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.
To evaluate the etiology of skeletal changes noted in equid vertebrae from a 19- century context near Belgrade, Serbia. A vertebral column consisting of 15 fused thoracic vertebrae (T2-T16), with right ribs fused to T4 and T5 and small remnants of ribs articulating with T4, T5 and T6 on the left side were accidentally recovered during industrial exploitation of sand. The specimen was subjected to morphological analysis and collagen fingerprinting by mass spectrometry for species identification. In order to determine the absolute temporal context, radiocarbon dating was employed. Pathological c...
Norris JK, Slusarewicz P, Nielsen MK.The efficacy of anthelmintic treatments against populations of endoparasites infecting livestock throughout the world is decreasing. To mitigate this, the use of fecal egg counts is recommended to determine both the necessity, and to ensure the appropriate choice, of anthelmintic treatment. Traditionally, and in order to facilitate easier identification and/or enumeration, samples are analysed after separating eggs from other fecal particulates by exposing them to a solution with a density higher than that of the eggs, but lower than the remaining fecal contents. While many parasite egg flotat...
Yazdansetad S, Mosavari N, Tadayon K, Mehregan I.Burkholderia mallei is the leading cause of glanders, a highly transmittable and an OIE-notifiable disease of equidae. Despite the importance of B. mallei, little is known about serodiagnosis of glanders. The present study aimed to develop an immunoblotting assay based on whole-cell proteome of B. mallei to enable accurate serodiagnosis of glanders. Methods: Three farm horses were subcutaneously immunized with a crude suspension (106 cfu/ml) of heat-inactivated B. mallei formulated with incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) to achieve a hyperimmune sera panel. The immunization was done for 1, 14 ...
Bull J, Bas F, Silva-Guzmán M, Wentzel HH, Keim JP, Gandarillas M.The aim of this study was to characterize the routine care, training, feeding, and nutritional management of Chilean corralero horses that participated in the rodeos of the Chilean Rodeo Federation. Forty-nine horse farms between the Metropolitan (33°26'16″ south (S) 70°39'01″ west (W)) and Los Lagos Regions (41°28'18″ S 72°56'12″ W), were visited and a survey was conducted on the management and feeding of the Chilean horse. Of the horses which participated in at least one official rodeo in the 2014-2015 season, 275 horses were included in the study. The survey consisted of five qu...
Massacci FR, Clark A, Ruet A, Lansade L, Costa M, Mach N.Understanding gut microbiota similarities and differences across breeds in horses has the potential to advance approaches aimed at personalized microbial modifications, particularly those involved in improving sport athletic performance. Here, we explore whether faecal microbiota composition based on faecal 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing varies across six different sport breeds at two time points 8 months apart within a cohort of 189 healthy horses cared for under similar conditions. Lusitano horses presented the smallest and Hanoverians the greatest bacterial diversity. We found subtle bu...
Hatam-Nahavandi K, Ahmadpour E, Carmena D, Spotin A, Bangoura B, Xiao L.Cryptosporidium spp. are causative agents of gastrointestinal diseases in a wide variety of vertebrate hosts. Mortality resulting from the disease is low in livestock, although severe cryptosporidiosis has been associated with fatality in young animals. Methods: The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to review the prevalence and molecular data on Cryptosporidium infections in selected terrestrial domestic and wild ungulates of the families Bovidae (bison, buffalo, cattle, goat, impala, mouflon sheep, sheep, yak), Cervidae (red deer, roe deer, white-tailed deer), Camelidae (al...
Scholtzek AD, Hanke D, Walther B, Eichhorn I, Stöckle SD, Klein KS, Gehlen H, Lübke-Becker A, Schwarz S, Feßler AT.The detection of borderline oxacillin-resistant (BORSA) represents a challenge to both, veterinary and human laboratories. Between 2015 and 2017, 19 equine with elevated minimal inhibitory concentrations for oxacillin were detected in routine diagnostics. The aim of this study was to characterize these isolates to identify factors possibly associated with the BORSA phenotype. All were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole genome sequencing (WGS). A quantifiable β-lactamase activity assay was performed for a representative subset of 13 isolates. The WGS data analysis o...
