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.
Guzmán C, Calderón A, Oviedo T, Mattar S, Castañeda J, Rodriguez V, Moraes Figueiredo LT.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an alphavirus that causes encephalitis with a high impact on public health in Latin America. However, only in Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico have found antibodies in VEEV in bats, using immunohistochemistry, the sensitivity and specificity are improved; thus, it is better for demonstrating natural infection in bats as potential hosts. This study aimed to determine the presence of VEEV in tissues of frugivorous bats. Methods: A prospective descriptive cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sampling was carried out in 12 localiti...
Balasuriya UBR.The primary goals of this chapter are to discuss common viral RNA isolation and purification methods that are routinely used by various diagnostic laboratories and to highlight the advantages and drawbacks of each method and to identify the most suitable and reliable method to increase the sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR assays for the detection of equine influenza virus (EIV) in clinical specimens. Our experiences and review of literature show that magnetic bead-based nucleic extraction methods (manual and automatic) work well for isolation and purification of EIV RNA from nasal swab sp...
Chambers TM, Reedy SE.In horses, presumptive diagnosis of equine influenza is commonly made on the basis of clinical signs. This alone is insufficient for confirmation of equine influenza, because other equine infectious respiratory diseases can in some degree have similar clinical presentations. Surveillance and control of equine influenza also necessitate detection of subclinical cases. Effective diagnosis of equine influenza virus infection is critically dependent on obtaining adequate specimens of virus-containing respiratory secretions for testing. These specimens are also valuable as sources for isolation of ...
Chambers TM.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a common respiratory pathogen of horses and other equids in most parts of the world. EIV are Type A influenza viruses and two subtypes are known: H3N8 and H7N7. Both are believed to have evolved from avian influenza virus ancestors. The H3N8 subtype circulates widely, but the H7N7 subtype is thought to be extinct. The clinical disease in horses, caused by either subtype, is an upper respiratory infection of varying severity depending upon the immune status of the individual animal. It is not normally life-threatening in itself except in very young foals; however...
Balasuriya UBR.Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious disease of horses caused by the equine influenza virus (EIV) H3N8 subtype. EI is the most important respiratory virus infection of horses and can disrupt major equestrian events and cause significant economic losses to the equine industry worldwide. Influenza H3N8 virus spreads rapidly in susceptible horses and can result in very high morbidity within 24-48 h after exposure to the virus. Therefore, rapid and accurate diagnosis of EI is critical for implementation of prevention and control measures to avoid the spread of EIV and to reduce the econom...
Tzelos T, Geyer KK, Mitchell MC, McWilliam HEG, Kharchenko VO, Burgess STG, Matthews JB.Cyathostomins are ubiquitous parasitic nematodes of horses. These worms spend substantial periods as intestinal wall stage encysted larvae, which can comprise up to 90% of the total burden. Several million larvae have been reported in individuals. Emergence of these larvae from the gut wall can lead to life-threatening colitis. Faecal egg count tests, increasingly used by horse owners to inform anthelmintic treatments, do not correlate with the intra-host burden of cyathostomins; this represents a key gap in the diagnostic toolbox. Previously, a cyathostomin Gut Associated Larval Antigen was i...
Lu G, Wu L, Ou J, Li S.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first reported in a horse that died of equine serum hepatitis in the USA in 2018, and was determined having a strong association with equine serum hepatitis in the following studies. As a newly discovered virus, the genomic sequences of only seven EqPV-H strains have been reported. Considering this, an epidemiological study was performed to investigate the prevalence of EqPV-H in equines in Guangdong Province in China, and obtain genomic sequences of the field prevalent EqPV-H strains. The detection rate of EqPV-H was finally determined to be 8.33% (95%...
de Lagarde M, Larrieu C, Praud K, Lallier N, Trotereau A, Sallé G, Fairbrother JM, Schouler C, Doublet B.The objective of the study was to identify the genetic determinants and characteristics of expanded-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) resistance in commensal Escherichia coli from healthy horses in France in 2015. Faecal samples from 744 adult horses were screened for ESC-resistant E. coli isolates. The extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)/AmpC resistance genes were identified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. ESC phenotypes were horizontally transferred by conjugation or transformation. Plasmids carrying ESBL/AmpC genes were typed by PCR-based replicon typing, restriction fr...
