Epidemiology in horses involves the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in equine populations. It encompasses the investigation of patterns, causes, and effects of diseases and health conditions within horse populations. This field of study aims to identify risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare. Key components of equine epidemiology include disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and the study of disease dynamics within herds or regions. Research in this area often focuses on infectious diseases, zoonotic diseases, and the impact of environmental factors on equine health. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of epidemiology in horses, including disease prevalence, transmission pathways, and strategies for disease prevention and control.
Bingham J, Payne J, Harper J, Frazer L, Eastwood S, Wilson S, Lowther S, Lunt R, Warner S, Carr M, Hall RA, Durr PA.West Nile virus (WNV; family Flaviviridae; genus Flavivirus) group members are an important cause of viral meningoencephalitis in some areas of the world. They exhibit marked variation in pathogenicity, with some viral lineages (such as those from North America) causing high prevalence of severe neurological disease, whilst others (such as Australian Kunjin virus) rarely cause disease. The aim of this study was to characterize WNV disease in a mouse model and to elucidate the pathogenetic features that distinguish disease variation. Tenfold dilutions of five WNV strains (New York 1999, MRM16 a...
Pinna A, Martins G, Hamond C, Medeiros MA, de Souza GN, Lilenbaum W.The objective was to investigate potential differences between two Leptospira serovars, host-adapted (Bratislava) and incidental (Copenhageni), in causing reproductive disorders in mares. From August 2009 to March 2011, 608 adult recipient mares from eight studs located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were screened for leptospirosis. These mares were 3-8 years of age, of various breeds, and were managed in a semiextensive system (embryo transfer centres). According to the reproductive history of these mares, the studs were categorised as Group A (357 mares: high prevalence of reprodu...
Carmichael SP, Davenport DL, Kearney PA, Bernard AC.The purpose of this study is to determine whether discrepant patterns of horse-related trauma exist in mounted vs. unmounted equestrians from a single Level I trauma center to guide awareness of injury prevention. Methods: Retrospective data were collected from the University of Kentucky Trauma Registry for patients admitted with horse-related injuries between January 2003 and December 2007 (n=284). Injuries incurred while mounted were compared with those incurred while unmounted. Results: Of 284 patients, 145 (51%) subjects were male with an average age of 37.2 years (S.D. 17.2). Most injurie...
Diarra M, Fall M, Fall AG, Diop A, Seck MT, Garros C, Balenghien T, Allène X, Rakotoarivony I, Lancelot R, Mall I, Bakhoum MT, Dosum AM, Ndao M....The African horse sickness epizootic in Senegal in 2007 caused considerable mortality in the equine population and hence major economic losses. The vectors involved in the transmission of this arbovirus have never been studied specifically in Senegal. This first study of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species, potential vectors of African horse sickness in Senegal, was conducted at five sites (Mbao, Parc Hann, Niague, Pout and Thies) in the Niayes area, which was affected by the outbreak. Methods: Two Onderstepoort light traps were used at each s...
Haeger-Eugensson M, Ferm M, Elfman L.The interest in equestrian sports has increased substantially during the last decades, resulting in increased number of horse facilities around urban areas. In Sweden, new guidelines for safe distance have been decided based on the size of the horse facility (e.g., number of horses) and local conditions, such as topography and meteorology. There is therefore an increasing need to estimate dispersion of horse allergens to be used, for example, in the planning processes for new residential areas in the vicinity of horse facilities. The aim of this study was to develop a method for calculating sh...
Miszczak F, Tesson V, Kin N, Dina J, Balasuriya UB, Pronost S, Vabret A.Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is involved mainly in enteric infections. Following the recent description of ECoV in 2000, this study reports for the first time the presence of ECoV in France and, on a wider scale, in Europe. ECoV was molecularly detected from diarrheic and respiratory specimens. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that European strains are most closely related to the reference North American strain (ECoV-NC99) than the Asian strain (ECoV-Tokachi09).
