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.
Regan PJ, Roberts JO, Feldberg L, Roberts AH.An estimated 3.5 million people ride horses in the United Kingdom (Cannon, 1989). Injuries consequent to falls are common (Edixhoven et al., 1981), but those sustained while leading horses are less well recognized. In eight cases inappropriate grip of the reins or halter rope while leading a horse or pony resulted in an avulsion injury to a finger or thumb. It is suggested that people at risk be informed of such injuries.
Freestone JF, Carlson GR.Case records of horses with muscle disorders presenting to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California, Davis, over a nine year period were evaluated. The objectives of the review were to identify the common myogenic muscle problems and their clinical features. Muscle disease of idiopathic aetiology following exercise was by far the most common condition noted. Other causes of myogenic muscle disorders included congenital, infectious, immune-mediated and nutritional factors.
Sweeney CR, Holcombe SJ, Barningham SC, Beech J.Frequency of aerobic and anaerobic isolates in 327 aspirates and in 123 pleural fluid samples from 327 horses with pneumonia or pleuropneumonia and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the aerobes were reported. Of the 327 horses, 75% survived, 20% were euthanatized, and 5% died. Tracheobronchial aspirates or pleural fluid specimens from 25 of the horses did not yield growth. Of the remaining 302 horses, 221 had only aerobic organisms isolated, whereas only anaerobes were isolated from 6 of the 302 horses. The remaining 75 horses had mixed aerobic and anaerobic bacterial infections. The su...
Chong YC, Duffus WP, Field HJ, Gray DA, Awan AR, O'Brien MA, Lunn DP.Over a period of two years, a total of 22 full term foals from Welsh Mountain pony mares were raised in conditions that were free from infection by Equid herpesvirus (EHV-1/4). Parturition dates were predicted by monitoring colostrum electrolytes, and the mares allowed to foal naturally under supervision or following induction with intravenous oxytocin. Immediately following birth, foals were separated from their dams and transferred to a specially built, positive pressure isolation unit. They were given antibiotic prophylaxis and fed bovine colostrum during the first 24 h, and then mare's mil...
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...
Bürki F, Nowotny N, Hofer A.The commercial vaccine "Resequin F Konz." devised against viral respiratory infections of horses contains the abortigenic Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). Therefore we had used it in our protection project of the Austrian Lipizzaners+ primarily to prevent abortions. Taking into account the recent perception that for young horses the respiratory-pathogenic EHV-4 type is essential Behringwerke Marburg added this particular virus to their market product to produce a multicomponent experimental vaccine. We examined this vaccine for its antibody induction as well as their persistence against each of i...
Bailey GD, Love DN.Two hundred and seventy bacterial isolates were obtained from the pharyngeal tonsillar surface of 12 normal horses and 98 obligatory anaerobic bacteria were characterised. Of these, 57 isolates belonging to 7 genera (Peptostreptococcus (1); Eubacterium (9); Clostridium (6); Veillonella (6); Megasphera (1); Bacteroides (28); Fusobacterium (6)) were identified, and 16 of these were identified to species level (P. anaerobius (1); E. fossor (9); C. villosum (1); B. fragilis (1); B. tectum (2); B. heparinolyticus (2)). Three hundred and twenty isolates were obtained from 23 samples from horses with...
Kimman TG, Binkhorst GJ, van den Ingh TS, Pol JM, Gielkens AL, Roelvink ME.Aujeszky's disease virus was isolated from the brain of a horse which had shown severe neurological signs, including excessive sweating, muscle tremors and periods of mania. Pathological examination revealed a non-suppurative meningoencephalitis. The virus was propagated in cell culture and inoculated into the conjunctiva and nostrils of two ponies. The ponies developed fever seven days after inoculation and subsequently started to behave abnormally, showing severe neurological signs on the ninth day after inoculation. One pony became excited and the other was depressed. One pony died on the n...
Kölbl S, Schuller W, Pabst J.944 serum samples of horses, collected in 1988 and 1989, were examined for the occurrence of antibodies against equine arteritis virus by a microneutralizations test. In 10.9% of all sera reactors could be found. The distribution of seropositive horses varied from 4.6% (Salzburg) to 15.7% (Lower Austria). From Tyrol and Vorarlberg no samples could be obtained. It was not possible, to correlate clinical symptoms (infertility, respiratory symptoms, fever and edema) with the infection. It is assumed, that the disease appears in Austria only in a clinical inapparent form.