Wernery U, Joseph S, Raghavan R, Dyer B, Spendrup S.Our investigation has shown that multiple vaccinations with inactivated African horse sickness (AHS) vaccines containing all 9 serotypes and produced at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, UAE, protect horses from AHS. However, the immunization did not prevent African horse sickness fever (AHSF) in approximately 10% of the vaccinated horses despite high enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralizing antibodies. African horse sickness fever is a very mild form of AHS with similar clinical signs. From all 6 horses which had developed AHSF, no virus was isolated from ED...
Souza JRM, Gonçalves PBD, Bertolin K, Ferreira R, Ribeiro ASS, Ribeiro DB, Rechsteiner SMDEF, Araújo RR, Pimentel CA, Pimentel AMH.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation of age and heat cycle to determine reproductive efficiency in young and aged Thoroughbred mares bred on foal heat (FH) or on second heat (SH) after foaling. Embryo mortality (EmbM) was determined every time a mare was found open after a positive pregnancy diagnosis. Parturition to breeding interval, pregnancy rate (PregR) and EmbM rate were the dependent variables and the treatments were breeding on the FH or on SH. The cutoff age to obtain above-average probability for the EmbM was 10 years old. PregR in mares bred on FH was lower ...
Boorman S, Richardson DW, Hogan PM, Stefanovski D, Levine DG.To report the performance of thoroughbred racehorses after surgical repair of a medial condylar fracture of the third metacarpal/metatarsal bone. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Forty-three horses surgically treated for medial condylar fractures, 30 with previous racing experience, 13 without previous racing experience (nonexperienced). Methods: Medical records (2009-2017) were reviewed for signalment, radiographic fracture characteristics, repair technique, and postoperative morbidity and mortality. Each experienced horse was matched with two horses randomly selected from its mo...
Cullinane A, Gahan J, Walsh C, Nemoto M, Entenfellner J, Olguin-Perglione C, Garvey M, Huang Fu TQ, Venner M, Yamanaka T, Barrandeguy M, Fernandez CJ.To facilitate the temporary importation of horses for competition and racing purposes, with a minimum risk of transmitting equine influenza, the World Organisation for Animal Health (Office International des Epizooties, or OIE), formally engaged in a public-private partnership with the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI) and the International Federation for Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) to establish, within the context of existing OIE standards, a science-based rationale to identify the ideal time period for equine influenza vaccination prior to shipment. Field trials using vaccines base...
Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Uchida-Fujii E, Nukada T.Mycoplasma felis causes conjunctivitis in cats and respiratory diseases in horses. We report here the complete genome assembly of equine Mycoplasma felis strain Myco-2, which was isolated from an ill horse in Japan.
Tirosh-Levy S, Steinman A, Einhorn A, Apanaskevich DA, Mumcuoglu KY, Gottlieb Y.Theileria equi Mehlhorn and Schein, 1998 (Piroplasmida: Babesiidae) is an important tick-borne pathogen of horses that is highly endemic in many parts of the world, including Israel. The present study evaluated the potential roles of five hard tick species [Hyalomma excavatum Koch, 1844; Hyalomma marginatum Koch, 1844; Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantsev 1936; Rhipicephalus annulatus Say, 1821; Haemaphysalis parva (Neumann, 1897) (all: Ixodida: Ixodidae)], previously found to infest horses in Israel, in acting as vectors for piroplasmosis. For this, DNA was extracted from whole ticks and, when...
Schoster A, van Spijk JN, Damborg P, Moodley A, Kirchgaessner C, Hartnack S, Schmitt S.Fourth-generation cephalosporins can select for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae in horses, but it is unknown to what extent this occurs compared to penicillin/gentamicin combination treatment. The objective was to evaluate the effect of different antimicrobial treatments on faecal shedding and diversity of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) in horses. Upon hospital admission, 86 horses in need of antimicrobial treatment or prophylaxis were randomly allocated to receive penicillin and gentamicin (PG) or cefquinome (CEF). Untreated horses were included a...