Dennis SJ, Meyers AE, Hitzeroth II, Rybicki EP.African horse sickness is a devastating disease that causes great suffering and many fatalities amongst horses in sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by nine different serotypes of the orbivirus African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and it is spread by Culicoid midges. The disease has significant economic consequences for the equine industry both in southern Africa and increasingly further afield as the geographic distribution of the midge vector broadens with global warming and climate change. Live attenuated vaccines (LAV) have been used with relative success for many decades but carry the risk o...
Farries G, Gough KF, Parnell AC, McGivney BA, McGivney CL, McGettigan PA, MacHugh DE, Katz LM, Hill EW.Despite strong selection for athletic traits in Thoroughbred horses, there is marked variation in speed and aptitude for racing performance within the breed. Using global positioning system monitoring during exercise training, we measured speed variables and temporal changes in speed with age to derive phenotypes for GWAS. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that genetic variation contributes to variation in end-point physiological traits, in this case galloping speed measured during field exercise tests. Standardisation of field-measured phenotypes was attempted by assessing horse...
Tyrrell JD, Qurollo BA, Tornquist SJ, Schlaich KG, Kelsey J, Chandrashekar R, Breitschwerdt EB.Certain vector-borne organisms serve as etiological agents of equine disease. After previously identifying a new Ehrlichia species in horses from Mérida, we aimed to determine the infection frequency and screen for a wide range of vector-borne organisms from 93 tick-exposed, Ehrlichia seropositive horses in this region. PCR assays were performed to identify infection by organisms within the following genera: Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Leishmania, Mycoplasma, Neorickettsia, Rickettsia and Theileria. Overall, 90/93 horses (96.8%) were infected with one or more vector-borne organ...
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 ...
Di Rubbo A, McNabb L, Klein R, White JR, Colling A, Dimitrov DS, Broder CC, Middleton D, Lunt RA.Maintenance of Hendra virus (HeV) in pteropid bat populations has been associated with spillover events in horses, humans and dogs. Experimental studies have demonstrated infections for several other species including guinea pigs, cats and ferrets. The criteria of a sensitive and specific serological test that is effective for a range of species, but which does not require use of live virus, has not been satisfactorily addressed by currently available tests. We have evaluated the use of two HeV neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in a blocking format enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bE...
Millican L, Vanderstichel R, McClure J, MacMillan K.The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of owners of horse farms in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada that were aware of the (CODE) and determine demographic factors associated with awareness. A questionnaire was completed by owners at fifty horse farms. In total, 38% of the farm owners were unaware of the CODE, 48% were aware, but were not familiar with its content and only 14% used the CODE when making decisions on caring for their horses. Owners of private stables were more aware of the CODE than owners of boarding stables. The CODE awareness varied between the three...
Machado M, Wilson TM, Ribeiro de Sousa DE, Lopes Câmara AC, Furlan FH, Silva Almeida E Macêdo JT, Pupin RC, Amaral de Lemos RA, Armién AG....Snake bite envenomations in farm animals are generally overestimated as the cause of mortality in rural areas in Latin America. However, most cases are based only on anecdotal information and assumptions, and lack diagnostic evidence. There are few proven reports of envenomation and death in horses caused by snakebites from members of the Bothrops genus (lancehead pit vipers). This study presents epidemiological and clinical-pathological findings of fatal bothropic envenomation in horses from Central Western Brazil in order to contribute to the correct diagnosis of this condition. A survey of ...
Gaudaire D, Lazić S, Lupulović D, Petrovic T, Lazić G, Berthet N, Hans A.Here, we report the first whole-genome sequence of an equine arteritis virus (EAV) strain, RS1, isolated from the semen of a Lipizzaner stallion held in the Vojvodina region of Serbia.
Marquardt SA, Wilcox CV, Burns EN, Peterson JA, Finno CJ.Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is a neurologic disease that has been reported in young horses from a wide range of breeds. The disease is inherited and associated with vitamin E deficiency during the first two years of life, resulting in bilateral symmetric ataxia. A missense mutation (chr3:71,917,591 C > T) within adhesion G protein-coupled receptor L3 (ADGRL3) was recently associated with risk for EDM in the Caspian breed. In order to confirm these findings, genotyping of this missense mutation, along with the three other associated single nuc...
