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.
Lopes KFC, Delai RM, Fazoli KGZ, Rey LMR, Lopes-Mori FMR, Benitez ADN, Borges Neto A, Bernardes JC, Caldart ET, Mitsuka-Breganó R, Navarro IT....The presence of DNA and anti- spp. antibodies in the serum of 112 healthy horses was investigated by evaluating the physical examination, from a rural society located in the north central region of Paraná. The antigens of , , and were used to perform the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, where it was possible to detect the reaction in 27.67% of the samples. These were also subjected to the real-time quantitative PCR, which confirmed the presence of spp. DNA in 67.34% of the tested samples. The results show that the tested animals were previously exposed to the protozoan. Thus, the...
Toh X, Wang Y, Rajapakse MP, Lee B, Songkasupa T, Suwankitwat N, Kamlangdee A, Judith Fernandez C, Huangfu T.African horse sickness (AHS) is a highly infectious and deadly disease despite availability of vaccines. Molecular characterization of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) detected from the March 2020 Thailand outbreak was carried out by whole-genome sequencing using Nanopore with a Sequence-Independent Single Primer Amplification (SISPA) approach. Nucleotide sequence of the whole genome was compared with closest matching AHSV strains using phylogenetic analyses and the AHSV-1 virus shared high sequence identity with isolates from the same outbreak. Substitution analysis revealed non-synonymous...
Lee S, Baker ME, Clinton M, Taylor SE.Despite many recent advances in imaging and epidemiological data analysis, musculoskeletal injuries continue to be a welfare issue in racehorses. Peptide biomarker studies have failed to consistently predict bone injury. Molecular profiling studies provide an opportunity to study equine musculoskeletal disease. A systematic review of the literature was performed using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines to assess the use of miRNA profiling studies in equine and human musculoskeletal injuries. Data were extracted from 40 papers betw...
Badenhorst M, de Heus P, Auer A, Tegtmeyer B, Stang A, Dimmel K, Tichy A, Kubacki J, Bachofen C, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JMV.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) research is in its infancy. Information regarding prevalence, geographical distribution, genetic diversity, pathogenesis and risk factors enhances understanding of this potentially fatal infection. Objective: Determining the prevalence of EqPV-H in Austrian equids. Investigating factors increasing probability of infection, liver-associated biochemistry parameters, concurrent equine hepacivirus (EqHV) infection and phylogenetic analysis of Austrian EqPV-H variants. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Sera from 259 horses and 13 donkeys in Austria were a...
Yu F, Liu B, Chen S, Yi Z, Liu X, Zhu Y, Li J.A 5-year-old Mongolian mare (Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758) was observed to have corneal opacity and excessive ocular discharge. An ophthalmic examination revealed a moving thread-like cylindrical worm in the anterior chamber of the right eye. The parasite was successfully removed surgically. The worm was observed under light microscopy and confirmed as Setaria digitata by 12S rRNA gene amplification and sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated similarity with Setaria digitata in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank database isolated from other Asian countries...
Redmond EF, Jones D, Rushton J.African horse sickness (AHS) is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa posing a threat to equine populations in non-endemic regions. Available vaccine technologies have limitations, creating barriers to horse movement, AHS control and, in non-endemic areas or countries, rapid elimination of virus after incursion. The literature lacks an economic assessment of the benefits of bringing a new, more effective AHS vaccine to market. Objective: The study assesses the economic impact of AHS and tests the hypothesis that investment in a safer, more effective AHS vaccine would give an economic return. Methods: ...
Crawford KL, Finnane A, Greer RM, Phillips CJC, Bishop EL, Woldeyohannes SM, Perkins NR, Ahern BJ.Worldwide, musculoskeletal injuries remain a major problem for the Thoroughbred racing industry. There is a strong interest in developing training and management strategies to reduce the impact of musculoskeletal injuries, however, progress has been limited by studies reporting conflicting findings, and a limited understanding of the role of different training methods in preventing injury. There is little data on patterns of rest periods and exercise data and how these vary between trainers. This prospective study of two-year-old racehorses was conducted in Queensland, Australia and involved w...
