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.
Sodré DNA, Rossi GAM, Mathias LA, de Andrade Belo MA.Rabies is a fatal neglected tropical zoonosis, and its significance for domestic herbivores in the rural cycle is probably associated with rainforest deforestation, livestock, and agricultural expansion. This epidemiological survey aimed to study the occurrence of rabies in bovines and equines in the state of Rondônia, located in the Brazilian's Legal Amazon, between the years 2002 and 2021, correlating these findings with the prophylactic strategies adopted by the local sanitary agency for rabies control. During this period, 201 cases were observed in bovines and 23 in equines. A downward tr...
Wasik BR, Rothschild E, Voorhees IEH, Reedy SE, Murcia PR, Pusterla N, Chambers TM, Goodman LB, Holmes EC, Kile JC, Parrish CR.Cross-species virus transmission events can lead to dire public health emergencies in the form of epidemics and pandemics. One example in animals is the emergence of the H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV), first isolated in 1963 in Miami, FL, USA, after emerging among horses in South America. In the early 21st century, the American lineage of EIV diverged into two 'Florida' clades that persist today, while an EIV transferred to dogs around 1999 and gave rise to the H3N8 canine influenza virus (CIV), first reported in 2004. Here, we compare CIV in dogs and EIV in horses to reveal their host-spec...
Abbas G, Ghafar A, Bauquier J, Beasley A, Ling E, Gauci CG, El-Hage C, Wilkes EJA, McConnell E, Carrigan P, Cudmore L, Hurley J, Beveridge I....The study presents the results of a cross-sectional survey to describe the epidemiology of ascarid and strongylid nematodes in horses, the impact of diverse climatic conditions on parasite diversity and the levels of faecal egg shedding in different age groups of managed Thoroughbred horses. Individual faecal samples (n = 1377) collected from 62 Thoroughbred farms across four climatic zones in Australia were analysed using the modified McMaster technique for faecal egg counts (FECs) and strongylid nematodes were identified utilising PCR-directed next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the second...
Chien RC, Mingqun L, Yan Q, Randolph N, Huang W, Wellman M, Toribio R, Rikihisa Y.The tick-borne obligatory intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum infects humans as well as domesticated and wild animals, causing a febrile disease collectively called granulocytic anaplasmosis. The epidemiology and the host species specificity and zoonotic potential of A. phagocytophilum strains remain unclear. In this study, ankA (encoding ankyrin A) and p44 gene sequences of A. phagocytophilum were determined in clinical specimens from horses in Ohio and compared with those found in A. phagocytophilum strains from various hosts and geographic regions. With increasing numbers of s...
Dos Santos CEP, Loreto ES, Zanette RA, Santurio JM, Marques LC.Horse pythiosis is considered an endemic disease in the Brazilian Pantanal region, causing devastating health and economic losses. This study aimed to enhance the understanding of pythiosis epidemiology, map the distribution of horse body lesions, and investigate the correlation between these lesions and warm body surface areas, potentially implicating hematophagous vectors in the disease's transmission. A prospective study was conducted on equids in the Pantanal Mato-grossense and adjacent areas from 2012 to 2022, with 112 horses and three mules diagnosed with pythiosis. Clinical and epidemio...
Martineau M, Kokabi E, Taiebi A, Lefebvre S, Pradier S, Jaÿ M, Tardy F, Leon A.Mycoplasmas are pathogens involved in respiratory disorders of various animal hosts. In horses, Mycoplasma (M.) equirhinis is the species most frequently detected in clinical respiratory specimens, with a prevalence of 12-16%, but its clinical implication in equine respiratory disorders remains unclear. Here we screened 1948 clinical specimens for the presence of M. equirhinis. The samples were both tracheal washes (TW) and bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) collected by veterinarians in France in day-to-day work between 2020 and 2022. The samples were associated with a standardized form that serve...
Díaz EA, Arroyo G, Sáenz C, Mena L, Barragán V.Leptospirosis is considered a neglected tropical zoonosis in low-income countries due to surveillance system limitations and non-specificity of symptoms. Humans become infected through direct contact with carrier animals or indirectly through Leptospira-contaminated environments. Conventionally, equines have been considered an uncommon source of leptospirosis, but recent publications in Latin America suggest that their role in the maintenance and dispersion of the bacteria could be more relevant than expected, as horses are susceptible to a wide variety of zoonotic Leptospira spp. from domesti...
