported in Florida, the only state where transmission occurs year round. Currently, a GIS-based risk index (RI) model is used to map EEE transmission risk to horses in Florida. This study validates that RI model using a 5-yr dataset of horse cases in Fl...
B-Cell Epitope Mapping Using a Library of Overlapping Synthetic Peptides in an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. This chapter describes a strategy for mapping linear B-cell epitopes of proteins using synthetic biotinylated peptides in an ELISA.A set of overlapping peptides were designed based upon a known amino acid sequence of the target protein, VapA (Virulence-associated Protein A) of the bacterium Rhodococcus equi, an important pulmonary pathogen in foals. The peptides synthesized as biotinylated peptides were coated directly onto micro titer plates which had been pre-coated with NeutrAvidin™ and used to screen sera from foals confirmed to have R. equi disease. A linear B-cell epitope was identifie...
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a Clydesdale gelding. A 7-year-old Clydesdale gelding was referred with a history of progressive lethargy and ventral oedema. The horse developed diarrhoea after treatment with antibiotics by the referring veterinarian. History, clinical signs, imaging and laboratory findings were consistent with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy complicated by antibiotic-associated colitis. Progression of clinical signs prompted euthanasia and the antemortem diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was confirmed at postmortem examination. Conclusions: Primary HCM is reported as rare in horses, but specific descriptions are lacking. The ...
Antimicrobial labelling in Australia: a threat to antimicrobial stewardship? Antimicrobial resistance is a public health emergency, placing veterinary antimicrobial use under growing scrutiny. Antimicrobial stewardship, through appropriate use of antimicrobials, is a response to this threat. The need for antimicrobial stewardship in Australian veterinary practices has had limited investigation. A 2016 survey undertaken to investigate antimicrobial usage patterns by Australian veterinarians found that antimicrobial dose rates were varied and often inappropriate. Doses of procaine penicillin in horses and cattle were often low, with 68% and 90% of respondents, respective...
Canine, feline, and equine corneal vascular neoplasia: A retrospective study (2007-2015). Corneal vascular neoplasms (hemangioma and hemangiosarcoma) are rare in all species. Reported cases are single case reports in a single species. Archived cases of corneal hemangioma and hemangiosarcoma from dogs, cats, and horses were obtained from the Comparative Ocular Pathology Lab of Wisconsin (COPLOW, Madison, WI), tabulated, and examined. This retrospective study describes the breeds, ages, tumor types, and characteristics of vascular neoplasms that appeared to be primarily corneal in location, in feline, canine, and equine patients, with gross and histologic images. There is a discussio...
A review of Eimeria infections in horses and other equids. There is considerable confusion concerning validity of Eimeria species in equids, and endogenous developmental stages and pathogenicity of equid Eimeria. This paper summarizes worldwide information on history, structure, life cycle, pathogenicity, prevalence, epidemiology, and diagnosis of Eimeria infections in equids. The following conclusions were drawn. Although three species of Eimeria; E. solipedum, E. uninugulata, and E. leuckarti were named from horses, only E. leuckarti is a valid species infecting equids, including horses, donkeys and zebra. We consider E. solipedum, E. uninugulata an...
High genetic diversity of extended-spectrum β-lactamases producing Escherichia coli in feces of horses. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), especially those of the CTX-M type, represent a major public health problem throughout the world. Although the carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (EPE) in feces of horses is now well recognized, little is known about the diversity of EPE after treatment of horses with antibiotics. We undertook this study to assess and follow the diversity of EP Escherichia coli isolated from horses after antibiotic treatment for an infection. Fecal samples from two horses treated and two that were untreated were tested for the presence of EPE on different d...
Systemic equid alphaherpesvirus 9 in a Grant’s zebra. A 2-y-old female Grant's zebra ( Equus quagga [ burchellii] boehmi) was presented with a clinical history of depression, anorexia, and weakness of 1-wk duration. Postmortem examination identified ulcers on the tongue and palate; a large abscess adjacent to the larynx; left lung consolidation; mild swelling, darkening, and congestion of the liver with accentuation of the lobular pattern; and edema and congestion of the distal small and large intestines. Histologic examination identified necrotizing bronchopneumonia, necrotizing hepatitis, nephritis, and enterocolitis. Eosinophilic intranuclear ...
Diagnostic methods to detect uterus illnesses in mares. Uterine illnesses are the major problem in horse reproductive programs. The diagnosis of these pathologies is often neglected or does not provide enough information about the cause. The aim of this study was to evaluate different diagnoses to provide more accurate information about endometritis and the real endometrial profile at the beginning of a breeding season. Fifty-one mares with reproductive failure were evaluated. Two different uterine cytology diagnoses, culture of uterine flush material and biopsy assay, were performed. The data were analyzed by the Chi-squared test to compare differ...
