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.
Page AE, Slovis NM, Gebhart CJ, Wolfsdorf K, Mapes SM, Pusterla N.To assess the serial use of serum immunoperoxidase monolayer assays (IPMAs) and fecal PCR assays, combined with other diagnostic methods, to identify subclinical Lawsonia intracellularis infections for targeted treatment of Thoroughbred foals and weanlings at farms in which the pathogen was endemic or nonendemic. Methods: Evaluation study. Methods: 100 foals and weanlings (53 and 47 at farms in which L intracellularis was endemic and nonendemic, respectively). Methods: Serum was collected every 4 weeks and tested via IPMA, for antibodies against L intracellularis. Fecal samples were collected ...
Gibson KE, Pastenkos G, Moesta S, Rikihisa Y.Neorickettsia risticii is the Gram-negative, obligate, and intracellular bacterial pathogen responsible for Potomac horse fever (PHF): an important acute systemic disease of horses. N. risticii surface proteins, critical for immune recognition, have not been thoroughly characterized. In this paper, we identified the 51-kDa antigen (P51) as a major surface-exposed outer membrane protein of older and contemporary strains of N. risticii through mass spectrometry of streptavidin-purified biotinylated surface-labeled proteins. Western blot analysis of sera from naturally-infected horses demonstrate...
Näreaho A, Vainio K, Oksanen A.In order to assess the resistance situation against macrocyclic lactones in Parascaris equorum and against tetrahydropyrimidine derivatives in strongyles in Finnish trotter horses, 112 foals on 18 farms, mostly 1 year old, were examined for these parasites with a modified McMaster faecal flotation method. P. equorum positive foals (n=24) were given ivermectin orally at a dose of 200 μg/kg b.w., while strongyle positive but P. equorum negative foals (n=38) received pyrantel embonate orally at a dose of 19 mg/kg. Sixteen P. equorum infected foals, treated with ivermectin, also harboured strongy...
Franklin SH, Barakzai SZ, Couroucé-Malblanc A, Dixon P, Nankervis KJ, Perkins JD, Roberts CA, Vanerck-Westergren E, Allen KJ.During the past 20 years, treadmill exercise testing has played an important role in both the study of equine exercise physiology and the investigation of poor athletic performance. However, it has been suggested that some trainers and veterinarians may be reluctant to refer horses for treadmill exercise testing because of fears that horses may be at increased risk of musculoskeletal injury during treadmill exercise. Objective: To investigate the incidence and types of injuries sustained by horses undergoing treadmill exercise. Methods: Data were collated from 9 centres in the UK, France and B...
Waller AP, Pearson W, Lindinger MI.Standardbred and Thoroughbred racehorses around the world are tested for performance enhancing substances. Among these are blood alkalising substances that raise plasma pH and total carbon dioxide (TCO(2)) concentration. However, many horses have an elevated TCO(2) due to dietary, environmental and health concerns without having been administered an alkalising substance. Objective: The purposes of this study were to determine the acid-base profile of a cross section of Standardbred horses in racing/race training in Ontario and the main independent variables that contributed to acid-base state....
Ely ER, Price JS, Smith RK, Wood JL, Verheyen KL.A previous study has identified exercise undertaken during training to be associated with racing performance in flat racehorses. However, no such studies have been conducted in National Hunt (NH) horses. Objective: To determine whether exercise undertaken during training is associated with racing performance in NH racehorses. Methods: Data were collected as part of a larger study investigating injury occurrence in NH racehorses. Race records and daily exercise data were obtained from NH racehorses at 14 training yards. Canter, gallop and race distances accumulated in the 30 days preceding a 'c...
Jönsson L, Dalin G, Egenvall A, Näsholm A, Roepstorff L, Philipsson J.Disturbances in skeletal development, primarily osteochondrosis (OC) and palmar/plantar osseous fragments (POF), have been commonly reported as problems in young horses. However, there are few reports of such findings for epidemiological analyses or breeding purposes. Objective: To evaluate equine hospital data as a possible source of information for genetic evaluations by estimating prevalence and heritability of OC in the stifle, hock and fetlock joints and of POF in the fetlock. Methods: Data on Swedish Warmblood (SWB) horses were obtained from a large equine hospital in south Sweden. Preva...
