Endemic diseases in horses are illnesses that are consistently present within certain geographic regions or populations. These diseases can affect equine health and management practices, as they may lead to persistent health challenges for horse populations in affected areas. Examples of endemic diseases in horses include equine infectious anemia, Potomac horse fever, and strangles. Understanding the epidemiology, transmission, and impact of these diseases is essential for the development of effective prevention and control strategies. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the prevalence, pathophysiology, and management of endemic diseases in equine populations.
Coleman MC, Blodgett GP, Bevevino KE, Ivanek R, Cummings KJ, Carter GK, Cohen ND.The occurrence of Rhodococcus equi at farms varies, with disease occurring endemically at some farms, but only sporadically, or not at all at other farms. Only some foals residing on endemic farms develop clinical signs of disease. Limited evidence is available regarding foal-level risk factors for the development of R. equi pneumonia. The purpose of this study was to identify foal-level risk factors associated with the development of R. equi pneumonia among foals at a large breeding farm in Texas with a recurrent problem of R. equi pneumonia. A retrospective cohort study was conducted usin...
Durán-Ferrer M, Agüero M, Zientara S, Beck C, Lecollinet S, Sailleau C, Smith S, Potgieter C, Rueda P, Sastre P, Monaco F, Villalba R....The laboratory diagnosis of African horse sickness (AHS) is important for: (a) demonstrating freedom from infection in a population, animals or products for trade (b) assessing the efficiency of eradication policies; (c) laboratory confirmation of clinical diagnosis; (d) estimating the prevalence of AHS infection; and (e) assessing postvaccination immune status of individual animals or populations. Although serological techniques play a secondary role in the confirmation of clinical cases, their use is very important for all the other purposes due to their high throughput, ease of use and good...
Kumar K, Arshad SS, Selvarajah GT, Abu J, Toung OP, Abba Y, Yasmin AR, Bande F, Sharma R, Ong BL.Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). It causes encephalitis in human and horses, and may lead to reproductive failure in sows. The first human encephalitis case in Malaya (now Malaysia) was reported during World War II in a British prison in 1942. Later, encephalitis was observed among race horses in Singapore. In 1951, the first JEV was isolated from the brain of an encephalitis patient. The true storyline of JE exposure among humans and animals has not been documented in Malaysia. In some places such as Sarawak, JEV ha...
Csank T, Drzewnioková P, Korytár Ľ, Major P, Gyuranecz M, Pistl J, Bakonyi T.In central Europe, at least three flaviviruses circulate among vectors and vertebrate hosts. West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are mosquito-borne viruses maintained in the nature by enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a flavivirus causing annual human cases in Slovakia. The aim of this study is the prevalence assessment of flavivirus infections in horses (n = 145) and birds (n = 109) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmation by neutralization test (VNT). WNV antibodies have been detected in 11.7% of tested ...
Divers TJ, Tennant BC, Kumar A, McDonough S, Cullen J, Bhuva N, Jain K, Chauhan LS, Scheel TKH, Lipkin WI, Laverack M, Trivedi S, Srinivasa S....Equine serum hepatitis (i.e., Theiler's disease) is a serious and often life-threatening disease of unknown etiology that affects horses. A horse in Nebraska, USA, with serum hepatitis died 65 days after treatment with equine-origin tetanus antitoxin. We identified an unknown parvovirus in serum and liver of the dead horse and in the administered antitoxin. The equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) shares <50% protein identity with its phylogenetic relatives of the genus Copiparvovirus. Next, we experimentally infected 2 horses using a tetanus antitoxin contaminated with EqPV-H. Viremia develop...
Desjardins I, Joulié A, Pradier S, Lecollinet S, Beck C, Vial L, Dufour P, Gasqui P, Legrand L, Edouard S, Sidi-Boumedine K, Rousset E, Jourdain E....Coxiella burnetii can infect many animal species, but its circulation dynamics in and through horses is still unclear. This study evaluated horse exposure in an area known to be endemic for ruminants and humans. We assessed antibody prevalence in horse serum by ELISA, and screened by qPCR horse blood, ticks found on horses and dust from stables. Horse seroprevalence was 4% (n = 335, 37 stables) in 2015 and 12% (n = 294, 39 stables) in 2016. Of 199 horses sampled both years, 13 seroconverted, eight remained seropositive, and one seroreverted. Seropositive horses were located close to re...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gürbilek SE, Tel OY, Keskin O, Steinman A.Rhodococcus equi is a common cause of pneumonia in foals and has extensive clinical, economic and possibly zoonotic consequences. This bacterium survives well in the environment and may be considered as normal flora of adult horses. Certain strains of this bacterium are extremely virulent in foals, and early identification and intervention is crucial for prognosis. Rhodococcus equi is endemic in many parts of the world and occasionally isolated in Israel. This study was designed to evaluate R. equi seroprevalence in adult horses in Israel to indirectly indicate the potential level of exposure ...