Börjesson S, Greko C, Myrenås M, Landén A, Nilsson O, Pedersen K.The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of the newly described transferable colistin resistance gene mcr-9 in extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing clinical Enterobacteriaceae isolates from horses in Sweden. A total of 56 whole-genome sequenced ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates from horses were subjected to in silico detection of antimicrobial resistance genes and identification of plasmid replicons types. The colistin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for mcr-positive isolates was determined by broth microdilution. Relatedness between Enterobacteriaceae...
León B, Jiménez C, González R, Ramirez-Carvajal L.The first complete coding sequence of the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus IE, isolated from a Costa Rican mare with severe encephalitis, was confirmed by histological and viral whole-genome analyses. The isolated virus grouped in the Pacific cluster.
Tarancón I, Armengou L, Melendez-Lazo A, Pastor J, Ríos J, Jose-Cunilleras E.To assess the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) among elite endurance horses after competition in a long-distance race. 20 endurance horses and 12 nonexercised or minimally exercised age-, breed-, and trainer-matched horses from the same environment (control horses). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples collected from endurance horses at 3 to 8 days (sample A) and 36 to 38 days (sample B) after the race (100 km in 1 day [n = 3], 70 km/d for 2 days [12], or 100 km/d for 2 days [5]) were cytologically examined for the presence of hemosiderophages. Samples from control ho...
Lechmann J, Schoster A, Ernstberger M, Fouché N, Fraefel C, Bachofen C.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infections can have a major impact on the horse industry and equine welfare by causing abortion or respiratory or neurologic disease. A single nucleotide polymorphism (A→G) in open reading frame (ORF) 30, encoding the catalytic subunit of the DNA polymerase, has been shown to be a strong predictive marker for neuropathogenicity. Given that a previously established real-time PCR (rtPCR) protocol yielded unsatisfactory results concerning determination of the EHV-1 genotype, we developed and evaluated a new conventional PCR protocol enabling identification of th...
Farah Haziqah MT, Nur Hikmah AM, Mat Hasan H, Hamdan A, Nik Him NAII.An investigation was undertaken for screening and isolating nematophagous-fungi from the faecal samples of various grazing animals and soils in Malaysia. Total of 111 faeces and 50 soil samples were collected and the samples were cultured on 2% water agar plates. The growth of nematophagous-fungi was stimulated by sprinkling-baiting technique. The conidia of suspected nematophagous-fungi were inoculated on 2% water agar plates. All isolated were maintained on 2% cornmeal agar plates. Verticillium spp., Fusarium spp. and Arthrobotrys spp. were identified from the faecal and soil samples. 62.5% ...
Bueno I, Pearce P, Dunowska M. To estimate the frequency of infection with equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) among horses from the central North Island of New Zealand, including the frequency of detection of the D genotype. Samples of retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) and submandibular lymph nodes (SLN) were dissected from the heads of 63 horses that were humanely killed for various unrelated reasons between March and November 2015. DNA extracted from these tissues was subjected to enrichment for EHV-1 sequences by hybridisation with biotin-labelled EHV-1 specific probe, followed by recovery of EHV-1 sequences on streptavi...
Rusnak JM, Glass PJ, Weaver SC, Sabourin CL, Glenn AM, Klimstra W, Badorrek CS, Nasar F, Ward LA.Licensure of a vaccine to protect against aerosolized Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) requires use of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Animal Rule to assess vaccine efficacy as human studies are not feasible or ethical. An approach to selecting VEEV challenge strains for use under the Animal Rule was developed, taking into account Department of Defense (DOD) vaccine requirements, FDA Animal Rule guidelines, strain availability, and lessons learned from the generation of filovirus challenge agents within the Filovirus Animal Nonclinical Group (FANG). Initial down-selectio...