Silver IA, Jeffcott LB, Rossdale PD.The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) was established in 1961 and launched the Equine Veterinary Journal (EVJ) in 1968. This review outlines some of the major advances in equine science and practice that have occurred in that time and the role played by the Journal in facilitating those developments.
Hinchcliff KW, Morley PS, Jackson MA, Brown JA, Dredge AF, O'Callaghan PA, McCaffrey JP, Slocombe RF, Clarke AF.Risk factors for occult exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) are poorly defined or quantified. Objective: To investigate the importance of putative risk factors for EIPH amongst Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia. Methods: Tracheobronchoscopy was used to determine EIPH status of 744 Thoroughbred racehorses after flat racing in Melbourne, Australia. Horses were identified for study before racing, and over 50% of horses racing during the study period were examined. Statistical analysis included use of bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to account for simultaneous ...
Nagy A, Murray JK, Dyson S.Endurance is the fastest growing Féderation Équestre International (FEI) discipline and the large number of eliminations on veterinary grounds needs to be investigated. Objective: To document elimination rates and explore potential risk factors for elimination due to lameness or metabolic reasons in 9 countries representing 5 continents. Methods: Data for rides of ≥ 100 km ('elite endurance rides') in Australia, France, Italy, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), UK, Uruguay and USA were collected from the FEI website. Data were collected for all started horses on the country, ...
Courouce-Malblanc A, Deniau V, Rossignol F, Corde R, Leleu C, Maillard K, Pitel PH, Pronost S, Fortier G.Dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) is one of the most common obstructive conditions of the upper respiratory tract in the racehorse. This condition has a complex aetiology which may be caused or exacerbated by pharyngeal inflammation. Additionally, lower respiratory airway diseases may be associated with DDSP thereby contributing to exercise intolerance in these horses. Objective: The aim of this study was to measure physiological variables during a standardised exercise test and to assess the prevalence and consequences of lower respiratory airway disease in horses with DDSP. Metho...
Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Genzel W, van Weeren PR.Welfare concerns over the reasons for interruption or termination of a sporting career in horses have been expressed. Objective: To study the career of competition horses and factors that influence career length. Methods: In 2004, 46,576 rider-horse combinations were registered with the Dutch National Equestrian Federation (KNHS) in dressage, show jumping, eventing and endurance. From this population, approximately 1% of horses in each discipline were selected at random and all recorded competition data from the KNHS registration system collected and supplemented by detailed rider/owner teleph...
Lyons ET, Kuzmina TA, Tolliver SC, Collins SS.Early development and maturation of species of small strongyles have not been studied extensively. Most information is on the first appearance of strongyle eggs in feces of foals. However, species cannot be determined in this manner because of similarity of the morphological features of the eggs. To determine more definitive knowledge on development and species composition of natural infections of small strongyles, eight equid foals were necropsied and examined at various ages (31 to 92 days of age). The entire contents of the large intestine were examined, and all worms (6,671) recovered were...
Aquino Gde V, Maluta RP, de Ávila FA.The aim of this work was to establish the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococci (MRS) in the animals and staff of a teaching and research farm. Samples of dairy cattle (36), beef cattle (26), sheep (19), horses (21), pigs (23), goats (23) and humans (13) were collected and screened for the presence of MRS. The detection of mecA gene was performed by PCR to determine the resistance of the samples to methicillin. Antimicrobial-resistance testing to penicillin, meropenem, ceftriaxone, cephalothin, oxacillin, levofloxacin, enrofloxacin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, clind...
Hessler C, Namislo V, Kammler G, Lockemann U, Püschel K, Meenen NM.Horseback riding entails several risk factors that predispose the participant to injury. Especially craniocerebral as well as spinal trauma were common reasons for severe injuries. Hence, it is important to use effective protective gear during riding activities. However, the protective effect of actual safety vests and helmets in case of accident is still unknown. In the present study reasons, mechanisms and patterns of equine-related spine injuries were analyzed. Based on these data the effectiveness of used protective gear during accident was assessed. Methods: 30 equestrians took part in a ...