Weissenböck H, Bagó Z, Kolodziejek J, Hager B, Palmetzhofer G, Dürrwald R, Nowotny N.Borna disease, a lethal infection with Borna disease virus-1 (BoDV-1), was diagnosed in four horses from Upper Austria in 2015 and 2016. All cases occurred in winter (two cases in February 2015 and two cases in December 2016), and the maximal distance of the affected stables was 17 km. To demonstrate whether the causative agent was also harbored by its reservoir host, the bicolored white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon), 28 shrews from this geographic area were collected in 2015 and investigated for the presence of BoDV-1. The shrew species were identified according to taxonomic clues and ...
de Sousa SH, Paludo GR, Freschi CR, Machado RZ, de Castro MB.The aim of this report was to confirm the cause of abortion to be Theileria equi acquired transplacentally in a mare in Federal District, Brazil. The aborted fetus showed a high parasitemia of erythrocytes (80%) by the oval and Maltese cross forms of T. equi. Necropsy of the fetus demonstrated congestion of organs, jaundice, anemia and pronounced spleno- and hepatomegaly. Twelve breeding mares, including the one that aborted and her fetus, tested positive for T. equi infection by universal and multiplex PCR assay. The absence of histopathologic changes such as inflammation and necrosis in the ...
Rocheleau JP, Arsenault J, Ogden NH, Lindsay LR, Drebot M, Michel P.Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a rare but severe emerging vector-borne disease affecting human and animal populations in the northeastern United States where it is endemic. Key knowledge gaps remain about the epidemiology of EEE virus (EEEV) in areas where its emergence has more recently been reported. In Eastern Canada, viral activity has been recorded in mosquitoes and horses throughout the 2000s but cases of EEEV in humans have not been reported so far. This study was designed to provide an assessment of possible EEEV human exposure by modelling environmental risk factors for EEEV in ...
Grewar JD.Bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS) are considered the most important orbiviral diseases in Southern Africans countries. The general endemic status makes these diseases challenging to be quanti ed in terms of their economic impact. Using country reported data from BT and AHS outbreaks and cases, as well as international trade data, the economic impact of BT and AHS is evaluated on local, regional, and global scales. Local scale impact in the Southern African region is underestimated as shown by the underreporting of BT and AHS. Exceptions occur during epidemic cycles of the diseas...
Parreira DR, Jansen AM, Abreu UG, Macedo GC, Silva AR, Mazur C, Andrade GB, Herrera HM.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) and Trypanossoma evansi are endemic in Brazilian Pantanal Biome, an important area for livestock production. In this sense, we evaluated the epidemiological single and co-infection effects of T. evansi and EIAV in naturally infected horses in the southern Pantanal wetland by serological tests and hematological assays. Both higher seroprevalence and heath poor condition of the sampled animals were associated with differences in horse management between farms. We found that the negative animals for both infectious agents (NN) represented the major group in F...
Guimarães AM, Bruhn FRP, Ribeiro MJM, Rosa MHF, de Mello Garcia A, da Rocha CMBM, de Assis Rocha I.Theileria equi, a protozoon in the phylum Apicomplexa, is the causative agent of equine theileriosis. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of IgG antibodies against T. equi, by using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) reaction and correlating the serostatus with some epidemiological variables relating to the way in which Mangalarga Marchador horses are raised in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this study, 506 horses were used, all clinically healthy, on 53 horse farms distributed across 27 municipalities in southern Minas Gerais. The statistical te...
Souza CE, Camargo LB, Pinter A, Donalisio MR.Equines play a role in the epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) since they are a primary host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum. We studied the seroprevalence for three species of Rickettsia in equines in four endemic (with human cases) and in four non-endemic areas (no human cases) in the Piracicaba River Basin, São Paulo, Brazil. A serological survey of 504 equines was performed: around 63 animals were sampled in each area and tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay for R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, and R. bellii in 2012-2013. Blood samples were seropositive for 183 equines (36...