Björnström A, Blomström AL, Singh MC, Hesson JC.A number of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes are well known to cause disease in both humans and horses, ranging from mild fevers to mortal neurological disease. A recently discovered connection between the alphavirus Sindbis virus (SINV) and neurological disease in horses in South Africa initiated this serological study in northern Europe, where the same genotype of SINV (SINV-I) is also highly endemic. We tested 171 serum samples, originally obtained from horses for other reasons from April to October 2019, for presence of SINV neutralising antibodies using a plaque reduction neutralisation ...
Reshadi P, Heydari F, Ghanbarpour R, Bagheri M, Jajarmi M, Amiri M, Alizade H, Badouei MA, Sahraei S, Adib N.Transmission of antimicrobial resistant and virulent Escherichia coli (E. coli) from animal to human has been considered as a public health concern. This study aimed to determine the phylogenetic background and prevalence of diarrheagenic E. coli and antimicrobial resistance in healthy riding-horses in Iran. In this research, the genes related to six main pathotypes of E. coli were screened. Also, genotypic and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance against commonly used antibiotics were studied, then phylo-grouping was performed on all the isolates. Results: Out of 65 analyzed isolates, 29.23â€...
Bernardino P, James K, Barnum S, Corbin R, Wademan C, Pusterla N.Equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV) has been given little attention by practitioners compared to other respiratory viruses, mainly because of the lack of diagnostic modalities and association with clinical disease. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of detection of ERBV in nasal secretions from 6568 horses with acute onset of respiratory signs. ERBV-positive qPCR results from nasal secretions submitted to a molecular diagnostic laboratory from 2013 to 2019 were reviewed. A total of 333 ERBV qPCR-positive samples (5.1%) were detected with increasing yearly frequency since the ...
Adams RJ, Mollenkopf DF, Mathys DA, Whittle A, Ballash GA, Mudge M, Daniels JB, Barr B, Wittum TE.To estimate the prevalence of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-, carbapenem-, and fluoroquinolone-resistant bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae in the feces of hospitalized horses and on hospital surfaces. Methods: Fecal and environmental samples were collected from The Ohio State University Galbreath Equine Center (OSUGEC) and a private referral equine hospital in Kentucky (KYEH). Feces were sampled within 24 hours after hospital admission and after 48 hours and 3 to 7 days of hospitalization. Methods: Fecal and environmental samples were enriched, and then selective media were inoculate...
Mathewos M, Fesseha H, Yirgalem M.Gastrointestinal helminth parasite infection is a major influencing factor against the profitability of working equines all over the world. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hosaena district to investigate the prevalence and the potential risk factors of strongyle infection. To address this, 384 equines; donkeys (n = 208), and horses (n = 176) were randomly selected for the coprological examination to identify strongyle eggs using the floatation technique. Results: The study revealed that the overall prevalence of strongyle infection in the Hosaena district was 54.2% and...
Schvartz G, Tirosh-Levy S, Barnum S, David D, Sol A, Pusterla N, Steinman A.Equine coronavirus (ECoV) infection is the cause of an emerging enteric disease of adult horses. Outbreaks have been reported in the USA, EU and Japan, as well as sporadic cases in the UK and Saudi Arabia. Infection of ECoV in horses in Israel has never been reported, and the risk of exposure is unknown. Importation and exportation of horses from and into Israel may have increased the exposure of horses in Israel to ECoV. While the disease is mostly self-limiting, with or without supportive treatment, severe complications may occur in some animals, and healthy carriers may pose a risk of infec...