Murphy RJT, Ramsay JP, Lee YT, Pang S, O'Dea MA, Pearson JC, Axon JE, Raby E, Abdulgader SM, Whitelaw A, Coombs GW.Staphylococcus aureus is a serious human and animal pathogen. Multilocus sequence type 612 (ST612) is the dominant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clone in certain South African hospitals and is sporadically isolated from horses and horse-associated veterinarians in Australia. Colonisation and infection by ST612-MRSA is increasing in Western Australia. Whole-genome sequencing was performed for 51 isolates of ST612-MRSA from Western Australian patients and healthcare workers, South African hospital patients, Australian veterinarians and New South Wales horses. Core genome phylogenies sug...
Morrice-West AV, Hitchens PL, Walmsley EA, Stevenson MA, Whitton RC.Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) in racehorses are commonly due to bone fatigue, a function of the number of cycles (strides) and the magnitude of load applied to the limb. These parameters can be estimated using speed and distance, with greater than 6000 m/month at a gallop (>14 m/s), in combination with canter distances greater than 44,000 m/month, reported to increase fracture risk. Despite their importance, there are limited data on the distances and speeds horses are exposed to during training. Objective: Estimate training volume at different speeds undertaken by Australian Thoroughbr...
Forsyth J, Halliwell RE, Harrand R.Identification of environmental allergens in horses with allergic disease facilitates allergen avoidance and targeted immunotherapy. Objective: To evaluate allergenic co-reactivity between 44 environmental allergens. Methods: Horses with suspected allergic disease (n = 344) whose sera were submitted for environmental allergen testing. Methods: Allergen-specific IgE serological assays were performed using 44 allergens divided into six taxonomically related groups: house dust/storage mites, moulds, insects, grass, tree and weed pollens. Using pairwise comparisons, odds ratios (ORs) were calcul...
Legg KA, Weston JF, Gee EK, Bolwell CF, Bridges JP, Rogers CW.The welfare of horses in endurance competitions has been the focus of recent media attention. Epidemiological studies have examined the sport at the international (FEI) level. However, much of the participation in the sport occurs at a national level in preparation for FEI level competition. The aims of this study were to describe participation in, and risk factors for elimination, from New Zealand endurance competitions. Data were collated from all endurance competitions (≥40 km) held in New Zealand during the 2010/11-2015/16 competition seasons. There were 6885 starts (n = 775 horses, n = ...
Paim WP, Weber MN, Cibulski SP, da Silva MS, Puhl DE, Budaszewski RF, Varela APM, Mayer FQ, Canal CW.Horses are often used as blood donors for commercial horse serum (HS) production and to manufacture biologicals. HS is an alternative for fetal bovine serum (FBS) used as a supplement for cell culture and vaccine production. Furthermore, HS is also frequently obtained in order to produce antisera toxins and pathogens. The advent of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has promoted changes in virus detection, since previous knowledge of targets is not required. Thus, the present study aimed to describe the virome of five different batches of commercial HS from New Zealand (three batches) and Brazil...
Shnaiderman-Torban A, Paitan Y, Arielly H, Kondratyeva K, Tirosh-Levy S, Abells-Sutton G, Navon-Venezia S, Steinman A.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) have been investigated in adult horses, but not in foals. We aimed to determine shedding and infection in neonatal foals and mares. Rectal swabs were sampled from mare and foal pairs on admission and on the 3rd day of hospitalization; enriched, plated, and bacteria were verified for ESBL production. Identification and antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined (Vitek2). Genotyping was performed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Genes were identified by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Medical data were analyzed for risk factors (...
Truppel JH, Otomura F, Teodoro U, Massafera R, da Costa-Ribeiro MC, Catarino CM, Dalagrana L, Costa Ferreira ME, Thomaz-Soccol V.In this study, we detected Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis infection in equids living in endemic regions of cutaneous leishmaniasis. To determine the role of these animals in the Leishmania cycle, we used two approaches: serological and molecular methods. Antibodies to the parasite were assayed using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Blood samples were collected and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the positive products were sequenced. The results showed that 11.0% (25/227) of the equids were seropositive for Leishmania sp, and 16.3% (37/227) were PCR positive. Ant...