Microbiological quality of air in free-range and box-stall stable horse keeping systems. The aim of this study was to assess the microbiological quality of air in three horse riding centers differing in the horse keeping systems. The air samples were collected in one facility with free-range horse keeping system and two with box stalls of different sizes. The samples were collected over a period of 3 years (2015-2017), four times per year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) to assess the effect of seasonal changes. The prevalence of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, mold fungi, actinomycetes, Staphylococcus spp., and Escherichia coli was determined by the air collision method on Petri di...
The Immune Responses of the Animal Hosts of West Nile Virus: A Comparison of Insects, Birds, and Mammals. Vector-borne diseases, including arboviruses, pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. Arboviruses of the flavivirus genus, such as Zika virus (ZIKV), dengue virus, yellow fever virus (YFV), and West Nile virus (WNV), are transmitted to humans from insect vectors and can cause serious disease. In 2017, over 2,000 reported cases of WNV virus infection occurred in the United States, with two-thirds of cases classified as neuroinvasive. WNV transmission cycles through two different animal populations: birds and mosquitoes. Mammals, particularly humans and horses, can become infected thro...
Treating a Recalcitrant Non-union of the Radius Using Autogenous Bone, Equine Bone Paste, Equine Demineralized Bone Matrix, Platelet Rich Plasma, and Bone Marrow Aspirate. A Case Report. Non-unions at forearms are usually challenging and difficult to treat. If additionally, an infection is present, reconstructive surgery should be planned only after full debridement, antibiotic treatment, and confirmation, based on clinical observation and laboratory tests that the infection has subsided. Bone grafting may be required for reconstruction. The use of autogenous bone calls for a second surgical site with an increased risk of morbidity. Using bone substitutes may reduce the need for autogenous bone. Stimulating factors, such as bone marrow concentrate (BMC) and demineralized bone ...
Characteristics of parasitic egg shedding over a 1-year period in foals and their dams in 2 farms in central Saskatchewan. The goals of this study were to report the seasonal shedding patterns of strongyle and spp. eggs in repeated fecal samples for mares ( = 38) and foals ( = 39), and to evaluate the efficacy of ivermectin treatment in mares from 2 selected horse breeding farms in central Saskatchewan. Median strongyle fecal egg counts (FEC) peaked in July and August in adult horses. The farms differed significantly ( = 0.0005) in regard to strongyle shedding categories ( 500 eggs/g) over time, but for each individual horse (both farms combined) these categories did not differ over time ( = 0.13) on samples coll...
Frequency of Equus caballus papillomavirus in equine aural plaques. Despite the reported association between aural plaques and the presence of Equus caballus papillomavirus (EcPV), there are few data regarding the distribution of viral types in different geographic regions or possible correlations for different papillomaviruses and lesion characteristics. We detected the presence and frequency of EcPV (1-7) DNA in aural plaque biopsies of horses from different regions of Brazil and identified the patterns of these infections or coinfections and their possible association with lesion severity. A total of 108 aural plaque biopsies from horses in the 5 geopolitic...
Characterization of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus Long Terminal Repeat Quasispecies In Vitro and In Vivo. The equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) attenuated vaccine was developed by long-term passaging of a field-isolated virulent strain in cross-species hosts, followed by successive cultivation in cells To explore the molecular mechanism underlying the evolution of the EIAV attenuated vaccine, a systematic study focusing on long-terminal-repeat (LTR) variation in numerous virus strains ranging from virulent EIAV to attenuated EIAV was performed over time both and Two hypervariable regions were identified within the U3 region in the enhancer region (EHR) and the negative regulatory element (N...
Multiplex hydrolysis-probe assay for the simultaneous detection of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infections in equids. Quantitative real-time PCR assays previously developed for the detection of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, were combined in a single multiplex TaqMan qPCR platform for the simultaneous detection of both heamoprotozoan parasites in equids. The multiplex equine piroplasmosis (M-EP) qPCR assay was shown to be efficient and specific. The detection limit was determined to be 1.4 × 10 % parasitized erythrocytes (PE) for T. equi and 2.8 × 10 % PE for B. caballi. The effect of differential DNA concentrations on the outcome of the M-EP qPCR for each target species was also investigated. ...
Development and validation of rt-qpcr for vesicular stomatitis virus detection (Alagoas vesiculovirus). Vesicular stomatitis is an infectious disease that occurs mainly in countries of the Western Hemisphere and affects cattle, swine and horses. The clinical symptoms in cattle and swine are similar to foot-and-mouth disease and include vesicular ulceration of the tongue and mouth. The disease requires a rapid and accurate differential diagnosis, aiming for immediate implementation of control measures. The objective of the present study was to develop and perform validation tests of multiplex RT-qPCR(s) for the detection of RNA from Alagoas vesiculovirus, considering the parameters of sensitivity...
Combined thickness of the uterus and placenta and ultrasonographic examinations of uteroplacental tissues in normal pregnancy, placentitis, and abnormal parturitions in heavy draft horses. The combined thickness of the uterus and placenta (CTUP) and ultrasonographic images of uteroplacental tissues were investigated in 35 pregnant heavy draft horses in Months 7-12 of pregnancy. The mares were divided into three groups: those pathologically diagnosed as placentitis (placentitis group, n=3); those who had abortion, premature birth, or fetal malformation (abnormal group, n=7); and those who had no abnormal findings (normal group, n=25). In the normal group, CTUP increased as pregnancy progressed from Months 7 (median, 7.08 mm; range, 5.68-11.27) to 12 (13.31 mm; 7.44-16.31 mm) (P<0...