Finney S, Collins JA, Duggan V.The number of abandoned or otherwise neglected donkeys has significantly increased in Ireland in the recent past. The real or perceived capacity of the donkey to act as a reservoir of equine infectious disease, and thus pose an increased risk of disease transmission to horses and ponies, may be a factor in this increased abandonment and neglect. The authors here report on a field study exploring the infectious disease transmission threat the donkey poses to the general equine industry in Ireland through an examination of biosecurity standards and the views of horse and donkey exhibitors at nin...
Dhama K, Kapoor S, Pawaiya RV, Chakraborty S, Tiwari R, Verma AK.A fascinating and important arbovirus is Ross River Virus (RRV) which is endemic and epizootic in nature in certain parts of the world. RRV is a member of the genus Alphavirus within the Semliki Forest complex of the family Togaviridae, which also includes the Getah virus. The virus is responsible for causing disease both in humans as well as horses. Mosquito species (Aedes camptorhynchus and Aedes vigilax; Culex annulirostris) are the most important vector for this virus. In places of low temperature as well as low rainfall or where there is lack of habitat of mosquito there is also limitatio...
Oduori DO, Onyango SC, Kimari JN, MacLeod ET.Equine piroplasmosis is one of the most significant tick-borne disease of equids. The prevalence of this disease in donkeys of semi-arid Kenya remains largely unexplored. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the extent to which donkeys in Nuu division, Kenya have been exposed to the haemoprotozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis. The study also assessed the effect of age and sex on seroprevalence. A stratified sampling approach was used and three hundred and fourteen donkeys were sampled across nine sub-locations in Nuu divisi...
Albano AP, Klafke GB, Brandolt TM, Da Hora VP, Nogueira CE, Xavier MO, Meireles MC.Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is the etiological agent of the major systemic mycosis in Brazil, called paracoccidioidomycosis. Although the Rio Grande do Sul is considered an endemic area of the disease, there are few studies on the ecology of P. brasiliensis in the state. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the infection of P. brasiliensis in horses from the mesoregion of Southwest Riograndense, using these animals as sentinels. Serological techniques, such as double immunodiffusion in agar gel (AGID) and indirect ELISA, were performed to detect the anti-gp43 P. brasiliensis antibody in h...
Rossi SL, Russell-Lodrigue KE, Killeen SZ, Wang E, Leal G, Bergren NA, Vinet-Oliphant H, Weaver SC, Roy CJ.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an arbovirus endemic to the Americas that is responsible for severe, sometimes fatal, disease in humans and horses. We previously described an IRES-based VEE vaccine candidate based up the IE serotype that offers complete protection against a lethal subtype IE VEEV challenge in mice. Here we demonstrate the IRES-based vaccine's ability to protect against febrile disease in cynomolgus macaques. Vaccination was well tolerated and elicited robust neutralizing antibody titers noticed as early as day 14. Moreover, complete protection from disease chara...
Scantlebury CE, Zerfu A, Pinchbeck GP, Reed K, Gebreab F, Aklilu N, Mideksa K, Christley R.Epizootic lymphangitis (EZL) is reported to have a significant impact upon livelihoods within resource-poor settings. This study used a participatory approach to explore peoples' experiences of EZL and examine the perceived impact of disease, owner knowledge and understanding of EZL, lay management of disease and, attitudes and strategies towards disease prevention. Focus-group discussions were held with 358 cart-horse owners and drivers recruited from 7 towns attended by SPANA (Society for the protection of animals abroad) mobile veterinary clinics and 2 unexposed towns where no SPANA clinics...
Aharonson-Raz K, Lichter-Peled A, Tal S, Gelman B, Cohen D, Klement E, Steinman A.With the rapid global spread of West Nile virus (WNV) and the endemic state it has acquired in new geographical areas, we hereby bring a thorough serological investigation of WNV in horses in a longstanding endemic region, such as Israel. This study evaluates the environmental and demographic risk factors for WNV infection in horses and suggests possible factors associated with the transition from endemic to epidemic state. West Nile virus seroprevalence in horses in Israel was determined throughout a period of more than a decade, before (1997) and after (2002 and 2013) the massive West Nile f...