Davoust B, Mediannikov O, Roqueplo C, Perret C, Demoncheaux JP, Sambou M, Guillot J, Blaga R.Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate, intracellular, parasitic protozoan within the phylum Apicomplexa that causes toxoplasmosis in mammalian hosts (including humans) and birds. We used modified direct agglutination test for the screening of the animals' sera collected in Senegal. In total, 419 animals' sera have been studied: 103 bovines, 43 sheep, 52 goats, 63 horses, 13 donkeys and 145 dogs. The collection of sera was performed in four different regions of Senegal: Dakar, Sine Saloum, Kedougou and Basse Casamance from 2011 to 2013. We have revealed antibodies in 13% of bovines, 16% of sheep, 15...
Stewart AJ, Hinchcliff KW, Saville WJ, Jose-Cunilleras E, Hardy J, Kohn CW, Reed SM, Kowalski JJ.Medical records of 101 blood culture-confirmed bacteremic foals were reviewed to determine whether foals with Actinobacillus sp. bacteremia are affected at an earlier age, have more severe signs of disease, and have a worse prognosis than do foals with bacteremia of other causes. Thirty percent (30/101) of bacteremic foals had Actinobacillus sp. cultured, and these were 2 times more likely to die (crude odds ratio [OR(CR)] 0.8, 4; P = .14), with a survival rate of 43% (13/30) compared to the overall survival rate of 55% (56/101). When compared to other bacteremic foals, foals with actinobacill...
Boston RC, Nunamaker DM.To determine the degree to which components of the training program of 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses influence their susceptibility to fatigue injury of the third metacarpal bone (bucked shins). Methods: 226 two-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Daily training information and health reports on 2-year-old Thoroughbreds were compiled from records provided from 5 commercial stables. For each horse, data (exercise variables) were collected that comprised distance jogged (approx speed of 5 m/s), galloped (approx 11 m/s), and breezed (approx 15 to 16 m/s) until a single instance of buc...
Pinchbeck GL, Clegg PD, Proudman CJ, Stirk A, Morgan KL, French NP.A prospective cohort study was conducted on horses starting in hurdle and steeplechase races on six UK racecourses in 2000 and 2001. Trainers or carers were questioned on the horses' pre-race routine and observational data were collected in the stables and parade ring. Some practices were common to many starters, such as withholding food and water before racing whereas other practices, such as schooling frequency, were more variable. There was a total of 2879 starts and a total of 83 injuries or medical events (28.8/1000 starts). The commonest types of injury were tendon/suspensory injuries an...
Ravel S, Mediannikov O, Bossard G, Desquesnes M, Cuny G, Davoust B.In Senegal, several areas provide great potential for agriculture and animal production, but African animal trypanosomosis (AAT) is one of the major constraints to the development of more effective livestock production systems. A study was conducted to assess the current situation of AAT in this country. Surveys were carried out between June 2011 and September 2012 in four different areas: Dakar, Sine Saloum, Kedougou region and Basse Casamance in several animal species: dogs (152), donkeys (23), horses (63), sheep (43), goats (52) and cattle (104), distributed in the four sites. Molecular too...
Ruiz-López MJ, Muñoz-Chimeno M, Figuerola J, Gavilán AM, Varona S, Cuesta I, Martínez-de la Puente J, Zaballos Á, Molero F, Soriguer RC....Emerging infectious diseases are one of the most important global health challenges because of their impact on human and animal health. The vector-borne West Nile virus (WNV) is transmitted between birds by mosquitos, but it can also infect humans and horses causing disease. The local circulation of WNV in Spain has been known for decades, and since 2010, there have been regular outbreaks in horses, although only six cases were reported in humans until 2019. In 2020, Spain experienced a major outbreak with 77 human cases, which was followed by 6 additional cases in 2021, most of them in the An...
Rehbein S, Lindner T, Visser M, Winter R.Faecal samples of 250 horses from farms with a known history of tapeworm infection were examined comparatively for cestode eggs using a double centrifugation/combined sedimentation-floatation technique. From each faecal sample, three 5 g and three 15 g subsamples were processed, each using either saturated NaCl solution, specific gravity (sp. g.) 1.2 [NaCl]; concentrated sugar solution, sp. g. 1.26 [sugar]; or concentrated ZnSO4 solution, sp. g. 1.3 [ZnSO4] for floatation. In total, faeces from 187 horses ( = 74.8%) tested 'positive' for Anoplocephala eggs. Percentages of samples testing '...