Teymournejad O, Lin M, Bekebrede H, Kamr A, Toribio RE, Arroyo LG, Baird JD, Rikihisa Y.Potomac horse fever (PHF), a severe and frequently fatal febrile diarrheal disease, has been known to be caused only by , an endosymbiont of digenean trematodes. Here, we report the cell culture isolation of a new species found in two locations in eastern Ontario, Canada, in 2016 and 2017 (in addition to 10 variable strains of ) from PCR-negative horses with clinical signs of PHF. Gene sequences of 16S rRNA and the major surface antigen P51 of this new species were distinct from those of all previously characterized strains and species, except for those from an uncharacterized species cu...
Mostafavi E, Esmaeilnejad B, Meysam Abtahi Foroushani S.This study was undertaken to assess the effects of T. equi infection on serum concentrations of some important cytokines including interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), IL-1α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12α, IL-12β, IL-18, as well as total, protein and lipid binding sialic acids (TSA, PBSA and LBSA). Furthermore, any probable relation among the parasitemia, cytokines and sialic acids (SAs) were calculated using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Almost 300 draft horses (Kurdish-breed) with age of 3-4 years old from north-...
Mortola E, Miceli G, Alarcon L, Azcurra M, Larsen A.In newborn foals the absorption of colostrum immunoglobulins in the small intestine is maximal up to 8 hours after birth and then progressively decreases to become null after 24 hours post-partum. Thus, equine practitioners need a simple, quick, inexpensive and reliable field test to identify foals affected by failure of passive transfer rather than an accurate method yielding quantitative results within the whole range of immunoglobulin concentrations. Objective: As the validity of the immunocrit method to detect failure of passive transfer in foals had not been evaluated before, the object...
Sandmeyer LS, Kingsley NB, Walder C, Archer S, Leis ML, Bellone RR, Bauer BS.To characterize clinical manifestations, measure frequency, and evaluate risk factors for equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) in Appaloosa horses in western Canada. Methods: 145 Appaloosa horses. Methods: Ophthalmic examinations were completed and eyes were classified as having no or mild clinical signs, or moderate, or severe damage from ERU. Clinical signs, age, sex, base coat color, and pattern were recorded. Whole blood and/or mane hair follicles were collected for DNA extraction, and all horses were tested for the leopard complex (LP) spotting pattern allele. Pedigree analysis was completed on...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Mimoun L, Mazuz ML, Steinman A.Although the main route of transmission of is through tick feeding, transplacental transmission is also possible and may lead to abortion, or to the birth of a sick or carrier foal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of as a cause of abortions in Israel and the risk of foals being infected at a young age. Eight aborting mares were serologically evaluated for exposure to via the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and their aborted fetuses were evaluated using PCR and qPCR. In addition, five mares and their foals (aged 4-6 months) from a highly endemic farm were tested for i...
Doležal P, Doležalová J, Morávková T, Stupka R.In 2018, more than 50 cases of horse death by equine atypical myopathy (AM) were reported in the Czech Republic. This disease is often associated with the toxin hypoglycine A (HGA), which is found in several maple plant materials. To monitor this toxin in products of these trees that grow in or around horse pastures, a rapid and inexpensive analytical method that can provide the required accuracy is needed. Until now, maple samples have been prepared for gas chromatography using time-consuming methods, with preparation processes taking longer than 1 h. In this work, a shorter method (25 mi...
Lloyd KA, Ayodele BA, Hitchens PL, Beck C, Mackie EJ, Whitton RC.Abnormalities in vascular channel appearance within the proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) are the most common findings in Thoroughbred yearling presale radiographs and are often evaluated on radiographs of adult racehorses. Despite this, their pathogenesis and clinical significance are poorly understood, and associations with racing performance are inconsistent. Objective: To determine microstructural characteristics of the PSBs associated with the radiographic appearance of vascular channels using microcomputed tomography (µCT) and to determine associations with past racing performance in mature ...
Waap H, Volkart de Oliveira U, Nunes T, Gomes J, Gomes T, Bärwald A, Dias Munhoz A, Schares G.Equine neosporosis is regarded to be caused either by Neospora hughesi or Neospora caninum and equine besnoitiosis is caused by Besnoitia bennetti, both of which are apicomplexan parasites. N. caninum is the only known Neospora species in Europe, where equine N. caninum infections have been reported as being associated to abortion and reproductive failure. N. hughesi is prevalent in North America and was predominantly linked to neurological disorders. B. bennetti is considered an emergent disease in donkeys in North America and evidence for B. bennetti infection was recently reported in Europe...