Finger MA, de Barros Filho IR, Leutenegger C, Estrada M, Ullmann LS, Langoni H, Kikuti M, Dornbush PT, Deconto I, Biondo AW.Cart horses are a re-emerging population employed to carry recyclable material in cities. Methods: Sixty-two horses were sampled in an endemic area of human leptospirosis. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were performed. Results: A seropositivity of 75.8% with serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae in 80.8% of the horses was observed. Blood and urine were qPCR negative. MAT showed positive correlations with rainfall (p = 0.02) and flooding (p = 0.03). Conclusions: Although horses may be constantly exposed to Leptospira spp. in the environment mostly ...
Ludu Oslobanu EL, Mihu-Pintilie A, Anită D, Anita A, Lecollinet S, Savuta G.The presence of West Nile virus (WNV) in humans has been known in Romania since the 1950s; the 1996 epidemics emphasized the reemergence potential of WNV in Romania. Serological surveys made on susceptible species, known as good sentinels or reservoir hosts, e.g., horses, wild and domestic birds were undertaken from 2006-2011. Our results corroborated incidence data in human patients and other recent seroprevalence studies in animals, and should partially clarify the emergence of WNV in the eastern rural territories of Romania. It also highlighted risk zones for endemic WNV infection in Romani...
Truppel JH, Otomura F, Teodoro U, Massafera R, da Costa-Ribeiro MC, Catarino CM, Dalagrana L, Costa Ferreira ME, Thomaz-Soccol V.In this study, we detected Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in equids living in endemic regions of cutaneous leishmaniasis. To determine the role of these animals in the Leishmania cycle, we used two approaches: serological and molecular methods. Antibodies to the parasite were assayed using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the positive products were sequenced. The results showed that 11.0% (25/227) of the equids were seropositive for Leishmania sp, and 16.3% (37/227) were PCR positive. Ant...
Choubisa SL.Relative susceptibility to fluoride (F) toxicosis in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed in an observational survey of 2,747 mature and 887 immature domestic animals of diverse species living in areas with naturally fluoridated (>1.5 ppm F) drinking water. These animals included buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), cattle (Bos taurus), camels (Camelus dromedarius), donkeys (Equus asinus), horses (Equus caballus), goats (Capra hircus), and sheep (Ovis aries). Of these mature and immature animals, 899 (32.7 %) and 322 (36.3 %) showed evidence of dental fluorosis with varying grades, r...
Encarnação JA, Herzog S, Eickmann M, Becker NI, Hermes N, Herden C.Borna disease (BD) is a severe endemic and fatal disorder caused by the neurotropic Borna disease virus (BDV) which mainly occurs in horses and sheep. Borna disease virus belongs to the order Mononegavirales, which includes many reservoir-bound viruses with high zoonotic and pathogenic properties including the filoviruses and lyssaviruses. Clinically manifest BD occurs in endemic areas of Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria. A seasonal accumulation of cases in spring and summer, incidences that vary from year to year, and the recent detection of BDV in bicolored shrews (Crocidura ...
Ribeiro AJ, Cardoso L, Maia JM, Coutinho T, Cotovio M.Piroplasmid protozoa Theileria equi and Babesia caballi and zoonotic rickettsial bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum are important agents of equine vector-borne diseases (EVBD). This study aimed at investigating the prevalence of infections with or exposure to these pathogens in horses from the north of Portugal. Blood was randomly collected from 162 horses, living in 72 different stables, to prepare Giemsa-stained slide smears. Additionally, plasma samples were tested for antibodies to T. equi and B. caballi by two competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and to A. phagocytophilum by an...
Venner M, Astheimer K, Lämmer M, Giguère S.Mass antimicrobial treatment of foals with small subclinical ultrasonographic pulmonary lesions is empirical practice on many farms with endemic disease caused by Rhodococcus equi. Objective: Mass antimicrobial treatment of foals with subclinical ultrasonographic pulmonary lesions is unnecessary. Methods: One hundred and eight foals on a farm endemic for infections caused by R. equi. Methods: Controlled, randomized, and double-blinded prospective study. Foals with ultrasonographic evidence of pulmonary abscesses 5.0-10 cm in diameter (n = 108) were randomly allocated in 5 treatment groups: (1)...
