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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.
Demographics, Management, Preventive Health Care and Disease in Aged Horses. Gerontology has become increasingly important in equine veterinary medicine, with aged animals representing a significant proportion of the equine population. Horses are defined as geriatric or aged from age 15 years onwards but can have a life span of more than 40 years. Despite a high level of owner concern for the well-being of their geriatric animal, provision of preventive health care may be suboptimal. Owners seem to under-recognize some of the most prevalent diseases identified in geriatric horses. This review focuses on the demographic characteristics of the equine geriatric populati...
Dental Disease in Aged Horses and Its Management. Improved recognition of equine geriatric conditions has resulted in a surge in our aged population with a concurrent escalation of many age-related dental pathologies. Prevention of these disorder is the ultimate aim but early identification and appropriate management can increase an animal's oral comfort and maximise its masticatory ability. There is only a finite amount of tooth available for eruption in the horse and therefore as the teeth become worn and less efficient as a grinding unit, dietary modification becomes a paramount consideration to accommodate this. Geriatric animals have dif...
Horses seropositive for Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis spp. and Neospora spp.: Possible risk factors for infection in Brazil. Many parasitic diseases are considered asymptomatic, even though some studies have shown that they may cause pathological changes in the host. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora spp. and Sarcocystis spp. in horses, and to identify the risk factors for disease. For this, 174 horses were studied, 90 males and 84 females aged between two and 20 years old. Blood samples were collected and stored in tubes without anticoagulant to obtain serum, which was subjected to serological tests for T. gondii, Sarcocystis spp., and...
Prevalence, survival analysis and multimorbidity of chronic diseases in the general veterinarian-attended horse population of the UK. The average age of the global human population is increasing, leading to increased interest in the effects of chronic disease and multimorbidity on health resources and patient welfare. It has been posited that the average age of the general veterinarian-attended horse population of the UK is also increasing, and therefore it could be assumed that chronic diseases and multimorbidity would pose an increasing risk here also. However, evidence for this trend in ageing is very limited, and the current prevalence of many chronic diseases, and of multimorbidity, is unknown. Using text mining of firs...
Species composition of larvae cultured after anthelmintic treatment indicates reduced moxidectin susceptibility of immature Cylicocyclus species in horses. For the control of cyathostomins in horses, the macrocyclic lactones (MLs), moxidectin (MOX) and ivermectin (IVM) are the most commonly used anthelmintics. However, reduced activity, observed as shortening of the egg reappearance period (ERP) has been described. Shortening of the ERP may be caused by a decreased susceptibility of immature worms for MLs. Alternatively, immature worms may develop faster into egg producing adults as a result of repeated ML treatments. The species composition of the larval cultures obtained shortly after ML and pyrantel (PYR) treatment can confirm the hypothesis o...
Treatment of endotoxaemia and septicaemia in the equine patient. Endotoxins, constituents of the cell wall of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, regularly result in severe illness and death in horses. In endotoxaemia, these constituents are present in the systemic circulation; in septicaemia, whole microbes invade normally sterile parts of the body. Interaction of these endotoxins with pathogen recognition receptors leads to an inflammatory response that cannot always be sufficiently contained and hence needs direct treatment. Over the last decennia, our understanding of the pathophysiology of endotoxaemia and septicaemia has significantly increased....
Strongylids in domestic horses: Influence of horse age, breed and deworming programs on the strongyle parasite community. An extensive analysis of the relationships between strongylid egg shedding in domestic horses and the strongylid community structure in regard to the age of the horses, their breeds and different strategies of horse management, particularly with anthelmintic treatment programs was performed. Domestic horses (n=197) of different ages (5 months to 22 years) and of various breeds from 15 farms with different types of deworming programs were included in this study. Strongylids (totally, 82,767 specimens) were collected in vivo after deworming of the horses with the macrocyclic lactone anthelmintic...
Evolution of in vitro antimicrobial resistance in an equine hospital over 3 decades. This study identified antimicrobial resistance patterns of commonly isolated bacteria at the Equine Hospital of the Université de Montréal between 2007 and 2013, and compared the results with the resistance patterns observed in tests performed in previous decades in the same hospital. A total of 396 antimicrobial susceptibility tests were analyzed by the Kirby-Bauer method during the period 2007 to 2013 and compared to 233 and 255 tests completed in 1986 to 1988 and 1996 to 1998, respectively. The most common bacteria were Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) and Escher...
Citrobacter freundii induced endocarditis in a yearling colt. Endocarditis is a rare pathology in horses and the clinical signs can be misleading. We describe the clinical, echocardiographic, and pathological features of Citrobacter freundii induced bacterial endocarditis in a horse. This bacterium has never been reported before as an agent of vegetative endocarditis in the horse. L’endocardite est une pathologie rare chez les chevaux et les signes cliniques peuvent être trompeurs. Nous décrivons les caractéristiques cliniques, échographiques et pathologiques d’une endocardite bactérienne induite par chez un cheval. Cette bactérie n’a jamai...