Baldwin JL, Cooper WL, Vanderwall DK, Erb HN.Serum samples for determination of IgG concentration were obtained between postpartum hours 18 and 48 from 132 Standardbred foals. Results of the IgG assay were not known to farm personnel. None of the foals was given plasma IV for treatment of hypogammaglobulinemia. Foal health records were examined retrospectively to determine prevalence of infectious-type illness (foal treatment days [FTD]), prevalence of life-threatening infectious illness (foal treatment days-serious condition [FTD-SC]), and number of diseases (NOD) per foal. Values for FTD, FTD-SC, and NOD per foal were compiled for the ...
Grabner A, Fischer A.In a retrospective study of 38 horses with Borna encephalitis which were clinically and histopathologically examined in the "I. Medizinische Tierklinik" in Munich between 1977 and 1990, the epidemiology, the clinical symptomatic and the diagnostic procedures available are presented. Indirect immunofluorescence showed antibodies in the serum of 12 out of 29 cases (41%) and in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 17 out of 28 cases (61%). The evaluation of 23 cases in which indirect immunofluorescence of serum and CSF, and also the post mortem virological and histopathological examination of the bra...
van der Kolk JH, Bernadina WE, Visser IJ.A four year old Dutch warmblooded mare was born and raised in the province of North-Brabant, the Netherlands. On May 16, 1989, she showed signs of colic, anorexia, depression, ileus, severe dehydration and leukopenia. When the mare collapsed, euthanasia was carried out. Acute colitis and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in macrophages were observed at autopsy. When an indirect immunofluorescence assay was performed, the Ehrlichia risticii titre of the serum was found to be 1:640.
Dugan SJ, Curtis CR, Roberts SM, Severin GA.Proportional hospital accession ratios for equine ocular/adnexal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were determined for 14 colleges of veterinary medicine participating in the Veterinary Medical Data Program between January 1978 and December 1986. Comparison of the ratios with their respective geographical, physical data has shown an increased prevalence of SCC with an increase in longitude, altitude, or mean annual solar radiation. In contrast, prevalence of SCC increased with a decrease in latitude. Between January 1978 and December 1988, 147 horses with ocular/adnexal SCC were admitted to the Co...
Bagy MM, Abdel-Mallek AY.Nine thermophilic genera and 17 species in addition to one variety of Aspergillus flavus, Malbranchea pulchella and Humicola grisea were collected from hair samples in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at 45 degrees C. Fifty-one hair specimens of rabbit, sheep, camel and horse were examined for the presence of thermophilic fungi. The most frequent species were Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Thermoascus aurantiacus and Malbranchea pulchella var. sulfurea. In low frequency, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus quadrilineatus, Paecilomyces variotii, Paecilomyces aerugineus, Mucor pusillus and Rhizopus s...
Razumov IA, Agapov EV, Pereboev AV, Protopopova EV, Lebedeva SD, Loktev VB.A comparative study of the antigenic structure of virulent strains and attenuated vaccine strains of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus (VEEV) by means of monoclonal antibodies has made it possible to investigate the antigenic structure of the envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2, and to specify their role in the development of antiviral immunity. On the E1 glycoprotein there are five nonoverlapping antigenic sites consisting of eight epitopes that are recognized by monoclonal antibodies; six sites consisting of twenty epitopes were found on the E2 glycoprotein. The monoclonal antibodies ag...
Bowling AT, Williams MJ.Two additional specificities (Dq and Dr) were assigned to the D system of horse red cell alloantigens following discussion of the 1989 ISAG Horse Comparison Test (HCT) results. Family and population data support 25 phenogroups defined by the enhanced battery of 17 D system factors.
Bjørn H, Sommer C, Schougård H, Henriksen SA, Nansen P.This study was undertaken to establish whether anthelmintic resistance was present in nematode parasites of horses in Denmark. Sixteen horse farms were selected for faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests to measure the efficacy of the anthelmintic used. Resistance to benzimidazole anthelmintics was found on 13 of the 16 farms, with FECR values ranging from 80.0% to -101.3%. On the remaining 3 farms FECR was 100.0%, 99.3% and 97.2%. Results of a questionnaire study on anthelmintic usage, parasite control measures and management practices showed that horses in this study were treated on average...