Abreu RA, Weiss RR, Thomaz-Soccol V, Locatelli-Dittrich R, Laskoski LM, Bertol MA, Koch MO, Alban SM, Green KT.Sera from 112 mares from 5 horse-breeding farms was examined for the presence of antibodies to Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), as well as from dogs and cattle present on these properties for the presence of antibodies to N. caninum. Among the 112 mares, 35 had a history of reproductive problems in the last breeding season and 77 had no reproductive problems. The rates of seroprevalence of N. caninum in mares with and without a history of reproductive problems were 25.71% and 6.49% and from T. gondii 2.85% and 1.29%, respectively. In dogs ...
Morgan RA, McGowan TW, McGowan CM.To determine the prevalence of hyperinsulinaemia in a population of ponies in Queensland, Australia, and identify associated factors. Methods: Breeders or traders of ponies within a 100 km radius of Gatton, Queensland, were recruited for study using an internet database. Clinical and management details were obtained, including body condition score, fat deposition and history or evidence of laminitis. Blood samples were analysed for serum insulin and triglyceride concentrations and plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and leptin concentrations following short-term removal from pasture and...
Schemann K, Toribio JA, Taylor MR, Ward MP, Dhand NK.To evaluate the level of biosecurity training among Australian equine veterinarians and to assess their perceptions of biosecurity and infectious disease risk and their opinions about the management of the 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: A survey was conducted among equine veterinarians attending the 2010 annual conference of the Equine Veterinarians Australia (EVA) in New South Wales, Australia. Data were collected using a self-completed questionnaire and analysed using Fisher's exact tests to assess veterinarians' levels of biosecurity training, ...
Welsh CE, Lewis TW, Blott SC, Mellor DJ, Stirk AJ, Parkin TD.A retrospective cohort study of distal limb fracture and superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury in Thoroughbred racehorses was conducted using health records generated by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) between 2000 and 2010. After excluding records of horses that had both flat and jump racing starts, repeated records were reduced to a single binary record per horse (n = 66,507, 2982 sires), and the heritability of each condition was estimated using residual maximum likelihood (REML) with animal logistic regression models. Similarly, the heritability of each condition was ...
van Balen J, Mowery J, Piraino-Sandoval M, Nava-Hoet RC, Kohn C, Hoet AE.The role that environmental contamination might play as a reservoir and a possible source of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) for patients and personnel at equine veterinary hospitals remains undefined, as the environment has only been monitored during outbreaks or for short periods. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine the monthly presence, distribution, and characteristics of environmental MRSA at an equine hospital, and to establish patterns of contamination over time using molecular epidemiological analyses. For this purpose, a yearlong active MRSA su...
Bracun A, Ellis AD, Hall C.Ophthalmic examination in the horse is generally limited to crude assessment of vision and screening for ocular lesions. The refractive state of equine eyes and the potential impact on vision and performance requires further investigation. Objective: To assess the refractive state of a large, mixed-breed sample of horses and ponies in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: The refractive state of both eyes of 333 horses and ponies was determined by streak retinoscopy, and the effect of age, height, gender, breed and management regime on the refractive state assessed. Results: Emmetropia was found i...
Martinson KL, Coleman RC, Rendahl AK, Fang Z, McCue ME.Excessive BW has become a major health issue in the equine (Equus caballus) industry. The objectives were to determine if the addition of neck circumference and height improved existing BW estimation equations, to develop an equation for estimation of ideal BW, and to develop a method for assessing the likelihood of being overweight in adult equids. Six hundred and twenty-nine adult horses and ponies who met the following criteria were measured and weighed at 2 horse shows in September 2011 in Minnesota: age ≥ 3 yr, height ≥ 112 cm, and nonpregnant. Personnel assessed BCS on a scale of 1 t...
Hu Z, Zhu C, Chang H, Guo W, Liu D, Xiang W, Wang X.The objective of this study was to develop a novel EvaGreen (EG) based real-time PCR technique for the simultaneous detection of Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) genomes from equine nasal swabs. Viral genomes were identified based on their specific melting temperatures (T m), which are 88.0 and 84.4 °C for EHV-1 and EHV-4, respectively. The detection limitation of this method was 50 copies/μl or 0.15 pg/μl for EHV-1 and 5 copies/μl or 2.5 fg/μl for EHV-4. This assay was 50-1,000 times more sensitive than the SYBR Green (SG)-based assay using the same primer...