De Lange L, Vera L, Decloedt A, Van Steenkiste G, Vernemmen I, van Loon G.Ventricular septal defects (VSDs) are the most common congenital cardiac defect in horses. Objective: To identify prevalence, age, breed, and sex distribution of VSD and to describe associated clinical and ultrasonographic findings. Methods: Hospital-based population of 21 136 horses presented to the equine internal medicine department. Methods: Medical records over a 12-year period were reviewed for VSD confirmed by ultrasonography. Age, breed, sex, sport discipline, murmur, clinical signs, outcome, VSD type, VSD size, shunt velocity, cardiac dimensions, concomitant cardiac anomalies, and v...
Ireland JL, McGowan CM.Research demonstrating insulin's causal role in endocrinopathic laminitis has greatly advanced understanding of equine laminitis. However, the degree to which this knowledge has been translated into clinical practice has not been assessed. This two-part study aimed to investigate veterinary surgeons' current diagnostic approach to laminitis, whether this had changed over time, and the impact of diagnosing an endocrinopathy on laminitis case management and outcome. Two cross-sectional online surveys of equine veterinary surgeons working within the UK were undertaken. The first study population ...
Boyle AG, Rankin SC, O'Shea K, Stefanovski D, Peng J, Song J, Bau HH.Rapid point-of-care (POC) detection of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) would theoretically reduce the spread of strangles by identifying index and carrier horses. Objective: That the eqbE isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, and the same eqbE LAMP assay tested in a microfluidic device format, are comparable to a triplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay that is commonly used in diagnostic labs. Methods: Sixty-eight guttural pouch lavage (GPL) specimens from horses recovering from strangles. Methods: Guttural pouch lavage specimens were tested for S. equi ...
Yuen KY, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H.Ross River virus (RRV) has recently been suggested to be a potential emerging infectious disease worldwide. RRV infection remains the most common human arboviral disease in Australia, with a yearly estimated economic cost of $4.3 billion. Infection in humans and horses can cause chronic, long-term debilitating arthritogenic illnesses. However, current knowledge of immunopathogenesis remains to be elucidated and is mainly inferred from a murine model that only partially resembles clinical signs and pathology in human and horses. The epidemiology of RRV transmission is complex and multifactorial...
Nemoto M, Matsumura T.This review briefly describes the virus classification, clinical signs, epidemiology, diagnosis, disinfection, and vaccines related equine group A rotavirus (RVA) infection. Equine RVA is one of the most important pathogens causing diarrhoea in foals. The main transmission route is faecal-oral, and the clinical signs are diarrhoea, fever, lethargy, and anorexia (decreased suckling). Some human RVA rapid antigen detection kits based on the principles of the immunochromatographic assay are useful for the diagnosis of equine RVA infection. The kits are used in daily clinical practice because of t...
Karam B, Wilson WD, Chambers TM, Reedy S, Pusterla N.The use of a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay to assess humoral immune response to equine influenza virus (EIV) vaccines from various manufacturers administered to previously immunized adult horses was investigated. Subjects were allocated into one of 3 groups and vaccinated with various commercially available vaccines. Groups were subdivided into subjects that received 1 dose of a particular vaccine and those that received a second dose, 30 d later. Serum was collected at various times to assess antibody responses to contemporary EIV Florida sub-lineage strains. Statistical significance...
Buchanan FR, Cardenas TC, Leede E, Riley CJ, Brown LH, Teixeira PG, Aydelotte JD, Coopwood TB, Trust MD, Ali S, Brown CVR.Large animal-related injuries (LARI) are relatively uncommon, but, nevertheless, a public hazard. The objective of this study was to better understand LARI injury patterns and outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the 2016 National Trauma Data Bank and used ICD-10 codes to identify patients injured by a large animal. The primary outcome was severe injury pattern, while secondary outcomes included mortality, hospital length of stay, ICU admission, and mechanical ventilation usage. Results: There were 6,662 LARI included in our analysis. Most LARI (66%) occurred while riding ...