Lucas Z, Raeside JI, Betteridge KJ.Field observations of 400 totally unmanaged feral horses on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, were complemented by oestrogen determinations in faecal samples from 154 identified females over a 4-year period (454 mare-years). Of mares that were sampled throughout the year and subsequently produced foals, 92.1% exhibited elevated faecal oestrogens between 15 October and 30 March. The results confirm that faecal oestrogens are a useful indicator of pregnancy after approximately 120 days gestation. Distribution of foaling resembled that seen in other feral populations, with 95% of births occurring from A...
Brocard P, Pfister K.Between March 1988 and December 1989, 198 gastrointestinal tracts from slaughtered horses from different areas of Switzerland have been analysed for the presence and the frequency of Gasterophilus spp. During the same period--always between July and November--200 horses from selected areas of Western Switzerland have been checked for the presence of eggs and their subsequent developmental stages in order to investigate further clinical and biological aspects of this infection. The evaluation has been performed according to origin, age, sex, colour of the horse and seasonal pattern of the cases...
Hierholzer JC, Stone YO, Broderson JR.Reference equine antisera to all 47 serotypes of human adenoviruses presently described have been prepared and evaluated by reciprocal neutralization and hemagglutination-inhibition tests. All tests were carried to endpoint dilutions a minimum of five times in each direction to give accurate values for homologous and heterologous antibody titers. Significant cross-reactions in the horse antisera were compared to similar data obtained from rabbit antisera. Using this analysis, major antigenic relationships exist among types 12-18-31 of subgenus A, types 7-11-14 and 34-35 of subgenus B, types 8-...
Angelos JA, Marti E, Lazary S, Carmichael LE.The DNA from equine sarcoid samples from New York State and Switzerland was isolated and probed with bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) to determine if BPV genomes were present. Twelve of 13 sarcoids from New York State and 17/20 sarcoids from Switzerland contained DNA that hybridized to the BPV-1 probe. Restriction enzyme analysis of the positive samples demonstrated restriction fragment profiles characteristic of BPV-1 in 22 sarcoids and restriction fragment profiles characteristic of bovine papillomavirus type 2 (BPV-2) in 7 sarcoids. In addition, three tissues histologically diagnosed as...
Uhlinger C.A herd of 15 mature riding horses with a history of anorexia, weight loss, and lethargy was examined. The animals had been fed a 50/50 mixture of commercial sweet feed and corn screenings contaminated with a heavy growth of Fusarium moniliforme. Thirteen of the horses had one or more neurologic signs. The most characteristic signs were profound depression and mild ataxia. Over the 19-day course of the epizootic, the horses had increasing severe neurologic deficits, including unilateral blindness and delirium. Despite the clinical appearance of dehydration, 12 horses had low PCV (16 to 27%), he...
Cope SE, Catts EP.Parahost behavior of adult Gasterophilus intestinalis (DeGeer) was observed during the summers of 1978 and 1979 near pastured horses on two farms near Newark, Del. Adult fly occurrence, although sparse in early summer, indicated a gradual increase, with three surges in emergence. In the laboratory, males lived 1-3 d and females 1-2 d. In the field, marked flies were not seen on days following their release. Adult behavior indicated an urgency in mating and oviposition dictated by a short life span. Male flight patterns were characterized by in-flight searches for females and intraspecific conf...
Prescott JF.Recent isolations of Rhodococcus equi from cavitatory pulmonary disease in patients with AIDS have aroused interest among medical microbiologists in this unusual organism. Earlier isolations from humans had also been in immunosuppressed patients following hemolymphatic tumors or renal transplantation. This organism has been recognized for many years as a cause of a serious pyogranulomatous pneumonia of young foals and is occasionally isolated from granulomatous lesions in several other species, in some cases following immunosuppression. The last decade has seen many advances in understanding o...
Dittmer H.Injuries are relatively rare in horse riding compared to other sports, but when they occur they are rather severe and dangerous: about 40% of the injured suffer from fractures, for instance and only 15% from sprains. About 20% have to be admitted to the hospital. Roughly 30% of the injuries involve the arm and 7.5%-10% the spine. The head is injured in 20%, the brain in 8% and the lower extremity in only about 20%. That means that the majority of injuries involve the upper half of the body. One quarter of all lethal sport injuries are caused by horse riding.