Caballero-Gómez J, Rivero-Juárez A, Cano-Terriza D, Fajardo T, Buono F, Jose-Cunilleras E, García J, Alguacil E, Rivero A, García-Bocanegra I. (HEV) is an important emerging zoonotic virus in Europe. Although domestic pigs and wild boar are the main reservoirs of this pathogen, susceptibility to this virus has been confirmed in a growing number of animal species, including equines. However, their role in the epidemiology of this virus remains poorly understood. Our aim was to assess HEV circulation and identify potential risk factors associated with exposure in equid species in different European countries. A total of 596 equines, including 496 horses, 63 donkeys and 37 mules/hinnies bred in four European countries (Spain, Italy, Un...
Magallanes S, Llorente F, Ruiz-López MJ, Martínez-de la Puente J, Soriguer R, Calderon J, Jímenez-Clavero MÁ, Aguilera-Sepúlveda P, Figuerola J.West Nile virus (WNV) is a re-emerging zoonotic pathogen with increasing incidence in Europe, producing a recent outbreak in 2020 in Spain with 77 human cases and eight fatalities. However, the factors explaining the observed changes in the incidence of WNV in Europe are not completely understood. Longitudinal monitoring of WNV in wild animals across Europe is a useful approach to understand the eco-epidemiology of WNV in the wild and the risk of spillover into humans. However, such studies are very scarce up to now. Here, we analysed the occurrence of WNV and Usutu virus (USUV) antibodies in ...
Abnaroodheleh F, Mosavari N, Pourbakhsh SA, Tadayon K, Jamshidian M.Burkholderia mallei is the main cause of glanders as a dangerous contagious zoonosis disease that is mostly observed in single-hoofed animals, especially horses. Modern molecular techniques have been recently employed to improve epidemiology for identifying and searching for strains of this bacterium at different times and locations. Due to the unknown number of circulating strains and lack of preventive methods, glanders is still observed in the form of epidemics. The present study aimed to evaluate six field isolates plus two laboratory strains of Borkolderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudoma...
Asghari A, Yousefi A, Mohammadi MR, Badali R, Shamsi L, Köseoğlu AE, Abbaszadeh A, Shams M, Mohammadi-Ghalehbin B.A total of 500 fecal samples were collected from Equus animals in six different cities (Ardabil, Namin, Nir, Meshginshahr, Germi, and Khalkhal) of Ardabil Province, northwestern Iran, with 200 samples from horses, 200 from donkeys, and 100 from mules. Of the horse samples, 100 were from racing horses under special monitoring and care, while the remaining 100 were from non-racing horses, including those used for herding or in rural areas. All fecal samples were examined for the presence of Blastocystis sp. using PCR amplification of the SSU rRNA gene's barcode region after DNA extraction. The m...
Neville EK, Hicks H, Neville CC.Horses are used for many recreational and occupational activities. They are large, strong, temperamental, and unpredictable animals and people involved with them are at risk for injuries, from minor abrasions to severe injuries that may lead to death. This review reports on horse trauma in relation to the characteristics of injured equestrians, characteristics of horse trauma, and clinical outcomes. Methods: A literature search was conducted from health-related electronic databases to identify studies from 2018 to 2023. The search returned 115 relevant full-text articles but after screening an...
Tinkler SH, Villa L, Manfredi MT, Walshe N, Jahns H.This is the first report of Besnoitia bennetti in donkeys in Ireland. B. bennetti, an apicomplexan protozoan parasite specific to equids, is an emerging pathogen in Europe. This parasite forms chronic intracytoplasmic cysts in cells of the mesenchymal lineage, mainly fibroblasts, in the skin, sclera and mucosa. Clinical signs in affected equine hosts vary from mild to severe debilitating disease. Little is known of the phylogeny, epidemiology or transmission of B. bennetti infection in donkeys, mules or horses. Methods: Two cases of besnoitiosis in donkeys are presented. Both donkeys were born...
Otgonsuren D, Amgalanbaatar T, Narantsatsral S, Enkhtaivan B, Munkhgerel D, Zoljargal M, Davkharbayar B, Myagmarsuren P, Battur B, Battsetseg B....Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses. Because of its impact on horse industry, control of this disease is crucial for endemic countries. The control of equine piroplasmosis may be influenced by the genotypic diversity of T. equi and B. caballi. Mongolia, a country with a thriving livestock industry, is endemic for T. equi and B. caballi. However, nationwide epidemiological surveys have not been conducted to determine the current status of infections and genetic diversity of these two parasite species. Therefore, the objective of th...