Loncaric I, Cabal Rosel A, Szostak MP, Licka T, Allerberger F, Ruppitsch W, Spergser J.The aim of the present study was to investigate the diversity of broad-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant spp. isolated from horses in Austria that originated from diseased horses. A total of seven non-repetitive cefotaxime-resistant sp. isolates were obtained during diagnostic activities from autumn 2012 to October 2019. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed. The isolates were genotyped by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Four out of seven isolates were identified as , two as and one as . All isolates displayed a multi-drug resistant phenotype. The detection of resistance genes r...
Cooper LG, Caffe G, Cerutti J, Nielsen MK, Anziani OS.Macrocyclic lactones are the most widely used drugs for the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in Argentina. Ivermectin and moxidectin are used as broad spectrum anthelmintics and although there are several international reports on the resistance of Parascaris spp., the resistance status of the local nematode population is largely unknow. This report informs a case of suboptimal efficacy to both drugs to control Parascaris spp in foals in central Argentina. In February 2018, routine fecal parasite egg counts showed a moderate-high number of Parascaris spp eggs (mean = 680 eggs p...
Assaid N, Mousson L, Moutailler S, Arich S, Akarid K, Monier M, Beck C, Lecollinet S, Failloux AB, Sarih M.West Nile virus (WNV) is one of the most widely distributed mosquito-borne viruses in the world. In North Africa, it causes human cases of meningoencephalitis with fatalities in Algeria and in Tunisia, whereas only horses were affected in Morocco. The aims of this study were to detect WNV in mosquitoes and to determine seroprevalence of WNV in Moroccan horses by the detection of IgG antibodies. A total of 1455 mosquitoes belonging to four different species were grouped by collection site, date, and sex with 10 specimens per pool and tested for 38 arboviruses using a high-throughput chip based ...
Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Worldwide, horses play critical roles in recreation, food production, transportation, and as working animals. Horses' roles differ by geographical region and the socioeconomic status of the people, but despite modern advances in transportation, which have in some ways altered humans contact with horses, potential risks for equine zoonotic pathogen transmission to humans occur globally. While previous reports have focused upon individual or groups of equine pathogens, to our knowledge, a systematic review of equine zoonoses has never been performed. Using PRISMA's systematic review guidelines...
Socha W, Sztromwasser P, Dunowska M, Jaklinska B, Rola J.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is maintained in the horse populations through persistently infected stallions. The aims of the study were to monitor the spread of EAV among Polish Hucul horses, to analyse the variability of circulating EAVs both between- and within-horses, and to identify allelic variants of the serving stallions EqCXCL16 gene that had been previously shown to strongly correlate with long-term EAV persistence in stallions. Serum samples (n = 221) from 62 horses including 46 mares and 16 stallions were collected on routine basis between December 2010 and May 2013 and tested f...
Johnston AS, Riggs CM, Cogger N, Benschop J, Rogers CW, Rosanowski SM.Many racing jurisdictions monitor race-day musculoskeletal injury (MSI) but fail to evaluate injuries occurring during training. Additionally, previous risk factor analyses have failed to explore temporal trends in injury occurrence. Objective: To use time-series analysis techniques to identify trends, cyclicity and peaks in MSI incidence, in racehorses training and racing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) from July 2010 to June 2018. Methods: Retrospective longitudinal study. Methods: The monthly incidence of all MSI, superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injury, suspensory ligament inju...
Tsegay K, Potts AD, Aklilu N, Lötter C, Gummow B.Little work has been done on diseases of horses in Ethiopia or tropical regions of the world. Yet, Ethiopia has the largest horse population in Africa and their horses play a pivotal role in their economy as traction animals. A serological and questionnaire survey was therefore conducted to determine the circulating serovars of Leptospira and their association with potential risk factors in the cart horse population of Central and Southern Ethiopia. A total of 184 out of 418 cart horses from 13 districts had antibody titres of 1:100 or greater to at least one of 16 serovars of Leptospira speci...