O'Rourke KI, Besola ML, McGuire TC.Proviral sequences in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 3 horses with acute equine infectious anemia virus were monitored using the polymerase chain reaction. Provirus was detected during the initial viremic episode in each horse and during each of 3 relapsing viremic cycles, although the appearance of provirus lagged behind the onset of viremia. Following each viremic episode, provirus levels in the peripheral monocytes decreased to less than 1 copy in 5 x 10(6) cells.
Tarello W.A report from England has suggested that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome exists in equines and constitutes an emerging veterinary problem. Preliminary epidemiological studies seem to confirm the zoonotic implications of CFS. An arsenical drug, sodium thiacetarsamide, was administered to four horses with a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), already treated unsuccessfully with different medications. The CFS-like lethargy, with accompanying symptoms and signs, of the four animals obtained a complete remission after intravenous treatment with this drug at low dosage (0.1 mg/kg/day). No adverse ...
Alemayehu MT, Abebe BK, Haile SM.Horses are used for a variety of purposes in Ethiopia. However, their service is hampered by a variety of health issues. Strongylosis is a parasitic infestation of the gastrointestinal tract that has a significant impact on the working ability, reproductive performance, well-being, and welfare of horses. The existence of Strongylosis in the study area is reported from clinical cases; however, its prevalence has not been well studied. Unassigned: The current study was carried out from January 2019 to July 2019, to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of Strongyle in horses in an...
Barquero N, Chanter N, Laxton R, Wood JL, Newton JR.The objective of this study was to characterise the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus zooepidemicus isolated from the respiratory tracts of 198 Thoroughbred racehorses based at three Newmarket training yards over a 10 month period. Typing utilised two separate PCR procedures targeting the M-like protein hypervariable and the 16S-23S RNA gene intergenic spacer regions of the bacterium. S. zooepidemicus, isolated from 23% (224/983) of study samples, comprised 24 different types of varying prevalence. The four most common types, A1HV4, A1HV2, C1HVu and D1HV1, accounted for 45% of all the ty...
Thompson D, Thirumalapura NR, Tewari D.To determine the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infections in Pennsylvania horses. 271 horses. A survey was conducted with PCR and serology to evaluate anaplasmosis and Lyme disease infections in horses from Pennsylvania that were suspected for tick-borne infection. A phagocytophilum was detected in 19/271 (7.0%) Pennsylvania horses tested by the duplex PCR. B burgdorferi was not detected in any horse blood tested by PCR. Overall, 120/271 (44.3%) horses tested positive for presence of A phagocytophilum antibodies by at least the IDEXX SNAP 4Dx Plus lateral flo...
Niwa H, Higuchi T, Fujii S, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Sueyoshi M, Nukada T, Ueno T.Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) is an equine infectious disease that can lead to severe weight loss and hyperplasia of the intestinal mucosa due to infection with Lawsonia intracellularis. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of EPE in a major Thoroughbred breeding area: Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 252 symptomatic horses that we tested, 192 EPE cases (76.2%), including 8 fatal cases, were confirmed from April 2015 to March 2020 by etiological and/or serological investigation. Most of the EPE cases were observed in foals (88.5%), with fewer cases in yearlings (7.3%)...
Spence KL, O'Sullivan TL, Poljak Z, Greer AL.On-farm biosecurity measures are an important part of a control plan to minimize the introduction and spread of infectious diseases, such as equine influenza, in an equine facility. It can be challenging, however, to evaluate the efficacy of biosecurity measures under field conditions. We used an agent-based computer simulation model to describe the impact of: i) preventive vaccination; ii) reduced horse-to-horse contact; and iii) a combination of vaccination and reduced contact during an outbreak of equine influenza in a simulated horse facility. The model demonstrated that the most effective...
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a neurological disease caused by Sarcocystis neurona. Immunofluorescence antibody tests (IFATs) have been widely used to identify exposure of horses to S. neurona in Brazil. Here we used IFAT to search for IgG antibodies against Sarcocystis falcatula-like (Dal-CG23) and S. neurona (SN138) in sera from 342 horses sampled in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul state (Midwestern), and São Paulo, São Paulo state (Southeastern), Brazil. The 1:25 cutoff value was chosen to maximize sensitivity of the test. IgG antibodies against S. neurona were detected in ...