Byrne O, Gangotia D, Crowley J, Zintl A, Kiser L, Boxall O, McSweeney D, O'Neill F, Dunne S, Lamb BR, Walshe N, Mulcahy G.Cyathostomins are globally important equine parasites, responsible for both chronic and acute pathogenic effects. The occurrence of mixed infections with numerous cyathostomin species hinders our understanding of parasite epidemiology, host-parasite dynamics, and species pathogenicity. There have been few studies of cyathostomin species occurring in horses in Ireland, where temperate climatic conditions with year-round rainfall provide suitable conditions for infection of grazing animals with bursate nematodes. Here, we amplified and sequenced the ITS-2 region of adult worms harvested at post-...
Gearhart MA, Webb PA, Knight AP, Salman MD, Smith JA, Erickson GA.Two doses of a formalin-killed, cell culture-derived vesicular stomatitis virus (vsv)-New Jersey serotype vaccine were administered intramuscularly, 30 days apart, to all lactating and nonlactating cows in a 350-cow dairy herd. Serum specimens were obtained serially from 96 cows before vaccination and at 30, 52 and 80 days after vaccination and from 24 of these cows 175 days after vaccination. Serum neutralizing antibody titers to vsv-New Jersey serotype were determined from serum-dilution, plaque-reduction tests. Serum neutralizing antibody titers also were determined during the same period f...
Zhang Y, Liu J, Zhang K, Wang A, Sailikebieke D, Zhang Z, Ao T, Yan L, Zhang D, Li K, Huang H.Reintroduction represents an effective strategy for the conservation of endangered wildlife, yet it might inadvertently impact the native ecosystems. This investigation assesses the impact of reintroducing endangered Przewalski's horses into the desert grassland ecosystem of the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (KNR), particularly its effect on the spatial distribution of ticks. In a 25 km core area of Przewalski's horse distribution, we set up 441 tick sampling sites across diverse habitats, including water sources, donkey trails, and grasslands, recording horse feces and characteristics to analyze t...
Mekata H, Yamada K, Umeki K, Yamamoto M, Ochi A, Umekita K, Kobayashi I, Hirai T, Okabayashi T.Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a fatal zoonosis caused by ticks in East Asia. As SFTS virus (SFTSV) is maintained between wildlife and ticks, seroepidemiological studies in wildlife are important to understand the behavior of SFTSV in the environment. Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, is an SFTS-endemic area, and approximately 100 feral horses, called Misaki horses (Equus caballus), inhabit Cape Toi in Miyazaki Prefecture. While these animals are managed in a wild-like manner, their ages are ascertainable due to individual identification. In the present study, we conducted a s...
Smarsh DN, Kenny LB, Spindler M, Poh KC, Machtinger ET.There is limited data on current knowledge of Pennsylvania horse caretakers on tick-borne diseases (TBDs), tick identification, and tick management practices. This study aimed to determine tick knowledge, concern, and management among Pennsylvania equine caretakers using an online survey. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA tests were used to analyze data. The survey received 894 responses (539 completed) from Pennsylvania equine owners and caretakers. The largest proportion of respondents cared for 3-5 horses (31%), followed by 2 horses (27%). Veterinarian-confirmed diagnosis rates of tw...
Houben RMAC, Newton JR, van Maanen C, Waller AS, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Heesterbeek JAP.Strangles, a disease caused by infection with Streptococccus equi subspecies equi (S. equi), is endemic worldwide and one of the most frequently diagnosed infectious diseases of horses. Recent work has improved our knowledge of key parameters of transmission dynamics, but important knowledge gaps remain. Our aim was to apply mathematical modelling of S. equi transmission dynamics to prioritise future research areas, and add precision to estimates of transmission parameters thereby improving understanding of S. equi epidemiology and quantifying the control effort required. A compartmental deter...
Ramos-Vázquez JR, Sánchez-Montes S, Esparza-González SC, Romero-Salas D, Pardio-Sedas V, Estrada-Coates AT, Alva-Trujillo M, Ballados-González GG....Leptospirosis is an infectious disease with a worldwide distribution, which represents a major challenge in animal production across developing countries, mainly in tropical areas. Horses are particularly susceptible to the disease, presenting manifestations ranging from subclinical to the development of uveitis that compromises the visual health of the animals. In recent years, serological studies have been carried out in equid populations from America, demonstrating high exposure. For this reason, the aim of this study was to demonstrate microbiologically and molecularly the presence of the ...