Dunowska M.Equid herpesvirus (EHV) type 1 is a common pathogen of horses with worldwide distribution. Infection with EHV-1 can be subclinical, or can result in sociologically and economically important outcomes such as abortion, neonatal death or neurological disease. The perceived recent increase in the reported cases of EHV-1 neurological disease in the United States of America and Europe over the past decade has caused concerns amongst veterinarians and horse owners worldwide. This review provides an update on the recent developments in our understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of EHV-1 a...
Page PC, Labuschagne K, Venter GJ, Schoeman JP, Guthrie AJ.The efficacy of untreated and alphacypermethrin-treated high density polyethylene (HDPE) mesh against Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) was determined using Onderstepoort downdraught black light traps and a contact bioassay. Three traps were operated overnight in four replicates of a 3×3 randomised Latin square design near horses under South African field conditions. Both the untreated and alphacypermethrin-treated HDPE mesh significantly (P<0.05) reduced the numbers of Culicoides midges, predominantly Culicoides (Avaritia) imicola Kieffer, collected in the light traps by...
Berxholi K, Ziegler U, Rexhepi A, Schmidt K, Mertens M, Korro K, Cuko A, Angenvoort J, Groschup MH.Serum samples collected from 167 equines of 12 districts in Albania were tested for West Nile virus-specific antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralization assay, using WNV lineage 1 and 2. In addition, 95 bird serum samples from Albania and 29 horse samples from Kosovo were tested in ELISA. An overall seroprevalence rate of 22% was found in horses from Albania, whereas no specific antibodies were found in the equine samples from Kosovo and the bird samples. This is the first report indicating WNV infections in animals in Albania, and the first reported seroprevalence...
Burgess BA, Noyes NR, Bolte DS, Hyatt DR, van Metre DC, Morley PS.Salmonella enterica is the most commonly reported cause of outbreaks of nosocomial infections in large animal veterinary teaching hospitals and the closure of equine hospitals. Rapid detection may facilitate effective control practices in equine populations. Shipping and laboratory testing typically require ≥48 h to obtain results. Lateral flow immunoassays developed for use in food-safety microbiology provide an alternative that has not been evaluated for use with faeces or environmental samples. Objective: We aimed to identify enrichment methods that would allow commercially available ra...
Middleton D, Pallister J, Klein R, Feng YR, Haining J, Arkinstall R, Frazer L, Huang JA, Edwards N, Wareing M, Elhay M, Hashmi Z, Bingham J, Yamada M....In recent years, the emergence of several highly pathogenic zoonotic diseases in humans has led to a renewed emphasis on the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, otherwise known as One Health. For example, Hendra virus (HeV), a zoonotic paramyxovirus, was discovered in 1994, and since then, infections have occurred in 7 humans, each of whom had a strong epidemiologic link to similarly affected horses. As a consequence of these outbreaks, eradication of bat populations was discussed, despite their crucial environmental roles in pollination and reduction of the insect p...
Kudrnáčová M, Langrová I, Maršálek M, Jankovská I, Scháňková S, Brožová A, Truněčková J.The occurrence of Hypoderma diana (Diptera: Hypodermatidae) in a herd of 15 horses was observed during a 4-year period (2010-2013) in northwest Bohemia. During this period, infestation by the warble fly H. diana increased from 12.5% in 2010 to 53.3% in 2013. Nodules were observed on the neck, back, stomach, legs, and head. The incidence of H. diana was probably influenced by the presence of a specific host mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon).
Zhang L, Wang X, Zhan Q, Wang Z, Xu M, Zhu D, He F, Liu X, Huang R, Li D, Lei Y, Xie P.Borna disease virus (BDV) is a non-cytolytic, neurotropic RNA virus that can infect many vertebrate species, including humans. To date, BDV infection has been reported in a range of animal species across a broad global geographic distribution. However, a systematic epidemiological survey of BDV infection in domesticated animals in China has yet to be performed. In current study, BDV RNA and antibodies in 2353 blood samples from apparently healthy animals of eight species (horse, donkey, dog, pig, rabbit, cattle, goat, sheep) from three areas in western China (Xinjiang province, Chongqing munic...