Ziegler A, Hamza E, Jonsdottir S, Rhyner C, Wagner B, Schüpbach G, Svansson V, Torsteinsdottir S, Marti E.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by bites of Culicoides spp. IBH does not occur in Iceland because of the absence of Culicoides, but the prevalence is high in horses imported from Iceland to environments where Culicoides are present. Objective: Test, in a longitudinal study before and after Culicoides exposure, whether a primary sensitizing Culicoides allergen can be identified and if an increase of allergen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E or IgG subclasses precedes clinical signs of IBH. Methods: Thirty two horses imported from Iceland to Europe; 16 ...
Bailey CJ, Reid SW, Hodgson DR, Suann CJ, Rose RJ.Risk factors for musculoskeletal injury in racing Thoroughbreds were investigated in a case-control study conducted at racetracks administered by the Australian Jockey Club. Univariable analysis of 137 cases from the official Veterinary Surgeon's reports and an equal number of randomly selected controls from the Australian Race Results identified field size, barrier position and class of race as being significantly associated with breakdown (P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression was then used to investigate the effect of each putative risk factor whilst controlling for all others. Horses at ...
Georges KC, Ezeokoli CD, Sparagano O, Pargass I, Campbell M, D'Abadie R, Yabsley MJ.Equine piroplasmosis due to Theileria equi and Babesia caballi is endemic in Trinidad. A case of equine piroplasmosis due to T. equi was diagnosed in a thoroughbred foal at 10h post-partum. A high parasitaemia (63%) of piroplasms was observed in a Wright-Giemsa(®) stained thin blood smear from the foal. In addition, the 18S rRNA gene for Babesia/Theileria was amplified from DNA extracted from the blood of the foal and the mare. Amplified products were subjected to a reverse line blot hybridization assay (RLB), which confirmed the presence of T. equi DNA in the foal. The mare was negative by R...
Newton JR, Wood JL, Chanter N.A matched case control study was used to determine infections and other factors associated with clinically apparent respiratory disease in young racehorses in training in the UK. A total of 170 cases, defined as horses with sudden onset coughing, nasal discharge or pyrexia, were identified and matched to 632 non-affected controls by trainer and time period. Factors examined included age, sex, time since entry into the training yard, time since last race and different infections including tracheal and nasopharyngeal (NP) bacteria and viruses. Multivariable conditional logistic regression (CLR) ...
Drolet BS, Reeves WK, Bennett KE, Pauszek SJ, Bertram MR, Rodriguez LL.In 2006, vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) caused outbreaks in Wyoming (WY) horses and cattle after overwintering in 2004 and 2005. Within two weeks of the outbreak onset, 12,203 biting flies and 194 grasshoppers were collected near three equine-positive premises in Natrona County, WY. Insects were identified to the species level and tested by RT-qPCR for VSNJV polymerase (L) and phosphoprotein (P) gene RNA. Collected dipterans known to be competent for VSV transmission included Simulium black flies and Culicoides biting midges. VSNJV L and P RNA was detected in two pools of female...
Quiambao BP, Dytioco HZ, Dizon RM, Crisostomo ME, Laot TM, Teuwen DE.Recommended treatment for severe rabies exposure in unvaccinated individuals includes wound cleaning, administration of rabies immunoglobulins (RIG), and rabies vaccination. We conducted a survey of rabies treatment outcomes in the Philippines. Methods: This was a case series involving 7,660 patients (4 months to 98 years of age) given purified equine RIG (pERIG) at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (Muntinlupa, Philippines) from July 2003 to August 2004 following Category II or III exposures. Data on local and systemic adverse reactions (AR) within 28 days and biting animal status ...
Gildea S, Arkins S, Walsh C, Cullinane A.Protection against equine influenza virus (EIV) relies largely on the production of circulating antibodies specific for the haemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein. The objective of this study was to determine the antibody response of National Hunt horses in training to booster vaccination. The antibody response to the six equine influenza vaccines available in Ireland (three whole inactivated vaccines, two subunit vaccines and a canary pox recombinant vaccine), was monitored by single radial haemolysis (SRH) for six months post vaccination. There was no significant difference between antibody respon...