Axon JE, Carrick JB, Barton MD, Collins NM, Russell CM, Kiehne J, Coombs G.To evaluate if methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is present in the horse population in Australia. Methods: A two-part retrospective study of laboratory submissions of microbial culture results from horses. Methods: Part A: medical records of 216 horses that had MRSA screening performed on nasal swabs collected over a 30-day period at admission to the Scone Equine Hospital Clovelly Intensive Care Unit were retrieved. Part B: laboratory records from 2004 to 2009 of culture submissions to the Scone Veterinary Laboratory were reviewed and cultures that grew MRSA were identified. T...
Matthews JB.Horses worldwide are exposed to a complex mixture of intestinal parasitic helminths. When burdens are high, these parasites can seriously compromise health and welfare. Some helminth species have an extremely high prevalence and are difficult to control, not least because there is a limited understanding of their most basic biology. Furthermore, levels of resistance to some of the commonly used anthelmintics are widespread and increasing. The cyathostomins are the most common nematode species affecting equids worldwide. Within this group of parasites are more than 50 different species. Until r...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Young NJ.Enterococcus faecium, a major cause of potentially life-threatening hospital-acquired human infections, can be resistant to several antimicrobials, such that streptogramin quinupristin-dalfopristin (Q/D) is one of the few antibiotics still effective. Consequently use of the streptogramin virginiamycin as an animal growth promoter was banned in the EU in 1999 as some believed this contributed to the emergence of Q/D resistant E. faecium. Virginiamycin is advocated for preventing equine pasture-associated laminitis, but its effect on equine faecal bacterial Q/D resistance has not been determined...
Tamzali Y, Marguet C, Priymenko N, Lyazrhi F.Equine gastric ulcers syndrome (EGUS) prevalence studies are rare in the endurance horse and none has been carried out to date in horses competing at high level. Objective: To determine the prevalence of EGUS in high-level endurance horses. Methods: Thirty endurance horses competing at high level were selected and submitted to 2 gastroscopic examinations. The first gastroscopy was performed during the interseason period, and the second during the competition season within 2-3 days following a ride of 90-160 km. Data related to housing, feeding, training system as well as age, breed and gender ...
Wasko AJ, Barkema HW, Nicol J, Fernandez N, Logie N, Léguillette R.The diagnosis of equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) and inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is based on clinical signs and increased inflammatory cell percentages in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Since a BAL is an invasive procedure, a risk-screening questionnaire (RSQ) would be a valuable screening tool for lung inflammation. Objective: To evaluate the accuracy of a RSQ to detect lower airway inflammation (LAI) in a large population of horses. Methods: A standardised BAL was performed in the field on 167 horses in Alberta, Canada. Horses were separated into 3 categories: 1) BAL...
Ryu SH, Koo HC, Lee YW, Park YH, Lee CW.Infectious upper respiratory disease (IURD) of Thoroughbred racehorses has been a frequent problem (29.6% of incidence) at the Seoul Race Park (Korea). Risk factors for IURD include the season with a high transfer rate (summer and fall), the stabling period (≤ 3 months), and age (2 to 3 years old), suggesting that the movement and new environment may have depressed the immune system of the horses and decreased their ability to respond properly to pathogens. The bacterial strains (n = 98) isolated from IURD horses included Pseudomonas spp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus...
Aceto H, Miller SA, Smith G.To determine time to first detection of Salmonella organisms in feces of animals after experimental infection PO and times to onset of diarrhea and pyrexia to evaluate a common method for identifying nosocomial infections on the basis of time of admission and onset of clinical signs (ie, the 3-day criterion). Methods: Meta-analysis. Methods: Cattle, horses, goats, and sheep experimentally infected PO with Salmonella enterica subsp enterica. Methods: Online databases were searched for published reports describing results of experimental infection of cattle, horses, goats, and sheep PO with salm...
Ulbert S.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic virus that circulates in birds and is transmitted by mosquitoes. Incidentally, humans, horses and other mammals can also be infected. Disease symptoms caused by WNV range from fever to neurological complications, such as encephalitis or meningitis. Mortality is observed mostly in older and immunocompromised individuals. In recent years, epidemics caused by WNV in humans and horses have become more frequent in several Southern European countries, such as Italy and Greece. In 1999, WNV was introduced into the USA and spread over North America within a couple o...