Williams KJ.Progressive lung fibrosis in humans, typified by idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in people. Similar diseases have been described in dogs, cats, and horses. The cause and pathogenesis of such diseases in all species is poorly understood. There is growing evidence in human medicine that IPF is a manifestation of abnormal wound repair in response to epithelial injury. Because viruses can contribute to epithelial injury, there is increasing interest in a possible role of viruses, particularly gammaherpesviruses, in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fi...
Reardon RJ, Boden L, Stirk AJ, Parkin TD.Accurate diagnosis of racing injuries can be difficult. The objectives of this study were to describe the postmortem (PM) defined distribution of fatal distal limb fractures (DLF) affecting Thoroughbreds racing in Great Britain between February 1999 and August 2005 and then assess the accuracy of veterinary racecourse diagnoses and examine whether these improved following introduction of a computerised recording system. PM examinations were performed on limbs distal to radius or tibia from all cases of fatal DLF occurring on British racecourses during the study period. Results of these examina...
Sutton GJ, Cawley A, Murphy C, Lau ML, Hibbert DB.Horse racing authorities impose a limit on the concentration of plasma 'total carbon dioxide' (TCO2), typically 36 mM with action taken above 37 mM, as measured by an electrochemical gas analyzer. It is of interest to understand the distribution of TCO2 in a 'normal' population of racehorses and determine probabilities of members of this population exceeding these current regulatory and action limits. TCO2 levels in equine plasma samples have been modelled for 12 months (2011-2012) of thoroughbred (3076 measurements) and standardbred (3788 measurements) data in Australia. The two populations h...
Reix CE, Burn CC, Pritchard JC, Barr AR, Whay HR.Lameness is prevalent in working donkeys and has major welfare implications; however, a detailed study of the associated clinical signs is lacking. Objective: To describe the range and prevalence of clinical signs and conformation associated with lameness in working draught donkeys. Methods: Prospective, cross-sectional, observational study. Methods: Data were collected from 102 working draught donkeys in Pakistan. A lameness assessment adapted for working donkeys was used to record clinical signs of lameness, gait, limb conformation and pain responses in the feet, limbs and spine using observ...
BMC public healthFebruary 20, 2014
Volume 14 182 doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-182
Sawford K, Dhand NK, Toribio JA, Taylor MR.After the 2011 cluster of Hendra virus cases in horses in Australia, public health targeted education initiatives at people in the equine industry to reduce human exposure to potentially infected horses. 'Horse owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal cohort study To Evaluate Risk' aims to enhance public health measures through improved understanding of Hendra virus risk perception and risk mitigation strategies among horse owners and horse care providers. This paper describes the stakeholder consultation that was undertaken to ensure the cohort study outcomes were relevant to diverse groups wh...
Hagos A, Degefa G, Yacob H, Fikru R, Alemu T, Feseha G, Claes F, Goddeeris BM.This paper presents the results of a seroepidemiological survey of trypanozoon infection in horses carried out between September 2007 and June 2008. The survey was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of anti-trypanozoon antibodies in 880 serum samples collected randomly from selected horse-breeding districts of the Bale highlands of Ethiopia. The seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection was found to be 173 (19.66%) and 140 (15.91%) for the CATT/T. evansi and LATEX/T. evansi tests, respectively. The high seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection strongly indicates that the infection is endem...
Taylor K, Thomas S, Mendez D, Chicken C, Carrick J, Heller J, Durrheim D.Employees in the equine industry are at occupational risk of zoonoses such as Hendra virus and equine chlamydiosis through exposure to infected materials. This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the views and experiences of employees, and the key drivers of infection control and personal biosecurity (PB) practices in the Thoroughbred breeding industry. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in 2018 in New South Wales, Australia using interviews (9) and small group discussions (7). The 29 participants included veterinarians, veterinary nurses, foaling staff, stud man...