Huber L, Giguère S, Hart KA, Slovis NM, Greiter ME, Dailey CA, Cohen ND.To compare soil concentrations of macrolide- and rifampicin-resistant strains (MRRE) on horse-breeding farms that used thoracic ultrasonographic screening (TUS) to identify foals with subclinical pneumonia combined with subsequent administration of macrolides and rifampin to affected foals (TUS farms) versus soil concentrations on farms that did not (non-TUS farms), determine whether the combined use of TUS and antimicrobial treatment of subclinically affected foals was associated with soil concentration of MRRE, and assess whether there were temporal effects on soil concentrations of MRRE du...
Stasiak K, Dunowska M, Trewick S, Rola J.Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) is one of two γ-herpesviruses that commonly infect horses worldwide. The objective of the study was to estimate the genetic variability within EHV-5 viruses circulating among horses in Poland. Partial glycoprotein B (gB) sequences from 92 Polish horses from 13 studs throughout Poland were compared to each other and to three EHV-5 sequences from other countries. Despite the overall high level of conservation, considerable variability was observed around the putative furin cleavage site. Based on phylogenetic analysis, the viruses clustered within two major lineages ...
Slater R, Frau A, Hodgkinson J, Archer D, Probert C.Anoplocephala perfoliata is a common equine tapeworm associated with an increased risk of colic (abdominal pain) in horses. Identification of parasite and intestinal microbiota interactions have consequences for understanding the mechanisms behind parasite-associated colic and potential new methods for parasite control. A. perfoliata was diagnosed by counting of worms in the caecum post-mortem. Bacterial DNA was extracted from colonic contents and sequenced targeting of the 16S rRNA gene (V4 region). The volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolome of colonic contents was characterised using gas...
Joongpan W, Tongsangiam P, Poochipakorn C, Charoenchanikran P, Chanda M.Horses were provided full-time housing in unfamiliar vector-protected facilities during the African horse sickness (AHS) outbreak in Thailand. This study aimed to investigate the impact of this housing arrangement on the equine stress response. Nine healthy horses were housed in both a traditional barn and a vector-protected barn. Equine behavior and stress response data were collected in association with the housing environment and time of day. The mean behavioral score of horses housed in the vector-protected barn was lower at night than during the day. In addition, the horses' mean heart ra...
Mitchell C, Steward KF, Charbonneau ARL, Walsh S, Wilson H, Timoney JF, Wernery U, Joseph M, Craig D, van Maanen K, Hoogkamer-van Gennep A, Leon A....The equine disease strangles, which is characterized by the formation of abscesses in the lymph nodes of the head and neck, is one of the most frequently diagnosed infectious diseases of horses around the world. The causal agent, subspecies , establishes a persistent infection in approximately 10 % of animals that recover from the acute disease. Such 'carrier' animals appear healthy and are rarely identified during routine veterinary examinations pre-purchase or transit, but can transmit to naïve animals initiating new episodes of disease. Here, we report the analysis and visualization of...
van Dijk J.Jan van Dijk, RCVS specialist in veterinary parasitology, describes how data can be used to both increase understanding of trends in equine helminth abundance and drive better treatment of individual horses.
Ward MP, Schuermann JA, Highfield LD, Murray KO.Equine West Nile virus (WNV) encephalomyelitis cases - based on clinical signs and ELISA serology test results - reported to Texas disease control authorities during 2002 were analyzed to provide insights into the epidemiology of the disease within a previously disease-free population. The epidemic occurred between June 27 and December 17 (peaking in early October) and 1,698 cases were reported. Three distinct epidemic phases were identified, occurring mostly in southeast, northwest and then central Texas. Significant (P<0.05) disease clusters were identified in northwest and northern Texas. M...