Barros SC, Ramos F, Fagulha T, Duarte M, Henriques M, Luís T, Fevereiro M.The circulation of West Nile virus in Portugal was assessed by serological surveys conducted during 2004-2010 in horses and birds. The detection of WNV antibodies in both species in all the years covered by the study as well as the presence of anti-WNV IgM in symptomatic horses that had not traveled outside the country, support the notion that WNV circulates in Portugal.
Plowright RK, Foley P, Field HE, Dobson AP, Foley JE, Eby P, Daszak P.Anthropogenic environmental change is often implicated in the emergence of new zoonoses from wildlife; however, there is little mechanistic understanding of these causal links. Here, we examine the transmission dynamics of an emerging zoonotic paramyxovirus, Hendra virus (HeV), in its endemic host, Australian Pteropus bats (fruit bats or flying foxes). HeV is a biosecurity level 4 (BSL-4) pathogen, with a high case-fatality rate in humans and horses. With models parametrized from field and laboratory data, we explore a set of probable contributory mechanisms that explain the spatial and tempor...
Hinney B, Wirtherle NC, Kyule M, Miethe N, Zessin KH, Clausen PH.Control strategies for horse helminths are controversially discussed, and no ideal strategy exists. Presently, the spreading of anthelmintic resistance against all three classes of anthelmintics is of special concern. Advice on how to slow the development of anthelmintic resistance does not seem to have reached the majority of horse owners yet. In our study, we wanted to capture the current standard of helminth control and to analyse the effectiveness of these control strategies. Seven hundred horse farms in Brandenburg, Germany were sent a questionnaire in June/July 2006 asking various questi...
Oura CA, Ivens PA, Bachanek-Bankowska K, Bin-Tarif A, Jallow DB, Sailleau C, Maan S, Mertens PC, Batten CA.African horse sickness virus serotype 9 (AHSV-9) has been known for some time to be circulating amongst equids in West Africa without causing any clinical disease in indigenous horse populations. Whether this is due to local breeds of horses being resistant to disease or whether the AHSV-9 strains circulating are avirulent is currently unknown. This study shows that the majority (96%) of horses and donkeys sampled across The Gambia were seropositive for AHS, despite most being unvaccinated and having no previous history of showing clinical signs of AHS. Most young horses (<3 years) were seropo...
Ricard A, Blouin C.The longevity of sport horses is an economic and ethical issue. The aim of this study was to analyze the duration of the competitive life of jumping horses in France to assess the potential for genetic evaluation and to propose rules of management for sport horses. Data included lifetimes spent in jumping competitions for the 209,296 horses born from 1968 onward with performances between 1972 and 2008; the data set contained 22% right-censored records. Longevity was measured in years. Discrete survival analysis included fixed effects of region of birth, month of birth, year of recording, age a...
Ireland JL, McGowan CM, Clegg PD, Chandler KJ, Pinchbeck GL.This study reports on aspects of preventive health care and on the prevalence of disease in geriatric (≥30 years old) horses and ponies in North-West England and North Wales. Of 128 questionnaires mailed to horse owners, 87 useable responses were received and 69 horses were subject to veterinary examination. Of the animals examined, 16% were underweight with body condition scores (BCS)3/5). This contrasted with the owner responses that reported 23% of the animals surveyed to be underweight and only 3% to be overweight. When assessed at trot, 77% of the horses were lame on at least one limb, ...
Rota A, Calicchio E, Nardoni S, Fratini F, Ebani VV, Sgorbini M, Panzani D, Camillo F, Mancianti F.A saprophytic bacterial flora is present on the penis and the distal part of the urethra of stallions. Little is known about the fungal flora of their reproductive tract. As micro organisms play an important role in mares fertility, the aim of the study was to describe the distribution of fungi and bacteria in the normal genital apparatus of stallions. The microbic flora of the reproductive tract of 11 healthy, fertile stallions was evaluated, collecting samples from 5 different locations: urethral fossa, penis/internal lamina of the prepuce, urethra pre- and post-ejaculation, and semen. For f...