Karamendin K, Kydyrmanov A, Kasymbekov Y, Khan E, Daulbayeva K, Asanova S, Zhumatov K, Seidalina A, Sayatov M, Fereidouni SR.Equine influenza (EI) continues to be an important respiratory pathogen of horses worldwide. Since 2007 several outbreaks of EI have occurred in Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, India and western China. Phylogenetic analysis showed that two H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV) isolates from Kazakhstan, A/equine/Almaty/26/2007 and A/equine/South Kazakhstan/236/12, were related to Florida sublineage 2, with high similarity to EIVs circulating in the same period in neighbouring countries. New outbreaks of EI during 2011 and 2012 in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian c...
Banet-Noach C, Malkinson M, Brill A, Samina I, Yadin H, Weisman Y, Pokamunski S, King R, Deubel V, Stram Y.In November 1997, an outbreak of a neuroparalytic disease caused by West Nile (WN) virus was diagnosed in young goose flocks. Domestic geese were similarly affected in the late summer and fall of 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. WN viruses were also isolated from migratory and wild birds and horses in 1998-2001. A 1278 bp sequence of the envelope gene of 24 Israeli WN virus isolates was compared with those of seven isolates from Africa, Europe and New York. As a result, the Israeli isolates could then be grouped into two clusters. The 15 avian and three equine from 1997-2001 in the first cluster of ...
Verheyen KL, Henley WE, Price JS, Wood JL.Dorsometacarpal disease (DMD) is common in young Thoroughbred (TB) racehorses, often interfering with their training programme. No reports exist on incidence rate or associated risk factors in the UK. Objective: To estimate the incidence rate of DMD in TB horses in training for flat racing in the UK and identify associated risk factors, particularly in relation to training regimens. Methods: Data were drawn from a large prospective study in which TB horses in 13 training yards were monitored for a period of up to 2 years, recording daily training information and details of musculoskeletal inju...
Pusterla N, Pusterla JB, Braun U, Lutz H.Four cows and four horses were infected experimentally with Ehrlichia phagocytophila, the cause of tickborne fever in ruminants, and with human granulocytic ehrlichia-like agent, a recently discovered species that infects people, horses and dogs in the USA and Europe. They were infected in either order, 30 days apart, to investigate serological cross-reactivity within the Ephagocytophila genogroup. The course of infection was assessed by routine clinical, haematological, serological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) examinations. Two of the cows infected with Ephagocytophila and two of the h...
Rott R, Herzog S, Richt J, Stitz L.Borna disease is an endemic progressive encephalomyelitis of horses and sheep prevalent in central Europe. A wide variety of animal species, ranging from chickens to primates can be infected experimentally with the causative virus, which is only poorly characterized. Furthermore, BD virus-specific antibodies have been detected in sera and cerebrospinal fluids of psychiatric patients. Our studies on the pathogenesis of BD have shown that-at least in rats-the disease is not caused by the infecting virus itself, but by a virus-induced immunopathological reaction. Thus, after intracerebral infecti...
Marenzoni ML, Stefanetti V, Papa P, Casagrande Proietti P, Bietta A, Coletti M, Passamonti F, Henning K.The role of the horse in Coxiella burnetii infection has not been defined. Accordingly, a twofold approach was taken to further our knowledge on this topic: (1) conduct a systematic review of the literature to establish available evidence of C. burnetii infection in the horse; (2) undertake a biomolecular investigation of 122 cases of equine abortion, stillbirth and neonatal foal death, for the presence of C. burnetii using a PCR test targeting the IS1111 gene of C. burnetii. A review of the literature turned up seven studies that identified C. burnetii DNA in equine specimens, especially abor...
KAPLAN MM, PAYNE AM.In 1957 the World Health Organization arranged a survey of horse and swine sera in a number of countries in order to gain information on the role and importance of animals in the epidemiology of influenza. The veterinary services of the countries concerned were requested to obtain blood specimens from these animals, if possible both before and after the human pandemic of Asian influenza. This paper reports on the results of haemagglutination-inhibition and complement-fixation tests performed on these sera in WHO Influenza Centres and other collaborating laboratories.It is apparent from these r...