Kullmann A, Holcombe SJ, Hurcombe SD, Roessner HA, Hauptman JG, Geor RJ, Belknap J.Recent research suggested that prophylactic digital cryotherapy (ICE) improved lameness scores, diminished histological changes and early laminar inflammatory signalling in horses following oligofructose administration. In clinical practice, horses at risk for sepsis-associated laminitis receive ICE. Evidence to support this practice is lacking. Objective: To determine factors associated with development of laminitis in horses diagnosed with colitis, including ICE. Methods: Multicentre retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records for horses admitted to 2 university hospitals diagnosed w...
Mott J, Muramatsu Y, Seaton E, Martin C, Reed S, Rikihisa Y.Upon ingestion of adult aquatic insects, horses developed clinical signs of Potomac horse fever, and Neorickettsia risticii was isolated from the blood. 16S rRNA and 51-kDa antigen gene sequences from blood, isolates, and caddis flies fed to the horses were identical, proving oral transmission of N. risticii from caddis flies to horses.
Dupuis MC, Zhang Z, Druet T, Denoix JM, Charlier C, Lekeux P, Georges M.Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) is a major upper-airway disease of horses that causes abnormal respiratory noise during exercise and can impair performance. Etiopathogenesis remains unclear but genetic factors have been suspected for many decades. The objective of this study was to identify risk loci associated with RLN. To that end we genotyped 234 cases (196 Warmbloods, 20 Trotters, 14 Thoroughbreds, and 4 Draft horses), 228 breed-matched controls, and 69 parents with the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip. Using these data, we quantified population structure and performed single-marker and...
Marenzoni ML, Stefanetti V, Danzetta ML, Timoney PJ.Although the first equine gammaherpesvirus was identified over 50 years ago, the isolation and characterization of other members of this virus group has been relatively recent. Even so, numerous clinical syndromes have been identified in equid species in association with these viruses. Equid gammaherpesviruses are a genetically heterogeneous viral subfamily, the function of which in host immune modulation and disease pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated. While they share similarities with gammaherpesviruses in humans, the role they play in their relationship with the host is the subject of...
Traversa D, Giangaspero A, Iorio R, Otranto D, Paoletti B, Gasser RB.Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Spirurida: Habronematidae) are parasitic nematodes which infect the stomach and/or skin of equids. The accurate diagnosis of gastric habronemosis is central to studying its epidemiology, but data on its distribution and prevalence are lacking, mainly due to the limitations of clinical and coprological diagnosis in live horses. To overcome this constraint, a two-step, semi-nested PCR-based assay was validated (utilizing genetic markers in the nuclear ribosomal DNA) for the specific amplification of H. microstoma or H. muscae DNA from the faeces from ho...
Dynon K, Varrasso A, Ficorilli N, Holloway S, Reubel G, Li F, Hartley C, Studdert M, Drummer H.To develop rapid (< 8 hour) tests using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of equine herpesvirus 3 (EHV3; equine coital exanthema virus), equine gammaherpesviruses 2 (EHV2) and EHV5, equine adenovirus 1 (EAdV1), EAdV2, equine arteritis virus (EAV), equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV; formerly equine rhinovirus 1) Methods: Either single round or second round (seminested) PCRs were developed and validated. Methods: Oligonucleotide primers were designed that were specific for each virus, PCR conditions were defined and the specificity and sensitivity of the assays were determined. The a...
Padalino B, Raidal SL, Hall E, Knight P, Celi P, Jeffcott L, Muscatello G.Transportation can affect equine health and is a potential source of economic loss to the industry. Objective: To identify journey (duration, vehicle, commercial or noncommercial) and horse (sex, age, breed, use, amateur or professional status) characteristics associated with the development of transport-related health problems in horses. Methods: Cross-sectional online survey. Methods: An online survey was conducted targeting amateur and professional participants in the Australian equine industry; eligible respondents were required to organise horse movements at least monthly. Respondents pro...