Özçelik R, Remy-Wohlfender F, Küker S, Visschers V, Hadorn D, Dürr S.Animal owners' potential to observe and report clinical signs, as the persons with the closest contact to their animals, is an often neglected source of information in surveillance. Allowing community members other than health care professionals, such as animal owners, to report health events can contribute to close current surveillance gaps and enhance early detection. In the present study, we tested a community-based surveillance (CBS) approach in the equine community in Switzerland. We aimed at revealing the attitudes and intentions of equine owners toward reporting clinical signs by making...
Brito G, Damián JP, Suárez G, Ruprechter G, Trigo P.RHU is the oldest endurance sport in Uruguay. However, despite 80 years of racing, there are no studies to characterize this type of competition, explore rates and causes of death, and identify the associated risk factors. The aim was to characterize the Raid Hipico Uruguayo (RHU) competencies according to the distance (short (SR, 60 km) vs. long (LR, 80-115 km)), the causes of deaths, and the associated risk factors. The study population comprised horses ( = 16,856) that participated in RHU rides from 2007 to 2018. LR were more frequent than SR ( < 0.001). The average speed of winners was ...
Blazyczek I, Hamann H, Ohnesorge B, Deegen E, Distl O.The objective of the present study was to analyse the importance of the influences of sex, inbreeding coefficient, proportion of genes of the original breeds and the additive genetic contribution to the occurrence of guttural pouch tympany in foals belonging to German Warmblood breeds. Foals affected by guttural pouch tympany were ascertained in the Clinic of Horses, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. This data set comprised 22 German Warmblood foals with guttural pouch tympany, which were patients of the Clinic for Horses between 1994 and 2001. Information on the pedigrees and all availa...
Mure S, Oishi K, Hirooka H.The objective of the present study was to develop a deterministic simulation model for evaluating the reproductive performance of Thoroughbred mares. As an application, the model was used to estimate the herd level asymptotic foaling percentage (AFP) for evaluating the performance of mares in stabilized mare herds using the convergent method for estimating a steady-state distribution of mares. In this model, it was assumed that the mares were mated only during the breeding season. The effects of early pregnancy loss and fetal loss on reproductive performance were investigated. The sensitivitie...
Ross WA, Kaneene JB, Gardiner JC.To evaluate the associations of operation and individual animal-level risk factors with occurrence of lameness in the Michigan horse population. Methods: 3,925 horses monitored from 138 randomly selected Michigan operations for a total of 814,753 horse-days. Methods: All horses monitored < 60 days were eliminated from the source population. From the remaining horses, a prospective unmatched case-control study population was generated that included all cases and a random sample of noncases. Analysis of risk factors associated with occurrence of lameness was conducted, using Cox's propor...
Tuorinsky EV, Machtinger ET.House flies can have negative consequences on the welfare of horses and other equids. Fly repellents in the form of on-animal sprays, wipes, or spot-ons are the most commonly used fly control method for horses. Many products are available, but repellent efficacy and duration of effectiveness may influence repellent choice by horse owners. A better understanding of the efficacy of common fly repellent products will help guide repellent selection to reduce fly pressure on horses. To evaluate commercially available repellents, house fly behavioral inhibition after application of three products ma...
Belotta AF, Mayer MN, Waldner CL, Robinson K, Sidhu N, Carmalt J, Bell CD, Koehncke NK.The objective of this study was to report observed radiation safety practices among equine workers using portable X-ray units at 3 veterinary practices in Canada. Practice 1 was comprised of equine field service workers from an academic institution, whereas Practices 2 and 3 were comprised of workers from private equine referral practices. Out of 2969 exposure-worker observations, protective aprons were worn for > 99% (2968/2969), thyroid shields for 87% (2584/2969), and eyeglasses for 10% (310/2969). The cassette was held by hand for 97% (1078/1114) of observations, and the X-ray unit was ...
Pusterla N, Naranatt P, Swadia H, Winfield L, Hartwig A, Barnum S, Mendonsa E.The introduction of microfluidic card technology has opened the field for rapid point-of-care (POC) molecular assays, including fecal and environmental Salmonella spp. testing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel POC PCR assay for the detection of Salmonella spp. in feces and environmental samples. A total of 143 fecal samples and 132 environmental samples were collected for POC PCR Salmonella spp. testing as well as qPCR testing. Each sample was inoculated into selenite broth and incubated for 18 to 24 hours. For the POC PCR assay, 14 μl of selenite broth were mixed with 126 μ...