Gao JF, Zhang XX, Wang XX, Li Q, Li Y, Xu WW, Gao Y, Wang CR.Parascarosis is caused mainly by parasitic infections with Parascaris equorum and Parascaris univalens, the most common ascarid nematodes, in the small intestine of equines. Parascarosis often causes severe illness and even death in foals and yearlings. In this study, we obtained the complete sequence of the P. equorum mitochondrial (mt) genome and compared its organization and structure with that of P. equorum Japan isolate (nearly complete), and the complete mtDNA sequences of P. univalens Switzerland and USA isolates. The complete mtDNA genome of P. equorum China isolate is 13,899 base pair...
Shkap V, Cohen I, Leibovitz B, Savitsky , Pipano E, Avni G, Shofer S, Giger U, Kappmeyer L, Knowles D.Sera from 361 horses were tested by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFA) and by competitive inhibition ELISA (cELISA), to detect antibodies to Babesia equi. The concordance between the assays was 95.7%. Application of a cutoff based on a calculated percent inhibition of 20% inhibition was used. Approximately one-third of all the horses tested were found serologically positive to B. equi, with more horses testing positive from northern Israel. Among horses raised with access to pasture there was a significant difference in the percentage of seropositive reactors (76.6% in the north ...
Jakubek EB, Lundén A, Uggla A.Sera from 414 Swedish horses were investigated for the presence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora sp. by the T. gondii direct agglutination test (DAT), and an Neospora caninum iscom-ELISA. Five sera (1%) had a titre >1:40 in DAT, but when analysed by immunoblotting against T. gondii antigens only two of them were positive, giving a seroprevalence of 0.5%. Since the Neospora iscom ELISA had not been validated for equine sera it was used for an initial screening, and all sera with an optical density exceeding 0.200 absorbance units were selected for further investigation by immu...
Dangoudoubiyam S, Oliveira JB, Víquez C, Gómez-García A, González O, Romero JJ, Kwok OC, Dubey JP, Howe DK.Serum samples from 315 horses from Costa Rica, Central America, were examined for the presence of antibodies against Sarcocystis neurona, Neospora spp., and Toxoplasma gondii by using the surface antigen (SAG) SnSAG2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the NhSAG1 ELISA, and the modified agglutination test, respectively. Anti- S. neurona antibodies were found in 42.2% of the horses by using the SnSAG2 ELISA. Anti- Neospora spp. antibodies were found in only 3.5% of the horses by using the NhSAG1 ELISA, and only 1 of these horses was confirmed seropositive by Western blot. Antibodies to T...
Gierup J, Larsson M, Lennquist S.A prospective one-year study of horse-riding accidents was performed in an area with a very high frequency of amateur riding. Totally 174 patients with riding injuries were registered--66% children--making an incidence of only 0.7 per thousand riding occasions. However, many of these injuries were of a severe nature, one leading to death and 27 of the patients reporting persisting symptoms at follow-up one year after the accident. Eleven per cent of the accidents lead to cerebral injuries and 44% to fractures, mainly of the upper extremities. Eleven per cent required hospitalization and 17% op...
Sells PD, Pinchbeck G, Mezzane H, Ibourki J, Crane M.Wounds are one of the primary welfare concerns of working equids and are often related to harness or load-bearing packs. Objective: To identify and quantify factors associated with the presence of pack wounds in donkeys and mules working in the wood trade in the Midelt (Northern High Atlas) region of Morocco, and to compare wounds of these donkeys and mules to those working in other trades. Methods: The study population comprised equids working in the Midelt region involved in the wood trade. Comparison populations were comprised of equids working in other trades, in the same region and in Khe...
Simonato G, Danesi P, Frangipane di Regalbono A, Dotto G, Tessarin C, Pietrobelli M, Pasotto D.Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are based on the establishment of a therapeutic relationship between animals and beneficiaries that is certain to provide positive effects, while currently, it reads as if AAIs aim at exposing stakeholders to potential risk of infection. The surveillance of zoonotic pathogens is necessary for guaranteeing common health. This study investigated the presence of potentially zoonotic parasites, including dermatophytes, in animals involved in AAIs. Between 2015 and 2017, 190 animals (equids, dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, and goats) were investigated. Anam...