RNA expression of TLR10 in normal equine tissues. Toll like receptors are one of the major innate immune system pathogen recognition systems. There is little data on the expression of the TLR10 member of this family in the horse. Results: This paper describes the genetic structure of the Equine TLR10 gene and its RNA expression in a range of horse tissues. It describes the phylogenetic analysis of the Equine TLR1,6,10,2 annotations in the horse genome, firmly identifying them in their corresponding gene clades compared to other species and firmly placing the horse gene with other TLR10 genes from odd-toed ungulates. Additional 3' transcript e...
Genetic testing in veterinary dermatology. Molecular genetics has made significant advances in the analysis of hereditary dermatoses during the last several years. Objective: To provide an update on currently available genetic tests for skin diseases of dogs, cats and horses, and to aid the veterinary clinician in the appropriate selection and applications of genetic tests. Methods: The scientific literature on the topic was critically reviewed. The list of known causative variants for genodermatoses and hair morphology traits was compiled by searching the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) database. Results: Genetic testin...
Prevalence of netF-positive Clostridium perfringens in foals in southwestern Ontario. NetF-producing Clostridium perfringens have recently been identified as a cause of necrotizing enteritis in neonatal foals, but little is known about its prevalence in clinically normal foals. Foals (n = 88) ranging in age from < 1 wk to 2 to 4 mo (median age 2 to 4 wk) on 8 horse-breeding farms in Ontario were examined on 1 or 2 occasions for the presence of C. perfringens. Of the foals that tested positive, 5 isolates (n = 675) were examined for the netF and enterotoxin (cpe) genes. Colonization by C. perfringens was most marked in foals < 1 wk of age [4.85 ± 2.70 log10 colony-forming...
Interaction of Trypanosoma evansi with the plasminogen-plasmin system. Trypanosoma evansi is a widely-distributed haemoflagellated parasite of veterinary importance that infects a variety of mammals including horses, mules, camels, buffalos, cattle and deer. It is the causal agent of a trypanosomiasis known as Surra which produces epidemics of great economic importance in Africa, Asia and South America. The main pathology includes an enlarged spleen with hypertrophy of lymphoid follicles, congested lungs, neuronal degeneration and meningoencephalitis, where migration of the parasites from the blood to the tissues is essential. Most cells, including pathogenic cel...
Regulation of Rev expression by the equine infectious anaemia virus tat-rev mRNA Kozak sequence and its potential influence on viral replication. Rev, an important accessory protein of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), induces the nuclear export of incompletely spliced viral mRNAs. Rev is translated from the tat-rev mRNA through leaky scanning of the tat CUG. In this study, the function of the Kozak sequence at the beginning of the rev ORF was investigated. Deletion or attenuation of the Kozak sequence resulted in expression of an N-terminal 11 aa-truncated Rev in addition to WT Rev. Truncated Rev displayed weaker promotion of Gag expression and processing than WT Rev. Furthermore, EIAV rescued from an infectious molecular clon...
Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of livestock in Nicaragua, with notes about distribution. We document the species of ticks that parasitize livestock in Nicaragua. The study was based on tick collection on cattle and horses from 437 farms in nine departments. Of 4841 animals examined (4481 cows and 360 horses), 3299 were parasitized, which represent 68 % of the bovines and 67 % of the equines in study: 59 cows and 25 horses were parasitized by more than one species. In addition, 280 specimens of the entomological museum in León were examined. The ticks found on cattle were Rhipicephalus microplus (75.2 % of the ticks collected), Amblyomma mixtum (20.8 %), A. parvum (2.6 %), A....
A case of giant cell tumor of soft parts in a horse. A 12-year-old British Warmblood mare was examined by the referring veterinarian for evaluation of a cutaneous lesion on the dorsal thorax to the right of the midline. Cytologic examination of fine-needle aspirates from the mass was supportive of a giant cell tumor of soft parts (GCTSP). Laser surgical excision and postoperative methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) photodynamic therapy (PDT) were performed. Histologic examination of the mass confirmed the cytologic diagnosis. At 8 months from surgery, no evidence of recurrence has been observed. Giant cell tumors of soft parts are rare cutaneous neopla...
Large Deletions at the SHOX Locus in the Pseudoautosomal Region Are Associated with Skeletal Atavism in Shetland Ponies. Skeletal atavism in Shetland ponies is a heritable disorder characterized by abnormal growth of the ulna and fibula that extend the carpal and tarsal joints, respectively. This causes abnormal skeletal structure and impaired movements, and affected foals are usually killed. In order to identify the causal mutation we subjected six confirmed Swedish cases and a DNA pool consisting of 21 control individuals to whole genome resequencing. We screened for polymorphisms where the cases and the control pool were fixed for opposite alleles and observed this signature for only 25 SNPs, most of which we...