Lan J, Chen P, Liu W, Ren W, Zhang L, Ding Q, Zhang Q, Wang X, Ge J.Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), SARS-CoV-2, and human coronavirus (hCoV)-NL63 utilize ACE2 as the functional receptor for cell entry, which leads to zoonotic infection. Horses (Equus caballus) attracted our attention because the spike protein receptor-binding domains (RBDs) of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses bind equine ACE2 (eACE2) with high affinity. Here we show that eACE2 binds the RBDs of these three coronaviruses and also SARS-CoV-2 variants but with lower affinities compared with human ACE2 (hACE2). Structural analysis and mutation assays indica...
BÃ¥verud V.In human medicine, Clostridium (C.) difficile is since many years a well-known cause of nosocomial diarrhea induced by antibiotic treatment. In horses, C. difficile was recently suggested as a possible enteric pathogen. The bacterium is associated with acute colitis in mature horses following treatment with antibiotics. C. difficile, and/or its cytotoxin, is also associated with acute colitis in mares when their foals are being treated with erythromycin and rifampicin for Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. The colitis can have resulted from an accidental ingestion of erythromycin by the mares. In an ...
Dwyer AE, Crockett RS, Kalsow CM.Recurrent uveitis, a leading cause of blindness in horses, often develops as a sequela to systemic leptospirosis. Over a 7-year period, 63 of 112 (56%) horses with uveitis were seropositive for Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona, but only 23 of 260 (9%) horses without uveitis were seropositive. Odds-ratio analysis revealed that seropositive horses were 13.2 times more likely to have uveitis than were seronegative horses. Of the 63 seropositive horses with uveitis, 59% developed blindness, compared with only 24% in the 49 seronegative horses with uveitis that lost vision in 1 or both eyes du...
Reid SW, Mair TS, Hillyer MH, Love S.Multiple logistic regression was used to assess epidemiological risk factors associated with the diagnosis of cyathostomiasis in 87 cases of chronic diarrhoea in the horse. Age, season and the period since last receiving anthelmintics were identified as important risk factors using chi-square and two-sample t test analyses, whereas access to grazing, shared grazing with other horses and recurrence of signs were only weakly associated with a diagnosis of cyathostomiasis. Multivariate analysis of the parameters using logistic regression was performed. The final model included age, season and tim...
Malik P, Singha H, Goyal SK, Khurana SK, Tripathi BN, Dutt A, Singh D, Sharma N, Jain S.Burkholderia mallei is the causative agent of glanders which is a highly contagious and fatal disease of equines. Considering the nature and severity of the disease in equines, and potential of transmission to human beings, glanders is recognised as a 'notifiable' disease in many countries. An increasing number of glanders outbreaks throughout the Asian continents, including India, have been noticed recently. In view of the recent re-emergence of the disease, the present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of glanders among indigenous equines from different parts of India. Serum sa...
Smith FL, Watson JL, Spier SJ, Kilcoyne I, Mapes S, Sonder C, Pusterla N.Imported horses that have undergone recent long distance transport might represent a serious risk for spreading infectious respiratory pathogens into populations of horses. Objective: To investigate the frequency of shedding of respiratory pathogens in recently imported horses. Methods: All imported horses with signed owner consent (n = 167) entering a USDA quarantine for contagious equine metritis from October 2014 to June 2016 were enrolled in the study. Methods: Prospective observational study. Enrolled horses had a physical examination performed and nasal secretions collected at the ti...
Allen SE, Rosanowski SM, Stirk AJ, Verheyen KLP.No large-scale studies have described veterinary events occurring in National Hunt (NH) flat racing or investigated risk factors for fatality in this race type. Objective: To describe injuries and conditions requiring veterinary attendance on race day and to determine risk factors for racehorse fatality in NH flat racing in Great Britain. Methods: Retrospective cohort study (2000-2013). Methods: Information from all NH flat races held over the study period, including horse, race and veterinary event report details, was combined. Veterinary events were described by type and anatomical structure...