Ueti MW, Mealey RH, Kappmeyer LS, White SN, Kumpula-McWhirter N, Pelzel AM, Grause JF, Bunn TO, Schwartz A, Traub-Dargatz JL, Hendrickson A, Espy B....Arthropod-borne apicomplexan pathogens that cause asymptomatic persistent infections present a significant challenge due to their life-long transmission potential. Although anti-microbials have been used to ameliorate acute disease in animals and humans, chemotherapeutic efficacy for apicomplexan pathogen elimination from a persistently infected host and removal of transmission risk is largely unconfirmed. The recent re-emergence of the apicomplexan Theileria equi in U.S. horses prompted testing whether imidocarb dipropionate was able to eliminate T. equi from naturally infected horses and rem...
Weyer CT, Quan M, Joone C, Lourens CW, MacLachlan NJ, Guthrie AJ.To determine whether subclinical cases, together with clinical cases, of African horse sickness (AHS) occur in immunised horses in field conditions, whole blood samples were collected and rectal temperatures recorded weekly from 50 Nooitgedacht ponies resident in open camps at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, during 2008-2010. The samples were tested for the presence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) RNA by a recently developed real-time RT-PCR. It was shown that 16% of immunised horses in an AHS endemic area were infected with AHSV over a 2 year p...
Weyer CT, Quan M, Joone C, Lourens CW, MacLachlan NJ, Guthrie AJ.To determine whether subclinical cases, together with clinical cases, of African horse sickness (AHS) occur in immunised horses in field conditions, whole blood samples were collected and rectal temperatures recorded weekly from 50 Nooitgedacht ponies resident in open camps at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, during 2008-2010. The samples were tested for the presence of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) RNA by a recently developed real-time RT-PCR. It was shown that 16% of immunised horses in an AHS endemic area were infected with AHSV over a 2 year p...
Venner M, Reinhold B, Beyerbach M, Feige K.The prophylactic application of azithromycin to prevent pulmonary abscesses in foals was evaluated on a stud with endemic Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. Forty-five foals served as untreated controls in two groups. Twenty-five foals were given azithromycin (10mg/kg) orally once daily for 4 weeks. The foals were examined once a week from birth to the age of 5 months. If clinical signs or leucocytosis were noted and pulmonary sonographic findings (diameter >10 mm) were observed, the diagnosis of abscessing pneumonia was made. The prevalence of pulmonary abscesses was similar in the control groups (3...
Zoonoses and public healthMarch 12, 2008
Volume 55, Issue 3 149-155 doi: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2008.01106.x
Vedovello Filho D, Jorge FA, Lonardoni MV, Teodoro U, Silveira TG.American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is an endemic disease in the north-west of Paraná state, Brazil, where it occurs in humans and dogs. Few studies have been undertaken on the occurrence of the disease in other domestic animals and horses. In this study we investigated the infection of horses by Leishmania in ACL-endemic rural areas. Direct agglutination test (DAT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed. Fifty-five horses from rural areas in the municipalities of Doutor Camargo, Ourizona, São Jorge do Ivaí, Ivatuba and Santa Fé (Agua do O) were analysed. DAT-detected antibod...
Ehizibolo DO, Gusi AM, Ehizibolo PO, Mbuk EU, Ocholi RA.Despite the endemicity of brucellosis in Nigeria, reports on equine brucellosis are rare. The Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) was used to determine the serologic prevalence of Brucella abortus antibodies amongst 75 horses from three stables in two States of northern Nigeria. The highest prevalence (22.7%) was recorded in stable C located in Plateau State and the lowest (6.7%) was found in stable B in Kaduna State. The overall prevalence determined was 14.7%. There is need for the inclusion of horses in brucellosis surveillance and control strategies in Nigeria to safeguard people at high risk.
The Journal of hygieneDecember 1, 1979
Volume 83, Issue 3 539-545 doi: 10.1017/s0022172400026395
Eisa M, Karrar AE, Abd Elrahim AH.To determine the presence and prevalence of bluetongue (BT) infection in a variety of domestic animal species in different geographical regions of the Sudan, a serological study using the agar gel precipitation technique was initiated. A total of 2142 serum samples were examined. Of the numbers tested approximately 28% of sheep, 11.2% of goats, 8% of cattle and 4.9% of camels were positive for group-specific antibodies to BT virus antigen, indicating previous exposure to BT infection. None of the samples tested from horses or donkeys were positive. The findings suggest that the disease is wide...