Double-stranded-RNA-specific adenosine deaminase 1 (ADAR1) is proposed to contribute to the adaptation of equine infectious anemia virus from horses to donkeys. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a member of the genus Lentivirus of the family Retroviridae. Horses are the most susceptible equids to EIAV infection and are therefore the primary hosts of this virus. In contrast, infected donkeys do not develop clinically active equine infectious anemia (EIA). This phenomenon is similar to what has been observed with HIV-1, which fails to induce AIDS in non-human primates. Interestingly, Shen et al. developed a donkey-tropic pathogenic virus strain (EIAVDV117, DV117) by serially passaging a horse-tropic pathogenic strain, EIAVLN40 (LN40), in donkeys....
Quantitative analysis of infiltrating immune cells and bovine papillomavirus type 1 E2-positive cells in equine sarcoids. Sarcoids are the most frequently observed skin tumours in equids and consist of cutaneous accumulations of transformed fibroblasts. Their aetiopathogenesis is closely linked to a presumably abortive infection by bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2. In cattle, dermal fibropapillomas induced by BPV1/2 usually regress spontaneously due to a local, cell-mediated, immune response; however, equids appear to lack an effective immune response to BPV1/2 and mechanisms of immune evasion have been postulated. As a consequence, equine sarcoids tend to persist and are prone to recur. In this study, c...
Equine antibody response to larval Parascaris equorum excretory-secretory products. Parascaris equorum is an intestinal nematode of foals and young horses that can produce mild to severe pathology. Current diagnosis is limited to detection of patent infections, when parasite eggs are identified during fecal examinations. This study examined the use of larval P. equorum excretory-secretory (ES) products in a western blot test for diagnosis of prepatent equine P. equorum infection. Sera from adult mares negative for patent P. equorum infections, foals prior to consuming colostrum, and P. equorum infected foals were used as controls in this study. Study samples included sera fro...
Exertional heat illness: a review of the syndrome affecting racing Thoroughbreds in hot and humid climates. Metabolic heat produced by Thoroughbred racehorses during racing can rapidly elevate core body temperature (1°C/min). When environmental conditions are hot and humid, the normal physiological cooling mechanisms become ineffective. The heat accumulated may exceed a critical thermal maximum (estimated to be 42°C), which may trigger a complex pathophysiological cascade with potentially lethal consequences. This syndrome has been labelled exertional heat illness (EHI). EHI is described in humans, but has not been well documented in Thoroughbred racehorses. The clinical signs described in racehor...
[Occurrance of antibodies against Leptospira in horses in Middle Germany]. Aim of the study was to detect antibodies and potential risk factors for an infec- tion with Leptospira in horses in Middle Germany. Serum samples of 314 horses were examined retrospectively by microscopic agglutination test for the presence of antibodies against eight Leptospira serovars. In total, 17.2% (n = 54) of the horses were positive for one or more of the serovars analyzed. The most prevalent serovar was lcterohaemorrhagiae (11.1%), followed by serovar Bratislava (9.6 %) and Grippotyphosa (1.9%). Mares showed a significantly higher occurrence of antibodies (p < 0.05) than geldings ...
Efficacy of combination therapy with anti-thymocyte globulin and cyclosporine A as a first-line treatment in adult patients with aplastic anemia: a comparison of rabbit and horse formulations. Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) is a key drug in immunosuppressive therapy for patients with aplastic anemia. The mainstay of ATG therapy had been a horse ATG (hATG) formulation, Lymphoglobulin or ATGAM, but Lymphoglobulin was recently discontinued, and Thymoglobulin, a rabbit ATG (rATG) formulation, is currently used as the first-line drug in many countries, including Japan. However, a recent randomized clinical trial reported significantly unfavorable outcomes associated with the use of rATG regimens. We retrospectively analyzed clinical outcomes of adult patients with moderate to severe aplas...
Visual evoked potentials in the horse. Electrical potentials generated in the central nervous system in response to brief visual stimuli, flash visual evoked potentials (FVEPs), can be recorded non-invasively over the occipital cortex. FVEPs are used clinically in human medicine and also experimentally in a number of animal species, but the method has not yet been evaluated in the horse. The method would potentially allow the ophthalmologist and equine clinician to evaluate visual impairment caused by disorders affecting post-retinal visual pathways. The aim was to establish a method for recording of FVEPs in horses in a clinical s...
Integumentary Disorders Including Cutaneous Neoplasia in Older Horses. Few skin diseases specifically or exclusively affect older horses and donkeys. Hypertrichosis (hirsutism) associated with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction is probably the most recognized and best understood exception and is the most common age-related skin condition in equids. Many other conditions are known to be more serious in older horses. Horses affected with immune-compromising conditions can be more severely affected by infectious diseases of the skin or heavy and pathologically significant parasitism. Neoplasia of the skin is probably more prevalent and worse in older horses, alth...
Nutritional Management of the Older Horse. Leisure animals now comprise the majority of working horses in industrialized nations; a shift that has decreased workloads yet improved veterinary care and lifetime health. Although many horses now progress well into their 20s without any requirement for dietary modification, age-related changes are insidious, and older animals benefit from regular veterinary monitoring to identify, address, and ameliorate the inevitable onset of age-related "disease." Basal metabolic rate decreases with age; older animals expend less energy on controlled exercise, and there can be an increased propensity tow...