Weideman H, Schoeman SJ, Jordaan GF, Kidd M.This study investigated if environmental factors had an effect on the incidence of epistaxis related to exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) among racehorses in southern Africa. Data covering the period 1986-2001 and involving 778 532 race runs were analysed. This included the following information: date of race, age, sex, name of breeder, trainer, distance, jockey, state of going, weight carried, racing centre and altitude. Veterinarians employed by the Jockey Club suspended officially entered horses that presented with epistaxis (frank bleeding from the nostrils) after racing. On-co...
Todd EW.Antiproteinase sera were prepared by immunizing horses with filtrates from a selected strain of group A streptococcus. This strain, which produced high titred proteinase but no erythrogenic toxin, was selected from forty-two strains of group A streptococci which produced varying amounts of proteinase. A few strains belonging to groups B, C, and G were also tested; they were all proteinase-negative. Methods are described for titrating streptococcal proteinase in crude culture filtrates and for measuring the antiproteinase activity of serum. The antiproteinase titres of sera from immunized horse...
Valle-Casuso JC, Gaudaire D, Martin-Faivre L, Madeline A, Dallemagne P, Pronost S, Munier-Lehmann H, Zientara S, Vidalain PO, Hans A.RNA viruses are responsible for a large variety of animal infections. Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV) is a positive single-stranded RNA virus member of the family Arteriviridae from the order Nidovirales like the Coronaviridae. EAV causes respiratory and reproductive diseases in equids. Although two vaccines are available, the vaccination coverage of the equine population is largely insufficient to prevent new EAV outbreaks around the world. In this study, we present a high-throughput in vitro assay suitable for testing candidate antiviral molecules on equine dermal cells infected by EAV. Using t...
van Duijkeren E, van Klingeren B, Vulto AG, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Breukink HJ, van Miert AS.The in vitro activity of 17 antimicrobial drugs against strains of Salmonella typhimurium (n = 52), Salmonella thompson (n = 2), Salmonella heidelberg (n = 3), Salmonella hadar (n = 2), Salmonella enteritidis (n = 1), Salmonella infantis (n = 1) and Salmonella derby (n = 1) was tested using the agar dilution method. The strains were isolated from horses admitted to the Large Animal Clinics of Utrecht University. The majority of strains were susceptible to gentamicin, amikacin, kanamycin, enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, flumequine, colistine, furazolidone and ceftiofur. However, all strains of Sal...
Lee SK, Park D, Lee I.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) causes equine hepatitis. The prevalence of EqPV-H in healthy horses has been reported in the United States, China, Germany, and Austria. The present study determined the prevalence of EqPV-H in the sera of clinically healthy horses in South Korea to identify the potential factors for infection and examine the genetic diversity of EqPV-H DNA sequences through comparison with foreign strains. Serum samples collected from 321 horses were tested for EqPV-H using non-structural protein 1 (NS1)-specific polymerase chain reaction. The associations of EqPV-H infect...
Ayelet G, Derso S, Jenberie S, Tigre W, Aklilu N, Gelaye E, Asmare K.The study was conducted from June 2011 to May 2012 in central, northern and western parts of Ethiopia to investigate and identify circulating serotypes of African horse sickness virus (AHSV). The indigenous knowledge of equine owners about AHS in the study areas was assessed and also the retrospective data of AHS outbreaks for 2011 were analyzed. Whole blood samples were collected for virus isolation and serotyping from diseased horses and mules showing typical signs of the AHS. Virus isolation on Vero cell and detection of AHSV genomes using conventional RT-PCR were conducted. Further molecul...
Drudge JH, Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Lowry SR, Fallon EH.Observations were completed over an 18-year period (1966 through 1983) in Thoroughbred mares (15/year) and yearlings (11 to 24/year) on a farm where benzimidazole-resistant small strongyles had emerged previously (1962 to 1965). This farm was operated as a closed, nonboarding type, which included a racing stable for its home-bred foals. At 2-week intervals, counts of worm eggs per gram of feces (EPG) and larvae per gram of feces were done to monitor strongyle infections and efficacies of bimonthly (every 8 weeks) antiparasitic treatments that were administered by stomach tube or were fed (dich...