Payne RC, Sukanto IP, Djauhari D, Partoutomo S, Wilson AJ, Jones TW, Boid R, Luckins AG.Cattle, buffaloes and horses in several areas of Indonesia were examined for evidence of infection with Trypanosoma evansi by the microhaematocrit centrifugation technique (MHCT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to T. evansi. Evidence of infection was found in animals at each sampling site although differences were seen in prevalence rates between sites. Prevalence rates in buffalo were usually higher than in cattle in the same area while in horses they were much lower than in cattle or buffalo. An age-dependent prevalence rate was seen in buffalo an...
Fernández-Bellon H, Solano-Gallego L, Bardagí M, Alberola J, Ramis A, Ferrer L.Leishmania infantum infection has recently been described in horses in Europe. We report the results of a study on the immune response to L. infantum in horses living in an area endemic for leishmaniosis in NE Spain. Two ELISAs using protein A and anti-horse IgG conjugates were adapted to measure specific antibodies to L. infantum in horse sera. A lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to L. infantum antigen was also performed to detect specific cellular immune response to Leishmania. Anti-L. infantum antibodies were detected in the serum of 16 of the horses...
Burgess EC, Mattison M.Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi was associated with encephalitis in a horse. The horse lived in an area of Wisconsin endemic for B burgdorferi infection. Borrelia burgdorferi was isolated from the brain, but rabies virus was not detected in the brain. Serum obtained from the horse had a B burgdorferi antibody titer of 1:2,048, but was negative for antibodies to eastern and western encephalomyelitis.
Mall MP, Kumar A, Malik SV.A study on seroprevalence of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), West Nile (WN) and Dengue-2 (DN-2) was undertaken in and around Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh to explore the role of non-human hosts in the natural cycle of these infections. A total of 1449 animal sera samples collected from 104 dogs, 170 pigs, 170 horses, 333 buffaloes, 252 cattle, 168 sheep and 252 goats were screened for antibodies against JE, WN and DN-2 by Micro-haemagglutination inhibition (HI) test employing 4 to 16 HA units of JE, WN and DN-2 antigens. The HI positivity against JE was found in dogs (55.77%) followed by pigs (40%), hor...
Marcus LC, Patterson MM, Gilfillan RE, Urband PH.Twelve of 50 randomly selected horses from areas endemic for Borrelia burgdorferi had indirect fluorescent antibody titers of 1:8 to 1:2,048 against B burgdorferi. One of 50 horses from nonendemic areas had a titer of 1:8. This difference in the number of horses seropositive for B burgdorferi (P less than 0.002) and our finding that seropositive horses did not have agglutinating antibodies against potentially cross-reacting Leptospira spp indicated that horses in endemic areas were exposed to B burgdorferi and that the spirochete induced an antibody response in the horses.
Khan I, Wieler LH, Melzer F, Gwida M, Santana VL, de Souza MM, Saqib M, Elschner MC, Neubauer H.The sensitivity and specificity of three commercially available complement fixation test (CFT) antigens from c.c.pro (c.c.pro), Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR (CIDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) were comparatively evaluated by testing 410 sera collected from glanders-endemic and non-endemic areas (200 true-negative randomly collected sera and 210 sera collected from experimentally immunised animals (12 rabbits, 19 horses), clinically positive (135) and culture-positive (44) horses, donkeys and mules). Immunoblotting (IB) was used as the gold standard te...
Truppel JH, Otomura F, Teodoro U, Massafera R, da Costa-Ribeiro MC, Catarino CM, Dalagrana L, Costa Ferreira ME, Thomaz-Soccol V.In this study, we detected Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in equids living in endemic regions of cutaneous leishmaniasis. To determine the role of these animals in the Leishmania cycle, we used two approaches: serological and molecular methods. Antibodies to the parasite were assayed using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the positive products were sequenced. The results showed that 11.0% (25/227) of the equids were seropositive for Leishmania sp, and 16.3% (37/227) were PCR positive. Ant...
Hayes CG, Wallis RC.Western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) has been recognized as a serious public health problem in western North America for more than 30 years. WEE appears to exist endemically in numerous foci in that region, with a low incidence rate among humans. Severe outbreaks, however, have occurred periodically. For example, during 1941 a severe epidemic involving more than 3000 cases in humans occurred in North Dakota, Minnesota, and in the adjacent areas of Canada. The case fatality rate ranged from 8% to 15%. Epizootics among horses are more common. More than 600 cases of WEE were diagnosed among hor...