Peugnet P, Robles M, Wimel L, Tarrade A, Chavatte-Palmer P.The study of early developmental conditioning of health and disease in adulthood is particularly relevant in the horse, which is bred mainly to perform in demanding sport challenges. On the basis of this concept, the management of the broodmare could be considered an effective means to produce animals with the desired features. Knowledge on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease in the equine species remains relatively scarce, with some experimental studies and one single epidemiologic study. Data highlight the determinant role of the maternal environment for postnatal body conformati...
Morley PS, Townsend HG.A survey was performed to evaluate the reproductive performance of Thoroughbred mares, estimate risks of dystocia and of morbidity and mortality in foals during the first year post partum and their physical acceptability at age one year. The study population consisted of registered Thoroughbred mares and their foals owned by residents of 4 Western Canadian provinces. Owners were identified using information obtained from the North American Jockey Club, and questionnaires were mailed regarding mares bred in 1988 and their foals born in 1989. Eighty-three per cent of mares were reported to be pr...
Mumford JA, Wood JM, Folkers C, Schild GC.Thirty-one ponies immunized with inactivated virus vaccine containing A/equine/Miami/63 (H3N8) virus and six seronegative ponies were experimentally challenged with the homologous virus strain. All 6 unvaccinated ponies and 11 out of 31 vaccinated ponies became infected. A clear relationship between pre-challenge antibody, measured by single radial haemolysis (SRH), and protection was demonstrated as judged by virus excretion, febrile responses and antibody responses. Those ponies with SRH antibody levels greater than 74 mm2 were completely protected against challenge infection by the intranas...
Choi KS, Ko YJ, Nah JJ, Kim YJ, Kang SY, Yoon KJ, Joo YS.A rapid immunoassay for detecting and quantifying West Nile virus (WNV)-neutralizing antibodies in sera was developed as an alternative to the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), the gold standard test for WNV. The assay is a competitive, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using neutralizing monoclonal antibody 5E8 (NT-ELISA). A cutoff percent inhibition (PI) value of 35% (mean PI plus 3 standard deviations), with a specificity of 99%, was established based on analysis of 246 serum samples from horses free of WNV. The NT-ELISA detected neutralizing antibodies in all sera collected 7 or...
McGivney CL, Sweeney J, David F, O'Leary JM, Hill EW, Katz LM.Previous studies support good intra- and interobserver agreements for endoscopic evaluation of various upper respiratory tract (URT) diseases in horses. However, these studies mainly assessed resting endoscopic examination videos and/or focussed on a single URT abnormality. Objective: To estimate intra- and interobserver agreement for identification and grading of all URT abnormalities from resting and overground endoscopy (OGE) videos of Thoroughbreds. Methods: Blinded, fully crossed design. Methods: Resting and OGE URT videos for n = 43 Thoroughbreds were retrospectively chosen based on iden...
Entenfellner J, Gahan J, Garvey M, Walsh C, Venner M, Cullinane A.The international governing body of equestrian sports requires that horses be vaccinated against equine influenza within 6 months and 21 days of competing. The aim of this study was to compare the antibody response of young sport horses to six-monthly booster vaccination with equine influenza vaccines of different formulations. An inactivated vaccine was allocated to 35 horses and subunit and recombinant vaccines were allocated to 34 horses each. After vaccination, all horses were monitored for evidence of adverse reactions. Whole blood samples were collected at the time of vaccination and on ...
Laroucau K, Saqib M, Martin B, Deshayes T, Bertin C, Wernery U, Joseph S, Singha H, Tripathi BN, Beck C.Burkholderia mallei is the etiologic agent of glanders, an infectious disease of solipeds, with renewed scientific interest due to its increasing incidence in different parts of the world. More rapid, sensitive and specific assays are required by laboratories for confirmatory testing of this disease. A microsphere-based immunoassay consisting of beads coated with B. mallei recombinant proteins (BimA, GroEL, Hcp1, and TssB) has been developed for the serological diagnosis of glanders. The proteins' performance was compared with the OIE reference complement fixation test (CFT) and an indirect en...