Sauer FJ, Hermann M, Ramseyer A, Burger D, Riemer S, Gerber V.Sport horses need to fulfill high physical and psychological requirements during training and competition. These as well as certain conditions of modern husbandry may affect their wellbeing. Here we aimed to (1) evaluate effects of demographic and management factors as well as personality traits on stress reactivity of sport horses, (2) investigate if elite sport horses have elevated stress levels compared to amateur sport horses, and (3) assess whether different equestrian disciplines differentially influence equine adrenal cortex responsiveness. For this purpose, we visited 149 healthy elite...
Brits D, Steyn M, L'Abbé EN.Histology is used to describe post-mortem bone alterations, trauma, pathology and age estimation and to separate human and non-human bones. Many scholars are however not familiar with the intricate and variable microstructure of bone, and due to the complex nature of some classification systems, bone histomorphology is often incorrectly described or identified. Little information is available on the histomorphology of non-human bones found in southern Africa, and therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the histomorphology of non-human species commonly found in southern Africa, namely,...
ter Laak EA, Fennema G, Jaartsveld FH.Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) was detected in the Netherlands for the first time in 1987. A total number of five mares (Dutch saddle-horse) were infected in three separate outbreaks. The origin of the infection could not be determined in any of the cases. As the isolates of the causal organism, Taylorella equigenitalis, showed auto-agglutination, diagnosis was difficult. Therefore, an indirect immune fluorescence test as used to diagnose the second isolate. Five strains were isolated, which all were resistant to streptomycin. The prevalence of CEM since 1981 is summarised. The importance of...
Portas M, Boinas FS, Oliveira E Sousa J, Rawlings P.African horse sickness (AHS) was diagnosed for the first time in southern Portugal in autumn 1989, following outbreaks in Spain. AHS virus presence was confirmed by virus isolation and serotyping. An eradication campaign with four sanitary zones was set up by Central Veterinary Services in close collaboration with private organizations. Vaccination began on 6 October. In February 1990, vaccination was extended to all Portuguese equines (170000 animals). There were 137 outbreaks on 104 farms: 206 of the equidae present died (16%) or were slaughtered (14%); 81.5% were horses, 10.7% were donkeys ...
Blay KL, Gueirard P, Guiso N, Chaby R.Six monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Bordetella pertussis (P1P3, 60.5), B. parapertussis (PP2, PP6, PPB) and B. bronchiseptica (BRg1) were used to examine the presence of antigenic determinants of LPS on B. bronchiseptica cells. Forty-eight clinical isolates of this Gram-negative bacterium (4 canine, 3 equine, 6 porcine, 4 rabbit and 31 human) were examined. Significant cross-reactivities with the heterologous anti-pertussis and anti-parapertussis mAbs were observed. The isolates also exhibited marked antigenic polymorphism. The 48 isolates could be classifie...
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...
Sairanen J, Nivola K, Katila T, Virtala AM, Ojala M.The Finnish mating records of Standardbred trotters (SB; n = 33 679) and Finnhorses (FH; n = 32 731) were analysed to study the effect of the level of inbreeding on foaling rates and to estimate the heritability of foaling rate. A linear mixed model was assumed, with the outcome of the foaling (foal or no foal) as the trait of the study. A restricted maximum likelihood-based method was used to calculate the estimates of the variance components. Predictions of breeding values and estimates of fixed effects were also calculated. The average level of inbreeding was 9.9% in the SB and 3.6% in the ...
López RH, Soto SU, Gallego-Gómez JC.West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the genus Flavivirus, and it is transmitted between Culex sp. mosquitoes and avian hosts. Equids and humans are commonly infected with WNV as dead-end hosts, and the signs and symptoms of infection range from mild illness to neurologic symptoms as encephalitis, meningitis and sometimes death. Previous phylogenetic studies have classified WNV into six genetically distinct lineages and provided valuable insight on WNV dispersal patterns within the Americas and its emergence in different geographic areas. In this study, we isolated, sequenced and genetically c...