McFarlane D, Paradis MR, Zimmel D, Sykes B, Brorsen BW, Sanchez A, Vainio K.Plasma α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) concentrations in horses vary with season, confounding diagnostic testing for pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Objective: The goals of this study were to determine whether seasonal variation in plasma α-MSH and ACTH concentrations in horses is influenced by geographic location, breed, or PPID. Methods: Healthy light breed horses residing in Florida, Massachusetts, and Finland (n = 12 per group); healthy Morgan horses (n = 13); healthy ponies (n = 9) and horses with PPID (n = 8). Methods: Monthly plas...
Båverud V, Franklin A, Gunnarsson A, Gustafsson A, Hellander-Edman A.In Sweden, mares sometimes develop acute, often fatal, colitis when their foals are treated orally with erythromycin and rifampicin for Rhodococcus (R.) equi infection. Clostridium (C.) difficile, or its cytotoxin, was demonstrated in faecal samples from 5 of 11 (45%) mares with diarrhoea. By contrast C. difficile was not found in the faecal flora of 12 healthy mares with foals treated for R. equi infection or in 56 healthy mares with healthy untreated foals. No other enteric pathogen was isolated from any diarrhoeic mare. Of 7 investigated treated foals, 4 had a high (1651.0, 1468.3, 273.0 an...
Balasuriya UBR, Hedges JF, Smalley VL, Navarrette A, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, Snijder EJ, MacLachlan NJ.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) causes a persistent infection of the reproductive tract of carrier stallions. The authors determined the complete genome sequences of viruses (CW96 and CW01) that were present 5 years apart in the semen of a carrier stallion (CW). The CW96 and CW01 viruses respectively had only 85.6 % and 85.7 % nucleotide identity to the published sequence of EAV (EAV030). The CW96 and CW01 viruses had two 1 nt insertions and a single 1 nt deletion in the leader sequence, and a 3 nt coding insertion in ORF1a; thus their genomes included 12 708 nt as compared to the 12 704 nt in EA...
Uggla A, Mattson S, Juntti N.Samples of serum or plasma taken during 1986 and 1987 from 244 pet cats, 303 dogs and 219 horses, randomly selected among animals referred to the Animal Clinics of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii. 42% of cats, 23% of dogs and 1% of horses examined were found seropositive. Serum eller plasma från 244 tamkatter, 303 hundar och 219 sporthästar som provtagits vid djur-klinikerna vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet i Uppsala under 1986 och 1987 testades med ELISA för antikroppar mot Pre...
Kuroda T, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Shinzaki Y, Tamura N, Hobo S, Kuwano A.Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections have been confirmed in hospitalised Thoroughbred racehorses at the hospitals of two training centres in Japan since 2009. To investigate the source of infection, the authors examined the rate of nasal MRSA colonisation in 600 healthy Thoroughbred racehorses, 53 veterinarians and 16 office staff at the racehorse hospitals of the two training centres. MRSA was not isolated from healthy Thoroughbred racehorses or hospital office staff. However, MRSA was isolated from 16 veterinarians (30.1 per cent), and the colonisation rate was signif...
DeRouen A, Spriet M, Aleman M.The sixth cervical vertebra (C6) has unique morphology due to a ventral extension from the transverse process known as the ventral lamina. Little information was found regarding the prevalence and clinical relevance of morphologic variations. Aims of this observational, retrospective study were to characterize C6 morphologic variations in a large sample of horses. Cervical radiographic studies of 100 horses were retrieved. Data recorded were signalment, clinical history, morphology of the C6 ventral lamina, presence of articular process osteoarthritis, and presence of static vertebral canal st...
Wagner B, Glaser A, Hillegas JM, Erb H, Gold C, Freer H.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic pathogen of global importance. In horses with neurological signs, detection of WNV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) in serum is widely used to identify clinical cases of WNV encephalitis. Here, we describe the development of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to equine IgM which were used in a WNV IgM-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Their performance was compared to an established assay based on polyclonal anti-IgM. Check test serum samples from the National Veterinary Service Laboratory (NVSL) were used to evaluate the performance of the th...