Merridale-Punter MS, Wiethoelter AK, El-Hage CM, Patrick C, Hitchens PL.Despite several millions of working equids worldwide, there are few published studies regarding the epidemiology of their health and welfare. Data collected by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in the working equid sphere therefore have important epidemiological value and could be used towards animal health surveillance. The aim of this study was to identify common clinical findings and mortality patterns of working equids in low- and middle-income countries and investigate their epidemiology using data collected from an international NGO. A retrospective analysis was conducted t...
Fikri F, Hendrawan D, Wicaksono AP, Purnomo A, Khairani S, Chhetri S, Purnama MTE, Çalışkan H.Colic is the primary problem affecting equestrian care worldwide. The primary cause of colic is digestive diseases; however, they can also affect organs from different systems in the abdominal region. In addition to a prior history of the disease and its treatment, risk factors may be assessed to determine the etiology of the disease in horses without or with a history of colic. This study aimed to present a summary of the incidence, risk factors, and medical procedures for colic in horses. Unassigned: Based on owner reports, 223 horses in Tuban, Indonesia, suspected of having colic were inves...
Busechian S, Bindi F, Orvieto S, Zappulla F, Marchesi MC, Nisi I, Rueca F.Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD) are two terms used to indicate the presence of lesions of the squamous and glandular mucosa of the stomach. Prevalences, pathophysiology, and risk factors are different, and the latter have been investigated in different populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of ESGD and EGGD in a cohort of pleasure, breeding, and retired horses in Italy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate such a diverse population of animals and the first one that inc...
Germann JA, O'Sullivan TL, Greer AL, Spence KL.Disease outbreaks present a significant challenge to horse health and welfare and the economic stability of horse industries internationally. This is a particular concern in Ontario, Canada, where there have been frequent outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases among horses. Despite these risks, there has been limited research on whether Ontario horse owners engage in biosecurity measures sufficient to mitigate risk of equine diseases, and whether current events such as the COVID-19 pandemic influence attitudes towards equine biosecurity practices. Objective: To explore Ontario horse owne...
Kapusniak A, Nath L, Hebart M, Franklin S.Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is an important cause of exercise-associated fatalities in Thoroughbred racehorses. Equine deaths share similarities with fatalities in human athletes that result from inherited cardiac disease. Whilst genetic causes have been postulated in horses, these have not been confirmed and heritability of SCD has not previously been estimated in Thoroughbred racehorses. Objective: To determine the heritability of SCD in a sample population of Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Steward and post-mortem reports of Thoroughbred racehorse...
An Q, Li Y, Sun Z, Gao X, Wang H.Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) is a vector-borne persistent viral infection in equine animals. The EIA is characterized by recurrent fever, thrombocytopenia, depression, anemia, rapid weight loss, and lower body edema. Control of EIA is achieved through the elimination or isolation of infected animals, resulting in significant economic losses. In recent years, many countries in Europe have experienced outbreaks of EIA, which could potentially develop into a new wave of epidemic and pose a significant threat to the healthy development of the equine industry. This study utilized spatiotemporal a...
Elghryani N, Lawlor A, McOwan T, de Waal T.Over the preceding decades, the widespread dependence on anthelmintic drugs for managing nematodes in grazing equids has given rise to resistance against commonly used anthelmintics in various countries. This study explores the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance across 44 horse farms in Ireland. Anthelmintic efficacy was evaluated through fecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests employing the mini-FLOTAC technique. Resistance to benzimidazoles was identified in 12 out of 14 farms (FECR range: 0.00% to 86.2%). Ivermectin resistance was observed on two farms, one with an FECR of 80.70% and anot...
Shams F, Jokar M, Abdous A, Mohammadi P, Abbassioun A, Seuberlich T, Rahmanian V.Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are two closely related protozoan parasites that are widely distributed throughout the world. Horses can act as intermediate hosts for both parasites and can acquire disease. Blood samples were taken from 487 clinically healthy horses from 17 different mechanized stables in Tehran, the capital of Iran, during September and November of 2022. IFAT and ELISA were employed to detect antibodies directed against Neospora spp. and T. gondii. The anti-N. caninum antibodies were detected in 52 of the horses (10.67%) based on IFAT and in 86 of the 487 horses (17.65%) ...
White NA, Flynn K.The purpose of the study was to assess the challenges faced by state animal health officials (SAHOs) when managing equine disease outbreaks. Methods: A survey was conducted to assess SAHOs' collaboration with horse owners and practicing veterinarians to provide biosecurity and infection disease control. It was sent to 180 email addresses listed in the Equine Disease Communication Center website database. The responses in each category for each question were tabulated and reported as a percentage. Results: There were 72 survey responses from 45 states. The number of states responding suggested ...