Gilkerson J, Jorm LR, Love DN, Lawrence GL, Whalley JM.Equid herpesvirus-4 (EHV-4) was detected in nasal swabs taken from foals using a PCR based test and this information used to study the epidemiology of EHV-4 disease on three Australian Thoroughbred stud farms in NSW in 1992. There was a very high level of agreement (kappa value of 0.84) between the PCR results and virus isolation using cell culture techniques. There was a strong seasonal distribution of EHV-4 shedding. Twenty-five of 26 positive samples were collected in January and March with the remaining positive sample collected in February. Foals with clinical signs of upper respiratory t...
Arai K, Tagami M, Hatazoe T, Nishimatsu E, Shimizu Y, Fujiki M, Misumi K.We investigated the relationship between cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) levels in synovial fluid (SF), serum and urine and the development of osteochondral damage and osteophyte (OP) formation following intraarticular fractures of the carpus in racehorses in order to assess the clinical usefulness of COMP as a diagnostic biomarker of developmental osteoarthritis (OA). Two monoclonal antibodies (mAb clones 2A11 and 3C8) raised against equine COMP were shown to be capable of detecting the molecule in serum and urine as well as SF. Fifty-one samples were obtained from 26 OP-positive (...
Seo MG, Ouh IO, Choi E, Kwon OD, Kwak D.The identification and characterization of pathogenic and zoonotic tick-borne diseases like granulocytic anaplasmosis are essential for developing effective control programs. The differential diagnosis of pathogenic Anaplasma phagocytophilum and non-pathogenic A. phagocytophilum-like Anaplasma spp. is important for implementing effective treatment from control programs. The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. in horses in Korea by nucleotide sequencing and restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism assay. Of the 627 horses included in the stu...
Nadal C, Marsot M, Le Metayer G, Boireau P, Guillot J, Bonnet SI.Caused by two blood parasites, and , equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that poses major health and economic issues for the equine industry. Our objective was to gain insight into the spatio-temporal variations of parasite circulation in France, where the disease is known to be enzootic, but has been the subject of few studies. Seroprevalence was assessed for each parasite thanks to 16,127 equine sera obtained between 1997 and 2003 from all over France and analysed through complement fixation tests. Results indicated that 13.2% (5-27% depending on the region) of horses were seroposi...
Marenzoni ML, Passamonti F, Cappelli K, Veronesi F, Capomaccio S, Supplizi AV, Valente C, Autorino G, Coletti M.Fifteen unweaned thoroughbred foals, born on a stud farm to vaccinated mares, were clinically monitored during their first six months of life and repeatedly tested for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4). Nasopharyngeal swabs and blood samples were collected and screened respectively by PCR and seroneutralisation to detect the presence of the virus, explore its role as a possible cause of respiratory disease, and to assess the efficiency of the pcr for the diagnosis of this disease. The foals were divided into three groups on the basis of their clinical sign...
Hoppe F.A total of 106 Standardbred Trotters and 27 Swedish Warmblood horses, with a radiological diagnosis of osteochondrosis dissecans, were studied over a six year period. The majority were young horses. No statistical difference in frequency between the sexes was demonstrated. In both breeds osteochondrosis was most common in the hock joints, the site of predilection being the distal dorsal tip of the intermediate tibial ridge. On radiographs the lesions of the hock joints were graded on a scale from 0 to 5 according to size, number and localisation of defects and visible loose bodies. The sizes o...
McGorum BC, Mayhew IG, Amory H, Deprez P, Gillies L, Green K, Mair TS, Nollet H, Wijnberg ID, Hahn CN.Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) was diagnosed in 3 horses maintained on lush, grass-based pasture. This contrasted with North American studies which identified limited or no access to green herbage as an important risk factor for EMND. Objective: Grazing horses that have an apparently adequate intake of pasture herbage to meet normal equine vitamin E requirements can develop EMND. Methods: Owners of 32 European horses diagnosed with EMND completed a questionnaire regarding intrinsic, managemental, nutritional and environmental factors that could potentially be risk factors for EMND, and als...
Arata AB, Cooke CL, Jang SS, Hirsh DC.It is difficult to distinguish isolates of Taylorella equigenitalis, the cause of contagious equine metritis, from a T. equigenitalis-like organism isolated from asymptomatic donkeys and horses. Although T. equigenitalis is responsible for a severe, contagious disease of the reproductive tract of equids, the T. equigenitalis-like organism, although contagious, does not appear to produce disease. Because of the economic consequences of correctly distinguishing isolates of these 2 microorganisms, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay was developed that will distinguish isolates of T. equ...