Karakulska J, Fijałkowski K, Nawrotek P, Pobucewicz A, Poszumski F, Czernomysy-Furowicz D.The aim of this study was an analysis of the staphylococcal flora of the nasal cavity of 42 healthy horses from 4 farms, along with species identification of CoNS isolates and determination of resistance to 18 antimicrobial agents, particularly phenotypic and genotypic methicillin resistance. From the 81 swabs, 87 staphylococci were isolated. All isolates possessed the gap gene but the coa gene was not detected in any of these isolates. Using PCR-RFLP of the gap gene, 82.8% of CoNS were identified: S. equorum (14.9%), S. warneri (14.9%), S. sciuri (12.6%), S. vitulinus (12.6%), S. xylosus (11....
Bourély C, Cazeau G, Jarrige N, Haenni M, Gay E, Leblond A.Horses are one of the potential reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants that could be transferred to human subjects. Objective: To describe the AMR patterns of major bacteria isolated from diseased horses in France. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Data collected between 2012 and 2016 by RESAPATH, the French national surveillance network for AMR, were analysed. Only antimicrobials relevant in veterinary and human medicine for the isolated bacteria were considered. Mono- and multidrug resistance were calculated. The resistance proportions of major equine di...
Theoret CL, Bolwell CF, Riley CB.To determine the frequency and type of skin wounds encountered by New Zealand veterinarians in their equine patients, the duration and estimated costs of treatment as well as the expected outcomes for these wounds. Methods: An online survey was sent to all veterinarians registered with the New Zealand Equine Veterinary Association. The survey comprised questions on the location and experience of respondents, the number of wound-related cases in relation to the total equine caseload, the type and anatomical location of wounds treated, the frequency, duration and costs of treatments, the outcome...
Gill GS, Singh BB, Dhand NK, Aulakh RS, Sandhu BS, Ward MP, Brookes VJ.Rabies is a devastating zoonotic disease of mammals that causes encephalitis and death. It is endemic in India, with an estimated annual 20,000 human deaths (one-third of the global rabies burden). The magnitude of animal rabies incidence is unknown. In four sub-districts of Punjab, India, we monitored canine and livestock populations from August 15, 2016 to August 14, 2017. Demographic, clinical and rabies diagnostic laboratory (RDL) data were collected from suspected cases of rabies. The annual incidence rate / 10,000 animal years at risk (95% CI) in each sub-district was estimated for each ...
Rose BV, Firth M, Morris B, Roach JM, Wathes DC, Verheyen KLP, de Mestre AM.Therapeutic practices in equine reproductive medicine have dramatically evolved over the last 20 years but current usage is not described. The aims of this study were to provide a description of medication use and clinical findings of reproductive examinations alongside measures of reproductive efficiency in thoroughbreds. A prospective cohort study was conducted in the 2013 and 2014 breeding seasons. Mare and stallion details, information on veterinary interventions and findings of reproductive ultrasound scans were collected using questionnaires and entered into a custom-designed Microsoft A...
Den Boon JA, Spaan WJ, Snijder EJ.The expression of the genetic information of equine arteritis virus (EAV), an arterivirus, involves the synthesis of six subgenomic (sg) mRNAs. These are 5' and 3' coterminal since they are composed of a leader and a body sequence, which are identical to the 5' and 3' ends of the genome, respectively. Previously, it has been suggested that cis-splicing of a genome-length precursor RNA is involved in their synthesis. This was reevaluated in a comparative analysis of the sg RNA synthesis of EAV, the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), and the alphavirus Sindbis virus. UV transcription mappi...
Wang X, Wang S, Lin Y, Jiang C, Ma J, Zhao L, Lv X, Wang F, Shen R, Kong X, Zhou J.A lentiviral vaccine, live attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine, was developed in the 1970s, and this has made tremendous contributions to the control of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in China. Four key virus strains were generated during the attenuation of the EIAV vaccine: the original Liao-Ning strain (EIAV(LN40)), a donkey-adapted virulent strain (EIAV(DV117)), a donkey-leukocyte-attenuated vaccine strain (EIAV(DLV121)), and a fetal donkey dermal cell (FDD)-adapted vaccine strain (EIAV(FDDV13)). In this study, we analyzed the proviral genomes of these four EIAV strains...
Mancianti F.Feline leishmaniasis (FL) is a quite uncommon feature. Clinical disease has been described in cats since nineties begin. More than 40 reports in world literature have been referred, but the clinical cases have been only recently well defined. Most of the reports focus on infected cats living in endemic areas, even if, more recently FL due to Leishmania infantum was found in Sao Paulo State, in Brazil where autochthonous human or canine leishmaniasis cases have never reported. In Europe clinical cases of FL have been described from Portugal, France, Spain and Italy from 1996 to 2002. When a typ...