Corbin LJ, Blott SC, Swinburne JE, Sibbons C, Fox-Clipsham LY, Helwegen M, Parkin TD, Newton JR, Bramlage LR, McIlwraith CW, Bishop SC, Woolliams JA....Osteochondrosis is a developmental orthopaedic disease that occurs in horses, other livestock species, companion animal species, and humans. The principal aim of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in the Thoroughbred using a genome-wide association study. A secondary objective was to test the effect of previously identified QTL in the current population. Over 300 horses, classified as cases or controls according to clinical findings, were genotyped for the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip. An animal model was first implemented...
Barbic L, Madic J, Turk N, Daly J.In April 2004 an outbreak of equine influenza occurred at the Zagreb hippodrome, Croatia. Clinical respiratory disease of the same intensity was recorded in vaccinated and non-vaccinated horses. The equine influenza vaccine used in Croatia at the time of the outbreak contained the strains A/equine/Miami/63 (H3N8), A/equine/Fontainebleau/79 (H3N8) and A/equine/Prague/56 (H7N7). At the same time, the usual strains in vaccines used in Europe were, in accordance with the recommendation of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Expert Surveillance Panel on equine influenza, A/equine/Newmark...
Nielsen MK.The first parasite fecal egg counting techniques were described over 100 years ago, and fecal egg counting remains essential in parasitology research as well as in clinical practice today. Several novel techniques have been introduced and validated in recent years, but this work has also highlighted several current issues in this research field. There is a lack of consensus on which diagnostic parameters to evaluate and how to properly design studies doing so. Furthermore, there is a confusing and sometimes incorrect use of terminology describing performance of fecal egg counting techniques, a...
Pusterla N, Mapes S, Rejmanek D, Gebhart C.The objective of this study was to determine whether Lawsonia intracellularis was present in the feces of free-living animals collected on two equine premises with documented occurrence of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE). Fresh feces from black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus, n=100), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis, n=22), feral cats (Felis catus, n=14), Brewer's Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus, n=10), Virginian opossums (Didelphis virginiana, n=9), raccoons (Procyon lotor, n=4), California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi, n=3), and coyotes (Canis latrans, n=2) were...
Pavulraj S, Eschke K, Theisen J, Westhoff S, Reimers G, Andreotti S, Osterrieder N, Azab W.Equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) is enzootic in equine populations throughout the world. A large outbreak of EHV-4 respiratory infection occurred at a Standardbred horse-breeding farm in northern Germany in 2017. Respiratory illness was observed in a group of in-housed foals and mares, which subsequently resulted in disease outbreak. Out of 84 horses in the stud, 76 were tested and 41 horses were affected, including 20 foals, 10 stallions, and 11 mares. Virological investigations revealed the involvement of EHV-4 in all cases of respiratory illness, as confirmed by virus isolation, qPCR, and/...
Lyons ET, Swerczek TW, Tolliver SC, Bair HD, Drudge JH, Ennis LE.A survey to determine current prevalence of several species of endoparasites in equids (n=350) at necropsy was conducted at the Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in central Kentucky (1995-1999). Thelazia lacrymalis were found in 42% of the 1- to 4-year olds (n=132), which was the only age group examined for these parasites. Five- to 30-year olds (n=157), examined for Onchocerca spp. worms/lesions, had a prevalence of 24%. In > or =1-year olds (n=324), the infection rate for Gasterophilus intestinalis was 12% for second instars and 14% for third instars and for Gasterophilus nasalis was 2%...
Anderson RC, Linder KE, Peregrine AS.Although the original description given by Stefanski (1954) was satisfactory, Anderson & Bemrick (1965), in describing H. deletrix (= Micronema deletrix), claimed Stefanski's description was "inadequate" and the species a "species inquirenda". Thus, infections in horses and humans have been assigned to H. deletrix. We believe the species reported in horses and humans is H. gingivalis and that H. deletrix is its synonym. H. gingivalis is separated herein from forms found free-living. The genital tract in the advanced fourth stage of H. gingivalis is didelphic and amphidelphic and terminal e...