Wasiński B, Paschalis-Trela K, Trela J, Czopowicz M, Kita J, Żychska M, Cywińska A, Markowska-Daniel I, Carter C, Witkowski L.Leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections worldwide, including in most livestock, some companion animals, horses, wildlife, and humans. Epidemiological estimation of its prevalence in all species is difficult due to the variety of clinical presentations and challenges regarding laboratory diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to measure the seroprevalence of leptospiral infection in Arabian horses kept in the largest breeding farms in Poland, representing over 15% of the Polish Arabian horse population. Leptospira antibodies were detected by MAT (cut-off 1:100) in 33.2% of...
Seo MG, Yun SH, Choi SK, Cho GJ, Park YS, Kwon OD, Cho KH, Kim TH, Jeong KS, Park SJ, Kwon YS, Kwak D.Equine piroplasms include two tick-borne protozoan parasites, Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Although no clinical equine piroplasmosis has been reported in the Republic of Korea, the possible existence of the disease has been proposed due to a nationwide distribution of the vector ticks. To determine if the antibodies against B. caballi and T. equi were present, 184 sera of horses (Equus caballus) raised in the Republic of Korea from 2007 to 2010 were assessed using cELISA kits. Two (1.1%) out of 184 sera were positive for T. equi, but none were seropositive for B. caballi. Both samples t...
Vina-Rodriguez A, Eiden M, Keller M, Hinrichs W, Groschup MH. (VEEV) is an from the family that causes epizootic outbreaks in equids and humans in Central and South America. So far, most studies use conventional reverse transcriptase PCR assays for the detection of the different VEEV subtypes. Here we describe the development of a TaqMan quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay for the specific detection and quantitation of all VEEV subtypes which uses in parallel a universal equine encephalitis virus control RNA carrying target sequences of the three equine encephalitis viruses. The control RNA was used to generate standard curves for t...
Chaffin MK, Cohen ND, Martens RJ.To determine whether foal management practices, environmental management, and preventative health practices are risk factors for development of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals. Methods: Prospective matched case-control study. Methods: 2,764 foals on 64 equine breeding farms with 9,991 horses. Methods: During 1997, participating veterinarians completed paired data collection forms for comparison; 1 for an affected farm (containing > or = 1 foal with pneumonia caused by R equi) and 1 for a control farm. Information collected pertained to stabling facilities, environmental management, foal hu...
Yongfeng Y, Xiaobo S, Nan X, Jingwen Z, Wenqiang L.To monitor the occurrence of equine influenza in large-scale donkey farms in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, serological investigation and sequence analysis of HA/M protein gene of equine influenza virus (EIV) were carried out. Samples (n = 65) of the lung and nasal swab were collected in six different large-scale donkey farms and detected with RT-PCR for HA and M protein gene. The homology and evolution of HA and M genes were analysed with known sequences. Antibody titres of serum samples (n = 120, unvaccinated) level was determined by the HI test. The average seropositive rate was 32....
The Journal of traumaMay 7, 2004
Volume 56, Issue 3 643-647 doi: 10.1097/01.ta.0000053470.38129.f4
Petridou E, Kedikoglou S, Belechri M, Ntouvelis E, Dessypris N, Trichopoulos D.This study aims to estimate the burden and describe the profile of equestrian injuries in Greece, where horses, donkeys, and mules are still used in agriculture and where horse riding is a popular leisure activity. Methods: Prospectively collected information on 140,823 injuries reported in the national Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System was examined and 244 equestrian-related injuries that occurred during farming, equestrian sports, or horse racing were analyzed. Results: The estimated countrywide injury incidence for farming and equestrian sports combined was 21 per 100,000 pers...
Yoon J, Park T, Sohn Y, Lee SK, Park BJ, Ahn HS, Go HJ, Kim DH, Lee JB, Park SY, Song CS, Lee SW, Choi IS.Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen causing hepatitis worldwide. Despite the prevalent evidence of interspecies HEV infection in various animal species, the role of horses in HEV epidemiology remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HEV infection in 283 blood and 114 fecal samples from 397 horses using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Among the 283 serum samples, 35 were positive for anti-HEV antibodies (12.4%; 95% confidence interval: 8.8-16.8), and four of the five sampling reg...