Laha R, Sasmal NK.Diagnosis of Trypanosoma evansi infection in a horse stable of Eastern Region of India on the basis of examination of Giemsa stained blood smears have been done. A high percentage (12.74%) of horses of this stable was found suffering from T evansi infection. This high prevalence of T evansi in horses, in this area could be considered as an alarming situation which has never been explored previously in horses of Eastern Region of India. After a period of 2 months and 18 days of treatment with quinapyramine sulphate and quinapyramine chloride, reinfection with T evansi in treated horses of this ...
Xu Y, Zhang S, Huang X, Bayin C, Xuan X, Igarashi I, Fujisaki K, Kabeya H, Maruyama S, Mikami T.The prevalence of equine piroplasmosis caused by Babesia equi and Babesia caballi in northeast China has remained unknown, although the People's Republic of China is recognized as an endemic country for the diseases. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of equine piroplasmosis in Jilin province, a part of northeast China. A total of 111 serum samples were taken from horses in eastern Jilin, and examined for diagnosis of B. equi and B. caballi infections by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with recombinant antigens, equi merozoite antigen-1 and P48, respectively. Of the 11...
Gulati BR, Singha H, Singh BK, Virmani N, Khurana SK, Singh RK.The seroprevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) among equines was evaluated from January 2006 to December 2009 in 13 different states of India by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test and virus neutralization test (VNT). Antibodies against JEV were detected in 327 out of 3,286 (10%) equines with a maximum prevalence reported in the state of Manipur (91.7%) followed by Gujarat (18.5%), Madhya Pradesh (14.4%), and Uttar Pradesh (11.6%). Evidence of JEV infection was observed in equines in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) where a 4-fold or higher rise in antibody titer was observed in 21 out of 34...
Encarnação JA, Herzog S, Eickmann M, Becker NI, Hermes N, Herden C.Borna disease (BD) is a severe endemic and fatal disorder caused by the neurotropic Borna disease virus (BDV) which mainly occurs in horses and sheep. Borna disease virus belongs to the order Mononegavirales, which includes many reservoir-bound viruses with high zoonotic and pathogenic properties including the filoviruses and lyssaviruses. Clinically manifest BD occurs in endemic areas of Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria. A seasonal accumulation of cases in spring and summer, incidences that vary from year to year, and the recent detection of BDV in bicolored shrews (Crocidura ...
Barnard BJ.Zebra are the only equine species native to South Africa. These animals roamed over much of the country in the 17th century when horses and donkeys were first imported. The first cases of African horse sickness (AHS) then occurred in the horses of hunters who entered zebra territory. AHS continued to occur on a country-wide basis until the beginning of the 20th century, though the number of outbreaks decreased as the populations of zebra collapsed through overhunting. For most of the 20th century almost all free-living zebra have been confined to the north-eastern parts of South Africa which a...
Chaffin MK, Cohen ND, Martens RJ, O'Conor M, Bernstein LR.To determine the chemoprophylactic effect of gallium maltolate on the cumulative incidence of pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi infection in foals. Methods: 483 foals born and raised on 12 equine breeding farms with a history of endemic R equi infections. Methods: Group 1 foals were treated with a placebo and group 2 foals were treated with gallium maltolate (approx 30 mg/kg, PO, q 24 h) during the first 2 weeks after birth. Foals were monitored for development of pneumonia attributable to R equi infection and for adverse effects of gallium maltolate. Results: There were no significant diff...
Alvarez IJ, Fort M, Pasucci J, Moreno F, Gimenez H, Näslund K, Hägglund S, Zohari S, Valarcher JF.Influenza D virus (IDV) is considered a new agent involved in bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Based on seroprevalence studies or isolation from clinical samples, this virus has been detected on several continents and in several animal species, including cattle, pigs, camel, horses, and goats. We used an indirect in-house ELISA to detect anti-IDV antibodies in 165 serum samples from bulls on 116 farms in the province of La Pampa, Argentina. Eighty-five of 116 (73%) farms had at least 1 positive animal, and 112 of 165 (68%) of the analyzed samples were positive. There were no significant diffe...
al-Ani FK.Epizootic lymphangitis is a relatively common infectious disease of horses and other liquids in certain parts of the world. The infection rate varies according to the geographic area and the age of the animal. The disease is most commonly characterised by a cord-like appearance of the subcutaneous lymphatic and cutaneous pyogranulomas, the discharge from which contains spherical or pear-shaped bodies of the causal agent, Histoplasma farciminosum. Diagnosis can be made by the demonstration of typical organisms in stained smears, culture and tissue sections. Serological tests and a skin hypersen...