Khairullah AR, Sudjarwo SA, Effendi MH, Ramandinianto SC, Widodo A, Riwu KHP.Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) was first discovered in horses in 1989. Since then, LA-MRSA has begun to be considered an important strain of pathogenic bacteria in horses, which can cause LA-MRSA infection and colonization in humans with public health impacts. The anterior nares are the primary site of LA-MRSA colonization in horses, although LA-MRSA colonization may also occur in the gastrointestinal tract in horses. LA-MRSA-infected horses typically exhibit clinical infection or may not exhibit clinical infection. There are two potential risks asso...
Roberts RS, Foppa IM.Since the introduction of West Nile Virus (WNV) to the United States in 1999, the efficacy of dead bird surveillance for the prediction of human and veterinary WNV infection has been an issue of debate. We utilized South Carolina's Department of Health and Environmental Control surveillance data from 2003 to determine whether dead bird surveillance accurately predicts equine WNV infection on a county level. We adjusted for human population density as a potential confounder of an association between WNV-positive dead bird counts and mammalian WNV risk. We found a strong positive association bet...
Ahmed MO, Williams NJ, Clegg PD, van Velkinburgh JC, Baptiste KE, Bennett M.Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria represent a major threat to human and animal health. We compared equine fecal samples (n=264) from 138 horses from hospital and nonhospital (livery stable and riding school) premises in North West England to determine the prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter and rates of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli strains. Campylobacter jejuni was detected only in hospitalized horses (1.1%), and no Salmonella was identified. Data analysis of the horses' management and veterinary treatments (Tx) identified risk factors associated with shedding of an...
Villa-Mancera A, Aldeco-Pérez M, Molina-Mendoza P, Hernández-Guzmán K, Figueroa-Castillo JA, Reynoso-Palomar A.The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) in horses, donkeys and mules and its associations with age, sex and climatic factors (derived from satellite data) to identify the potential risk factors of different climate regions in four Mexican states. From May 2017 to April 2018, a total of 560 farm owners or managers answered the questionnaire, and the data were used to establish three Köppen climate classes (tropical, dry, temperate). The overall prevalence of GIN parasites in equines was 77.9% (436 out of 560). The highest percentage of GIN wa...
Clayton HM, Duncan JL.Following infection with 8000 Parascaris equorum eggs in two- to four-week-old foals reared under worm-free conditions a high percentage of the infective dose completed its tissue migration and returned to the small intestine. Patent infections were establisehd between 81 and 104 days after infection and high faecal egg counts were recorded. A group of six- to 12-month-old foals, which had been either reared under worm-free conditions or exposed to natural ascarid and strongyle infections on pasture, received a similar infection of 8000 P equorum eggs. Compared with the younger foals there was...
Volokhov DV, Gao Y, Davidson MK, Chizhikov VE.We describe two novel species of Acholeplasma sp. strain N93 and Mycoplasma sp. strain LR5794 which were isolated from the nasopharynx of a horse from the United Kingdom and from the oral cavity of a North American raccoon from Canada, respectively. These strains were phenotypically and genetically characterized and compared to other established Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species. Both strains are facultative anaerobes, resistant to penicillin, and produce acid from glucose but do not hydrolyze arginine and urea. Both strains grew well in microaerophilic and anaerobic atmospheric conditions a...
Otzdorff C, Beckmann J, Goehring LS.(1) Background: Equine arteritis virus (EAV) infection causes reproductive losses and systemic vasculitis in susceptible equidae. The intact male becomes the virus' reservoir upon EAV infection, as it causes a chronic-persistent infection of the accessory sex glands. Infected semen is the main source of virus transmission. (2) Here, we describe acute EAV infection and spread in a stallion population after introduction of new members to the group. (3) Conclusions: acute clinical signs, acute phase detection of antigen via (PCR) nasal swabs or (EDTA) blood, and seroconversion support the idea of...