Gildea S, Lyons P, Lyons R, Gahan J, Garvey M, Cullinane A.Equine influenza (EI) outbreaks occurred among horses on four racing yards (two National Hunt, one Flat, one mixed National Hunt racing/breeding yard) in Ireland within a 4-week period. Objective: To carry out a detailed analysis of racing yards affected in order to identify the source of infection and monitor virus spread among a vaccinated population. Methods: Observational field study. Methods: Epidemiological and vaccination data along with repeat clinical samples were collected from 118 horses on four premises. Results: Failure to implement appropriate biosecurity measures following the i...
Inness CM, Morgan KL.Polo, one of the world's oldest sports, is unique in merging human skill and balance with animal agility and performance in a contact sport. These modern-day 'centaurs' offer medical, dental and veterinary scientists an unrivalled, if quirky, opportunity to collaborate. Collection of epidemiological data on injuries to UK polo riders and ponies is the first step. Objective: To measure the reported risk and risk factors for injuries to UK polo ponies, their perception and mitigation by player-owners. Methods: A retrospective cohort design and telephone interviews were used. Methods: Data on equ...
Zhang L, Wang X, Zhan Q, Wang Z, Xu M, Zhu D, He F, Liu X, Huang R, Li D, Lei Y, Xie P.Borna disease virus (BDV) is a non-cytolytic, neurotropic RNA virus that can infect many vertebrate species, including humans. To date, BDV infection has been reported in a range of animal species across a broad global geographic distribution. However, a systematic epidemiological survey of BDV infection in domesticated animals in China has yet to be performed. In current study, BDV RNA and antibodies in 2353 blood samples from apparently healthy animals of eight species (horse, donkey, dog, pig, rabbit, cattle, goat, sheep) from three areas in western China (Xinjiang province, Chongqing munic...
Riggs CM.Fractures are the cause of considerable morbidity and mortality among Thoroughbred racehorses. A significant proportion of these injuries occur in the absence of any particular traumatic incident. Evidence of prefracture pathology interpreted as fatigue damage has been identified in some such cases, but the aetiology of many of these so-called 'spontaneous' fractures remains obscure. Parasagittal fractures of the third metacarpal (McIII) and third metatarsal (MtIII) bones are one of the more common fractures to affect Thoroughbred racehorses. The configuration of each of these fracture types i...
Arthur RJ, Suann CJ.Three biosecurity and relief-and-recovery initiatives adopted by the NSW horse racing industries reduced the economic and social disruption caused by the disease and subsequent movement controls during the 2007 Australian equine influenza (EI) incursion. The first was the creation of biosecure horse training and racing precincts around the Sydney area to permit racing to continue with healthy horses. Infection was excluded for 3-5 weeks and race meetings were conducted safely during this period. The second was a vaccination program of racehorses at these and other precincts to maintain an ongo...
Reed SR, Jackson BF, Wood JL, Price JS, Verheyen KL.The aim of this study was to identify exercise-related risk factors for carpal and metacarpo- and metatarso-phalangeal (MCP/MTP) joint injury occurrence in young Thoroughbreds in flat race training. In a 2-year prospective cohort study, daily exercise and joint injury data were collected from horses in 13 training yards in England. Four injury categories were defined: (1) localised to a carpal or MCP/MTP joint based on clinical examination and/or use of diagnostic analgesia with no diagnostic imaging performed; (2) localised to a carpal or MCP/MTP joint with no abnormalities detected on diagno...
Kittelberger R, McFadden AM, Hannah MJ, Jenner J, Bueno R, Wait J, Kirkland PD, Delbridge G, Heine HG, Selleck PW, Pearce TW, Pigott CJ, O'Keefe JS.New Zealand is free from equine influenza and has never experienced an incursion in its horse population. As part of New Zealand's preparedness to an incursion of an exotic animal disease, it was considered necessary to select the most accurate test for equine influenza (EI) from the array of those available. Four readily available blocking/competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), originally developed and marketed for the detection of antibodies against the avian influenza virus, were evaluated using serum samples from New Zealand non-infected, non-vaccinated horses (n=365), and...