Sellon DC, Sanz M, Kopper JJ.Little is known about the acquisition and use of equine analgesic drugs by horse owners in the United States (US). Objective: To determine factors associated with possession of analgesic drugs by horse owners in the US or with analgesic drug acquisition from sources noncompliant with a valid veterinarian-client-patient (VCPR) relationship. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: An internet-based questionnaire included items related to experiences with horses and equine analgesic drugs. Factors associated with possession of ≥5 types of analgesic drugs and with the acquisition of drugs from...
Scott GR.Twelve DNA viruses and forty‐three RNA viruses are known to infect horses. In addition, there are three unclassified viruses and, at least, three alleged viruses infecting horses. Differential diagnosis is difficult. At least twenty‐eight of the fifty‐eight viruses induce clinical disease but the range of syndromes is limited; eleven provoke respiratory symptoms and eleven cause encephalitis. Thirty‐four equine viruses with a limited geographical distribution are transmitted by arthropod vectors. Twenty viruses are spread by contact and their distribution, in general, is global. The ve...
Cappelli A, Capone A, Valzano M, Bozic J, Preziuso S, Mensah P, Varotto Boccazzi I, Rinaldi L, Favia G, Ricci I.Tick-borne diseases are an increasing problem for the community. Ticks harbor a complex microbial population acquired while feeding on a variety of animals. Profiling the bacterial population by 16S rDNA amplification and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis enables detection of the broad spectrum of bacteria that settles in the ticks. This study identified known and unknown tick-infecting bacteria in samples from Italy. Seven adult ticks from different hosts and origins were analyzed: two ticks from dogs (Lombardia), two ticks from bovines (Lazio), and three ticks from humans (Marche). ...
Mathes RL, Burdette EL, Moore PA, Myrna KE.To report concurrent clinical intraocular findings in horses with depigmented punctate chorioretinal foci and to document any correlation with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). Methods: Records of 131 horses (241 eyes) examined at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching hospital from 2001 to 2010 were reviewed with either clinically normal fundi or depigmented punctate chorioretinal foci in the absence of other fundic pathology. Data collected included patient signalment, concurrent clinical ocular findings and follow-up information. Sex, presence of no other intraocular findings, presence...
Sweeney CR, Scanlon T, Russell GE, Smith G, Boston RC.To determine application rate and effectiveness of sodium bisulfate to decrease the fly population in a horse barn environment. Methods: 12 privately owned farms in southeastern Pennsylvania. Methods: Application rates of sodium bisulfate were approximately 2.3 kg/stall, 1.1 kg/stall, and 0.5 kg/stall. Two or 3 stalls were treated, and 1 or 2 stalls were not treated (control stalls) at each farm. Farm personnel applied sodium bisulfate in treated stalls daily for 7 days. Fly tapes were hung from the same site in treated and control stalls. After 24 hours, the fly tape was removed, flies adheri...
Rohrbach BW, Green EM, Oliver JW, Schneider JF.Loline and ergot alkaloids found in endophyte-infected (Acremonium coenophialum) tall fescue (EITF) cause vasoconstriction of equine vessels in vitro. An aggregate risk study was used to evaluate the association between horses exposed to EITF and development of laminitis. Veterinary teaching hospitals participating in the Veterinary Medical Data Base were grouped by whether equine accessions were likely to have been at high, moderate, or low risk for exposure to EITF. From 1980-1990, there were 185,781 accessions, of which 5,536 had diagnosis of laminitis. Proportion of equine accessions with ...
Ellenberger C, Schüppel KF, Möhring M, Reischauer A, Alex M, Czerny CP, Fercho A, Schoon HA.Cowpox virus infection associated with a streptococcal septicaemia was diagnosed in a weak German Warmblood filly, born 29 days prematurely, and humanely destroyed on the sixth day of life. At necropsy, ulcerative lesions in the alimentary tract, colitis, polyarthritis and nephritis were observed. Transmission electron microscopical examination of specimens from ulcerative lesions revealed typical orthopox virions. Cowpox virus was unequivocally identified by virological and molecular-biological methods.