Hill AE, Gardner IA, Carpenter TE, Stover SM.To assess concurrently the effects of moderate ligamentous suspensory apparatus injury (MLSAI), racing-speed exercise, and horseshoe characteristics on risk of catastrophic suspensory apparatus failure (SAF) or metacarpal condylar fracture (CDY) in forelimbs of racehorses. Methods: Cadavers of 301 Thoroughbred racehorses (108 with SAF, 33 with CDY and 160 control horses). Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiologic study was used to describe distributions and relationships between MLSAI, exercise, and horseshoe variables. Logistic regression was used to assess potential risk factors for developin...
Lapointe JM, Vrins A, McCarvill E.Sixty Standardbred horses, aged 3 to 10 years, were examined endoscopically for exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) 1 h after racing, on at least 3 occasions. Racing time, finishing position and post exercise venous lactate concentrations were also recorded. Horses positive for tracheal blood on endoscopy were classified as having either grade 1 EIPH (one or a few spots of blood in the trachea), or grade 2 (stream of blood). Air temperature, relative humidity and air pollutant levels were recorded on each examination day. Of the 60 horses, 52 (87%) were EIPH-positive on at least one ...
Freeman KD, Southwood LL, Lane J, Lindborg S, Aceto HW.Infections are common complications in post operative colic patients. It is the impression of some surgeons that pyrexia in the early post operative period is a sign of infection and appropriate timing of perioperative antimicrobials will decrease the incidence of post operative infection. Objective: To determine the association between 1) post operative pyrexia and development of infection and 2) perioperative antimicrobial drug use and infection rate in post operative colic patients. Methods: Medical records of patients undergoing surgical treatment for colic were reviewed. Horses recovering...
Dubey JP, Mitchell SM, Morrow JK, Rhyan JC, Stewart LM, Granstrom DE, Romand S, Thulliez P, Saville WJ, Lindsay DS.Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora caninum, N. hughesi, and Toxoplasma gondii are 4 related coccidians considered to be associated with encephalomyelitis in horses. The source of infection for N. hughesi is unknown, whereas opossums, dogs, and cats are the definitive hosts for S. neurona, N. caninum, and T. gondii, respectively. Seroprevalence of these coccidians in 276 wild horses from central Wyoming outside the known range of the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) was determined. Antibodies to T. gondii were found only in 1 of 276 horses tested with the modified agglutination test using 1:25, 1:50, ...
Dias Fde O, Lorosa ES, Rebêlo JM.A precipitin test was employed to study the alimentary tract content of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the intra- and peridomiciliary environments in the municipality of Raposa, Maranh o State, a transmission area for visceral leishmaniasis or kala azar. Out of 2,240 female sandflies captured, 547 (24.4%) had fed on vertebrate blood, with the following proportions: avian (87.9%); rodent (47.2%); human (42.4%); canine (27.6%); opossum (26.6%); and equine (22.5%). Based on a survey of 120 human dwellings, chickens were found to be the most common domestic animals in the peridomicile (28.3%), followed ...
Ito M, Nagai M, Hayakawa Y, Komae H, Murakami N, Yotsuya S, Asakura S, Sakoda Y, Kida H.In August 2007, an outbreak of equine influenza occurred among vaccinated racehorses with Japanese commercial equine influenza vaccine at Kanazawa Racecourse in Ishikawa prefecture in Japan. Apparent symptoms were pyrexia (38.2-41.0 degrees C) and nasal discharge with or without coughing, although approximately half of the infected horses were subclinical. All horses had been shot with a vaccine that contained two inactivated H3N8 influenza virus strains [A/equine/La Plata/93 (La Plata/93) of American lineage and A/equine/Avesta/93 (Avesta/93) of European lineage] and an H7N7 strain (A/equine/...