Alam ME, Kamal MM, Rahman M, Kabir A, Islam MS, Hassan J.Anthrax is a rapidly fatal infectious disease affecting herbivores and people. In the farm animals, cattle and sheep are more susceptible, followed by goats and horses, while dwarf pigs and Algerian sheep are relatively resistant. Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, produces spores and persists for decades in the soil, initiating an outbreak through a favorable climate shift. Anthrax is enzootic in many Asian and African countries, and is reported in Australia, some parts of Europe, and America. The clinical courses of this disease in animals are peracute, acute, subacute, and ...
Kim HJ, Yong TS, Shin MH, Lee KJ, Park GM, Suvonkulov U, Kovalenko D, Yu HS.Echinococcosis occurs mainly in areas with heavy livestock farming, such as Central Asia, America, and Australia. Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) infection causes echinococcosis in intermediate hosts, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, and horses. Numerous cases of echinococcosis occur in Uzbekistan as stock farming is a primary industry. Epidemiological and genetic studies of E. granulosus s.l. are very important for mitigating its impact on public health and the economy; however, there are no such studies on E. granulosus s.l. in Uzbekistan. In the present study, to determine wh...
Del Piero F.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) can cause prominent economic losses for the equine industry. The purpose of this review is to provide the pathologist some familiarity with the clinical history, lesions, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of EVA. EVA is caused by an arterivirus (equine arteritis virus, EAV), and the vascular system is the principal but not unique viral target. EVA has variable presentations, including interstitial pneumonia, panvasculitis with edema, thrombosis and hemorrhage, lymphoid necrosis, renal tubular necrosis, abortion, and inflammation of male accessory genital glands. EAV anti...
Diaz-San Segundo F, Dias CC, Moraes MP, Weiss M, Perez-Martin E, Owens G, Custer M, Kamrud K, de los Santos T, Grubman MJ.We have previously shown that delivery of the porcine type I interferon gene (poIFN-α/β) with a replication-defective human adenovirus vector (adenovirus 5 [Ad5]) can sterilely protect swine challenged with foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) 1 day later. However, the need of relatively high doses of Ad5 limits the applicability of such a control strategy in the livestock industry. Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEE) empty replicon particles (VRPs) can induce rapid protection of mice against either homologous or, in some cases, heterologous virus challenge. As an alternative approach ...
Buzatti A, de Paula Santos C, Fernandes MA, Yoshitani UY, Sprenger LK, dos Santos CD, Molento MB.Horses can harbor a large amount of parasites that may cause serious clinical signs even death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus Duddingtonia flagrans against infective larvae (L3) of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in fecal culture. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treated groups (G1, G2 and G3) and one control (CG), using eight animals/group. The treated animals received G1: 1.5 × 10(5); G2: 3 × 10(5) and G3: 6 × 10(5) chlamydospores of D. flagrans/kg body weight during 21 days. The fungi preparation was give...
McFrederick QS, Haselkorn TS, Verocai GG, Jaenike J.Parasites in the genus Onchocerca infect humans, ruminants, camels, horses, suids, and canids, with effects ranging from relatively benign to debilitating. In North America, Onchocerca cervipedis is the sole species known to infect cervids, while at least 5 Onchocerca species infect Eurasian cervids. In this study, we report the discovery of a cervid-parasitizing Onchocerca only distantly related to O. cervipedis. To reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the genus Onchocerca, we used newly acquired DNA sequence from O. cervipedis (from moose in Northwest Territories, Canada) and from the new...
Gibson CA, Daniels RS, Oxford JS, McCauley JW.The nucleotide sequences of ten haemagglutinin genes of representative H7N7 equine influenza viruses isolated between 1956 and 1977 have been determined by primer extension sequencing. Their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences demonstrate a high degree of homology. These equine viruses can be divided into two distinct subgroups, the prototype-like, and a group comprising the early American isolates and the remaining equine viruses. The equine H7 haemagglutinins form a quite distinct group compared to H7 haemagglutinins isolated from other species. Each of these equine H7 haemagglutinin...