Barriers to and enablers of implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs in veterinary practices. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are yet to be widely implemented in veterinary practice and medical programs are unlikely to be directly applicable to veterinary settings. Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence effective AMS in veterinary practices in Australia. Methods: A concurrent explanatory mixed methods design was used. The quantitative phase of the study consisted of an online questionnaire to assess veterinarians' attitudes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use in animals, and the extent to which AMS currently is implemente...
Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to influenza vaccination in equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) horses. Obesity is an increasing problem in the equine population with recent reports indicating that the percentage of overweight horses may range anywhere from 20.6-51%. Obesity in horses has been linked to more serious health concerns such as equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). EMS is a serious problem in the equine industry given its defining characteristics of insulin dysregualtion and obesity, as well as the involvement of laminitis. Little research however has been conducted to determine the effects of EMS on routine healthcare of these horses, in particular how they respond to vaccination. It has...
Blood glucose is unlikely to be a prognostic biomarker in acute colitis with systemic inflammatory response syndrome in Thoroughbred racehorses. Although hyperglycemia at admission with colic has been reported to have a poor prognosis, there is no report specifically about acute colitis with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in horses. In this study, we measured blood glucose (Glu), insulin (Ins), and cortisol (Cor) levels in 17 Thoroughbred racehorses diagnosed as having acute colitis with SIRS, and examined the relationship between time-dependent changes in Glu, Ins, and Cor and prognosis. Glu levels were high in 3 horses at admission, but thereafter no horses had persistently high Glu levels. There was no significant di...
Characterization of isolates of Bordetella bronchiseptica from horses. is a well-known Gram-negative bacterial pathogen causing a plethora of diseases in different animals. Although its infection has been reported from pigs and dogs in India, no report of B. bronchiseptica from horses is described. We report for the first time, isolation, identification and characterization of strains of B. bronchiseptica from respiratory infection in horses from different states in India. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed resistance to penicillins, ceftazidime, and chloramphanicol. The virulence capability of the strains was confirmed by sequencing genes such as a...
Strongyle Infection and Gut Microbiota: Profiling of Resistant and Susceptible Horses Over a Grazing Season. Gastrointestinal strongyles are a major threat to horses' health and welfare. Given that strongyles inhabit the same niche as the gut microbiota, they may interact with each other. These beneficial or detrimental interactions are unknown in horses and could partly explain contrasted susceptibility to infection between individuals. To address these questions, an experimental pasture trial with 20 worm-free female Welsh ponies (10 susceptible (S) and 10 resistant (R) to parasite infection) was implemented for 5 months. Fecal egg counts (FEC), hematological and biochemical data, body weight and g...
Prevalence of twin foaling and blood chimaerism in purebred Spanish horses. Twin foaling is associated with chimaerism in several domestic species and is recognised in horses. In this study, 21,097 purebred Spanish (Pura Raza Español) horse births from the 2015 to 2016 breeding season were investigated for chimaerism. Twin foaled and chimaeric individuals were assessed on the basis of foaling records, short-tandem repeat (STR) parentage test results and a sex-linked STR-based technique. Fourteen twin pregnancies with 23 twin foals born alive were identified (0.066% twin foaling prevalence), including five blood chimaeric cases (21.7%; overall prevalence 0.011%), sugg...
Streptococcus equi: breaking its strangles-hold. , head of bacteriology at the AHT, describes the causative agent of strangles in horses, and discusses progress with the latest research aimed at improving vaccines against this global disease.
Correlation between fecal egg count, presence of Strongylus vulgaris, and body score of feral horses on Fort Polk, Louisiana. Approximately 700 feral horses, dubbed "trespass horses" by the United States Army, occupy Fort Polk, Louisiana and the surrounding Kisatchie National Forest. These horses are considered a nuisance and hazard, and the military is seeking to remove the horses via adoption. The aim of this research was to evaluate the fecal egg count (FEC), body condition score (BCS), and the presence of Strongylus vulgaris within this previously unstudied horse population prior to removal. The feral horse data was compared to domestic horses living on a single farm in the same area. A modified McMaster FEC, Hen...
Practical Fluid Therapy and Treatment Modalities for Field Conditions for Horses and Foals with Gastrointestinal Problems. With advances in technology and owner education, field management in equine veterinary medicine continues to evolve. Equine gastrointestinal disease is one of the most common types of emergencies evaluated by equine practitioners, and many of these patients can be effectively managed in the field. Although the equine veterinarian must make numerous decisions, fluid therapy, pain management, and antimicrobial use are 3 of the major choices that must be addressed when initiating field treatment of equine gastrointestinal disease. This article addresses the practical use of these 3 treatment cate...