Wilson DA, MacFadden KE, Green EM, Crabill M, Frankeny RL, Thorne JG.Trimethoprim-potentiated sulphonamides (TPS) are among the most frequently administered antimicrobials in equine medicine. Anecdotally, TPS has been implicated as a cause of mild to moderate diarrhea in horses. The purpose of this study was to document the prevalence of diarrhea in horses receiving TPS, to characterize the severity of the diarrhea, and to identify any other factors associated with the development of diarrhea. A 2-part study was designed to identify the prevalence of diarrhea associated with TPS in our clinic population. Part I was a case-control retrospective study of 135 reco...
Sharma S, Dhaliwal GS, Dadarwal D.Service records of 253 mares (1181 mare-years) spanning over 7 consecutive years, from nine organized Thoroughbred stud farms, situated in the subtropical northwestern India were retrospectively analyzed to assess their reproductive performance. The overall per cycle pregnancy rate at Day 16 and overall foaling rates were 50.30% and 68.95%, respectively, and were significantly higher in mares aged 3-7 years than > or =18 years old mares. The late embryonic losses (9.86%) that occurred between Days 16 and 39 post-ovulation contributed more than 50% of the overall detected pregnancy losses (19.1...
Timoney PJ, McCollum WH, Roberts AW, McDonald MJ.Clinical cases of equine arteritis virus infection have not been diagnosed in Kentucky since 1984, and there has been no indication that any of the horses involved in the 1984 epizootic have since been responsible for spread of the disease to horses in other states or other countries. Cases of abortion caused by naturally acquired infection with this virus have not been confirmed in 1984 or 1985. Neither field nor vaccine strains of equine arteritis virus have been shown to induce teratologic abnormalities or the carrier state in foals born to infected or vaccinated mares. The carrier stallion...
Chaffin MK, Cohen ND, Martens RJ.To identify farm characteristics as risk factors for the 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, 1 for a farm with > or = 1 foal with R equi pneumonia and 1 for an unaffected control farm. Matched data were compared by use of conditional logistic regression analysis. Results: Farm characteristics found in bivariate analyses to be associated with increased risk for pneumonia caus...
Rosales C, Krekeler N, Tennent-Brown B, Stevenson MA, Hanlon D.To describe selected periparturient variables in a sample of Thoroughbred mares and their foals on a commercial stud farm in New Zealand. Methods: Data were collected for 969 foaling records, from 592 mares, by foaling attendants from one Thoroughbred stud farm in the Waikato region of New Zealand for the breeding seasons 2008-2013, inclusive, and collated retrospectively. The associations between mare- and foal-level variables and gestation length, time of birth (expressed as the number of hours after midday), fetal membrane retention time, time for the foal to stand and suckle after birth, a...
Davidson A, Traub-Dargatz JL, Magnuson R, Hill A, Irwin V, Newton R, Waller A, Smith K, Callan RJ, Meehan M, Owen P, Salman M.Previously published studies have neither used nor reported the results of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) to measure serologic responses in natural outbreaks of strangles. The concept of using serologic responses to identify persistent carriers of Streptococcus equi has been proposed but not scientifically evaluated. The specific aims of the current study were to determine the duration and level of truncated fibrinogen-binding protein-specific (SeM allele 1) antibody production in ponies involved in a natural outbreak of strangles and to determine if test results from t...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Kuzmina TA.A parasite study was done in 1,300 horse mares on 26 farms in Central Kentucky over a 5-month period in 2010 and 2011. The mares included 1,114 Thoroughbreds (TB) on 24 farms, 64 Standardbreds (SB) on 1 farm, and 122 mixed light horse types (MLH) on 1 farm. The objective of this research was to determine strongyle eggs per gram of feces (EPG) counts for evaluation by known age, number positive, and level of egg shedding by the mares. This was done to establish strongyle EPG profiles for the mares to aid in determining whether antiparasitic treatment was necessary. Eggs found were considered th...
Epp T, Waldner C, Corrigan R, Curry P.West Nile virus (WNV) infection in horses was first reported in Canada in 2001 and in the province of Saskatchewan in 2002. This paper outlines the surveillance results of WNV in Saskatchewan horses from 2003 to 2005 and describes the usefulness of its inclusion in an integrated surveillance program in Saskatchewan. The number of human and horse cases was highest in 2003, the epidemic year and then substantially lower in 2004 and 2005. Horses provided additive information about WNV activity in rural areas with low human population, however, this required willingness and active participation by...