Galinelli N, Wambacq W, Broeckx BJG, Hesta M.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a pathological condition affecting the glandular and squamous regions of the stomach. It is characterized by non-specific clinical signs, behavioural changes or can also be found without any overt clinical manifestations. Nutritional factors such as intermittent feeding, high sugars and starch intake, large amounts of straw as forage and prolonged time without access to forage have all been associated with an increased risk of equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD). The aim of this study was to investigate which nutritional practices are commonly seen in...
Traversa D, Iorio R, Petrizzi L, De Amicis I, Brandt S, Meana A, Giangaspero A, Otranto D.Equine cutaneous habronemosis, also known as "summer sores", is a parasitic infection caused by larvae of Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Nematoda, Spirurida) released by dung-inhabiting fly vectors on abraded skin, skin wounds or muco-cutaneous transition sites. Larvae induce a local inflammatory reaction characterised by itching, granulomatous, ulcerated and, often non-healing, lesions. The diagnosis of summer sores may be unreliable mainly because of the limits of clinical and microscopic examination. The applicability of a semi-nested PCR assay developed for the diagnosis of gas...
Allen AL, Townsend HG, Doige CE, Fretz PB.A case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for the congenital hypothyroidism and dysmaturity syndrome of foals. A questionnaire was used during personal interviews of foal owners and farm managers to collect information on animal signalment, farm environment, and mare management. Information on 39 foals with the congenital hypothyroidism and dysmaturity syndrome were compared with 39 control foals. Foals with the syndrome had a significantly (P < 0.0001) longer gestation (357.6 d) than control foals (338.9 d). Pregnant mares that were fed greenfeed, did not receive any supplem...
Wylie CE, Collins SN, Verheyen KL, Newton JR.A previous systematic review highlighted a lack of good evidence regarding the frequency of equine laminitis in Great Britain. Objective: To estimate the frequency of veterinary-diagnosed active laminitis in the general horse population of Great Britain and to describe the clinical signs present in cases. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Data on active episodes of equine laminitis were collected from veterinary practitioners. Results: The prevalence of veterinary-diagnosed active laminitis was 0.47% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-0.52%) for the veterinary-attended population and...
Abbott JB, Mellor DJ, Barrett EJ, Proudman CJ, Love S.The serological changes in two groups of horses known to be harbouring Anoplocephala perfoliata were studied; 12 were treated with 1.5 mg/kg praziquantel and 200 microg/kg ivermectin, and 14 were treated with 200 microg/kg ivermectin. Serological and faecal analyses were carried out on each animal at intervals for 758 days. The titres of antibodies specific for A perfoliata decreased from the day of treatment to day 28 in both groups, and continued to decrease in the group treated with praziquantel and ivermectin, with the first significant decrease from the other group at day 121. From day 15...
Burrows GE, Morton RJ, Fales WH.Gram-negative bacterial isolates (635) obtained from routine submissions to the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory during 1983-1987 were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined for the following antimicrobials using commercially prepared microdilution assay materials: ampicillin, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, oxytetracycline, penicillin G, spectinomycin, sulfachlorpyridazine, sulfadimethoxine, and tylosin. Results for isolates from cattle, dogs, horses, and pigs are presented. In only a fe...
Soykan E, Oge H.This study was carried out between March 2004- April 2005 to determine the prevalance of liver trematode infections of equids in different cities of Turkey. Methods: A total of 117 equids (72 horses, 39 donkeys and 6 mules) in Ankara were examined for liver parasites after the slaugthering process. On the other hand, a total of 620 feces of horses in Bursa, Gemlik, Malatya, Eskişehir and Ankara provinces were detected for determining liver trematodes in live equines. The fecal samples of horses were examined for liver fluke infection by Benedect's sedimentation methods. Results: Of these 117 ...