Yamanaka T, Tsujimura K, Kondo T, Matsumura T.To investigate the possibilities of two NA inhibitors [oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) and zanamivir (ZA)] as the clinical agents for equine influenza A virus (EIV) infection, we examined the efficacies of these inhibitors against twelve EIVs in vitro. OC and ZA inhibited NA activities of all EIVs with 50% inhibitory concentrations with ranging from 0.017 to 0.130 and from 0.010 to 0.074 microM, respectively. OC and ZA inhibited plaque-forming of all EIVs in MDCK cells with 50% effective concentrations with ranging from 0.015 to 0.097 and from 0.016 to 0.089 microM, respectively, except for one s...
Ohta M, Bannai H, Nemoto M, Kambayashi Y, Tamura N, Tsujimura K.An inactivated equine influenza virus (EIV) vaccine and a live equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) vaccine are usually administered concurrently to Thoroughbred racehorses in Japan. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether concurrent administration of an inactivated EIV vaccine and a live EHV-1 vaccine in Thoroughbred racehorses influences the antibody response against EIV. We compared the antibody response against EIV in horses administered both vaccines on the same day (Group A; n = 27) and the response in horses administered an inactivated EIV vaccine first and then a live EHV-1 v...
Sconza S, Di Cesare A, Iorio R, Bartolini R, Paoletti B, Traversa D.Cyathostomins, or 'small strongyles', are the most important equine helminths because of their worldwide distribution, spread of anthelmintic‑resistant populations, and pathogenic impact. The so‑called 'selective treatment' of those animals exceeding a certain faecal egg count (FEC) has recently been proposed to implement cyathostomin control programmes. The present study evaluated the extent of egg shedding in 475 horses living in 12 farms from 3 regions of Italy. All examined farms and 224 horses (47.6%...
Bell RJ, Textor JA.To establish the prevalence of intussusceptions involving the caecum in a population of horses admitted to a university hospital for colic. Methods: Retrospective clinical study Methods: Medical records of all horses admitted to the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 1991 and 2004 were examined for information of those horses diagnosed with an intussusception involving the caecum. Results: A total of 135 horses were admitted for colic surgery during the study period and 61 horses had a diagnosis of ileocaecal (37), caecocaecal (5) or caecocolic intussusception (19) made eit...
Obi TU, Taylor WP.Serum samples collected from 1,197 goats, 586 sheep, 254, cattle, 55 dogs and 44 horses were examined for antibodies to adenovirus by the agar-gel precipitation test. Results show that 17.7% of the goats, 18.4% of the sheep, 4.3% of the cattle, and 4.5% of the horses had precipitating antibodies. None of the dog sera examined was positive. The results seem to indicate a moderate level of previous exposure to adenovirus infection especially among goats and sheep in Nigeria.
English AW.The seasonal changes in longevity on herbage of the infective larvae of strongylid nematodes of the horse were studied. During the summer months, 1% of the larvae survived on herbage for 2-3 weeks, with 0.2% still viable for a further 2-3 weeks. Equivalent survival periods in winter were 7-11 weeks and over 11 weeks respectively. During spring and autumn, larvae survived for periods varying from 3-8 weeks. On Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) growing vigorously in the summer of 1976, the majority of larvae remained in the lowest layers of the pasture, within 10 cm of the soil surface. Very few rea...
Bolin DC, Donahue JM, Vickers ML, Harrison L, Sells S, Giles RC, Hong CB, Poonacha KB, Roberts J, Sebastian MM, Swerczek TW, Tramontin R, Williams NM.During the spring and summer of 2001 and in association with the mare reproductive loss syndrome, 22 terminal and 12 clinical cases of equine pericarditis were diagnosed in central Kentucky. Actinobacillus species were the principal isolates from 8 of 10 nontreated, terminally affected and 3 of 10 clinically affected horses. Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus zooepidemicus were cultured from the remaining 2 nontreated terminal cases. No viruses were isolated in tissue culture. Nucleic acid of equine herpesvirus-2 was detected in pericardial and tracheal wash fluids of 3 and 1 individuals,...
Neill SD, O'Brien JJ, McMurray CH, Blanchflower WJ.Cellular fatty acid compositions of contagious equine metritis isolates and three reference Haemophilus equigenitalis cultures were determined by gas chromatography. The chromatographic data were standardised and normalised fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were produced. The profiles were compared visually and similarity indices were determined using a computer peak matching method. There was little difference between the profiles of the three reference strains, each strain being characterised by three major fatty acids; C 18:1, C 16:0 and 30H-C 14:0. Variations in cultural conditions h...