Ludu Oslobanu EL, Mihu-Pintilie A, Anită D, Anita A, Lecollinet S, Savuta G.The presence of West Nile virus (WNV) in humans has been known in Romania since the 1950s; the 1996 epidemics emphasized the reemergence potential of WNV in Romania. Serological surveys made on susceptible species, known as good sentinels or reservoir hosts, e.g., horses, wild and domestic birds were undertaken from 2006-2011. Our results corroborated incidence data in human patients and other recent seroprevalence studies in animals, and should partially clarify the emergence of WNV in the eastern rural territories of Romania. It also highlighted risk zones for endemic WNV infection in Romani...
Wilkins PA, Glaser AL, McDonnell SM.Horses naturally exposed to West Nile Virus (WNV) or vaccinated against WNV develop humoral immunity thought to be protective against development of clinical disease in exposed or infected animals. No reports evaluate the efficacy of passive transfer of naturally acquired specific WNV humoral immunity from dam to foal. The purpose of this study was to investigate passive transfer of naturally acquired immunity to WNV to foals born in a herd of semi-feral ponies, not vaccinated against WNV, in an endemic area, with many dams having seroconverted because of natural exposure. Microwell serum neut...
León B, Käsbohrer A, Hutter SE, Baldi M, Firth CL, Romero-Zúñiga JJ, Jiménez C.Eastern equine encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis are endemic neglected tropical diseases in the Americas, causing encephalitis in both horses and humans. In 2013, a cross-sectional study was performed in 243 horses located in the highlands and lowlands throughout Costa Rica. Serum samples were analyzed with an IgG ELISA and confirmed by the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT80). Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) and Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) overall seroprevalences by the PRNT80 were 36% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.9-42.5; 78/217 horses) and...
Schulze V, Große R, Fürstenau J, Forth LF, Ebinger A, Richter MT, Tappe D, Mertsch T, Klose K, Schlottau K, Hoffmann B, Höper D, Mundhenk L....Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is the causative agent of Borna disease, an often fatal neurologic condition of domestic mammals, including New World camelids, in endemic areas in Central Europe. Recently, BoDV-1 gained further attention by the confirmation of fatal zoonotic infections in humans. Although Borna disease and BoDV-1 have been described already over the past decades, comprehensive reports of Borna disease outbreaks in domestic animals employing state-of-the-art diagnostic methods are missing. Here, we report a series of BoDV-1 infections in a herd of 27 alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in t...
Higuchi T, Arakawa T, Hashikura S, Inui T, Senba H, Takai S.The effect on foals of prophylactic administration of hyperimmune plasma to prevent R. equi infection was investigated on three farms at which R. equi infection was endemic. Sixteen foals between 10 and 39 days of age were intravenously given 1-21 of hyperimmune plasma. ELISA antibody titres against R. equi were significantly increased and maintained at high levels for over 30 days in most of the recipient foals. The prevalence of R. equi infection was 6.3% (1/16) in the foals that received the immune plasma, and 26.3% (5/19) in the control foals not given the immune plasma on the three farms....
Kumar K, Arshad SS, Selvarajah GT, Abu J, Toung OP, Abba Y, Yasmin AR, Bande F, Sharma R, Ong BL.Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). It causes encephalitis in human and horses, and may lead to reproductive failure in sows. The first human encephalitis case in Malaya (now Malaysia) was reported during World War II in a British prison in 1942. Later, encephalitis was observed among race horses in Singapore. In 1951, the first JEV was isolated from the brain of an encephalitis patient. The true storyline of JE exposure among humans and animals has not been documented in Malaysia. In some places such as Sarawak, JEV ha...
Thirstrup JP, Pertoldi C, Loeschcke V.A genetic analysis was performed on three indigenous Danish horse breeds using 12 microsatellite markers from a standard kit for parental testing. These three breeds are all considered endangered based on their small population sizes. Genetic variation in these three breeds was comparable to other horse breeds in Europe, and they do not seem to be at immediate danger of extinction caused by genetic deterioration. The Knabstrupper breed had more genetic variation, as measured by expected heterozygosity and allelic richness, than the other two breeds (Frederiksborg and Jutland). F(ST) statistics...
