Equine diseases encompass a wide range of health conditions that can affect horses, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic conditions. These diseases can impact the overall health, performance, and well-being of horses. Common equine diseases include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, laminitis, and equine metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and management of these diseases often require a combination of clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and appropriate treatment strategies. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for various equine diseases, providing valuable insights for veterinarians and researchers in the field.
Gildea S, Arkins S, Cullinane A.Outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) in endemic populations continue to cause economic loss despite widespread vaccination. Objective: To identify the key management and environmental factors that determine the risk of horses contracting EI in an endemic country and to identify control strategies. Methods: Real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), virus isolation and haemagglutination inhibition were carried out on nasopharyngeal swabs and clotted blood samples collected from horses and ponies showing signs of respiratory disease. On premises where a diagnosis of EI was confirmed, the attend...
Gornik K, Moore P, Figueiredo M, Vandenplas M.Human corneal cells have detectable levels of TLRs 1-10. TLRs 2 and 4 are the major corneal receptors, recognizing the PAMPs associated with fungal invasion in humans. The conjunctiva and limbus contain TLRs 2, 4, and 9. Our purpose was to determine the expression of TLRs 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and MD-2 in the normal equine cornea, conjunctiva, and limbus. Methods: Corneal, limbal, and conjunctival tissues were collected from seven euthanized horses having no evidence of ocular disease. RNA extraction with DNase-1 digestion was performed followed by RT-PCR to determine expression of TLRs 2, 3, 4, 6, 9...
Senior JM, Proudman CJ, Leuwer M, Carter SD.Endotoxaemia is frequently presumed on the basis of clinical signs in horses with colic. Objective: Measurements of plasma endotoxin (LPS) are rarely made in clinical cases and there is little information on the correlations between this variable, clinical variables and outcomes. Objective: To measure LPS levels in plasma of horses presented to the Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital on admission and daily for up to 4 days and to relate LPS levels to selected clinical parameters, such as heart rate and packed cell volume, and outcomes. Methods: Blood samples were collected and stored at -20°C p...
Pinard CL, Basrur PK.To characterize the ocular anomalies, determine their recurrence in families and assess the mode of inheritance of the most prevalent anomalies through pedigree analysis in a herd of Exmoor ponies. Methods: Thirty Exmoor ponies residing in south-western Ontario, Canada. Methods: Ophthalmic examination was performed using direct ophthalmoscopy, slit-lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy, pre- and post-pupillary dilation. Following compilation of ocular findings, pedigree analysis was conducted to assess the recurrence pattern of specific anomalies in families and the data were tested f...
Deschene K, Céleste C, Boerboom D, Theoret CL.As a transient hypoxic state exists within skin wounds in horses and may be important for the healing process, this study sought to identify a molecular hypoxia response occurring in horse limb and body wounds healing by second intention. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) protein expression was studied throughout repair by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. Paradoxically, HIF1α was strongly expressed in intact skin and its expression decreased dramatically following wounding (p<0.01), despite the expected hypoxic state within the wounded tissue. HIF1α levels reincreased in parallel...
Lohmann KL, Lewis SR, Wobeser B, Allen AL.Three cases of penetrating metallic foreign bodies causing peritonitis in horses are reported. These cases were presented with varying clinical complaints and duration of clinical signs. Entry of foreign bodies into the abdominal cavity through the skin and body wall is reported for the first time. Corps étrangers métalliques pénétrants comme cause de péritonite chez 3 chevaux. Trois cas de corps étrangers métalliques pénétrants ayant causé une péritonite chez des chevaux sont signalés. Ces cas ont été présentés avec des plaintes cliniques différentes et une durée variable de...
De Ceulaer K, Van Ginneken C, Delesalle C, Van Brantegem L, Deprez P, Weyns A.This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of slaughterhouse-obtained small intestinal tissue as control material in equine colic research where molecular stress responses in small intestinal tissue are investigated. For this purpose, small intestinal samples from colic horses were collected during surgery or immediately after euthanasia at the oral border of strangulation resection sites and routinely processed for histopathology (i.c. rinsed with 4°C Krebs' solution, fixated overnight with 4% neutral buffered formaldehyde (FH) at room temperature). Control samples consisted of pieces of m...
Westermeyer HD, Hendrix DV, Ward DA, Cox SK.To determine ocular tissue drug concentrations after topical ocular administration of 0.3% ciprofloxacin and 0.5% moxifloxacin in ophthalmologically normal horses. Methods: 24 ophthalmologically normal adult horses. Methods: 0.3% ciprofloxacin and 0.5% moxifloxacin solutions (0.1 mL) were applied to the ventral conjunctival fornix of 1 eye in each horse as follows: group 1 (n = 8) at 0, 2, 4, and 6 hours; group 2 (8) at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 10 hours; and group 3 (8) at 0, 2, 4, 6, 10, and 14 hours. Tears, cornea, and aqueous humor (AH) were collected at 8, 14, and 18 hours for groups 1, 2, and 3, r...
Hurley DJ, Berghaus LJ, Hurley KA, Moore JN.To evaluate effects of black walnut extract (BWE) on equine mononuclear cells and determine whether BWE has direct proinflammatory effects. Methods: Mononuclear cells separated from blood samples from 8 horses. Methods: Aqueous BWE was prepared and processed to eliminate contamination with particulates and microbes. A Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay was used to detect lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contamination in the BWE. Mononuclear cells were incubated in minimal essential medium with or without the addition of 0.6% to 10% (vol/vol) BWE. These mononuclear cells were assessed for viability, activ...
Fielding CL, Pusterla N, Magdesian KG, Higgins JC, Meier CA.To characterize signalment, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment, and outcome in horses with rattlesnake envenomation in northern California. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 58 client-owned horses evaluated for rattlesnake envenomation at 2 referral hospitals from 1992 to 2009. Methods: Records of horses with rattlesnake envenomation were reviewed, and data concerning signalment, clinical and laboratory findings, treatment, and outcome were collected. In addition, a rattlesnake-bite severity score (RBSS) was assigned to each horse. Variables were compared between horses tha...
Seo MG, Yun SH, Choi SK, Cho GJ, Park YS, Kwon OD, Cho KH, Kim TH, Jeong KS, Park SJ, Kwon YS, Kwak D.Equine piroplasms include two tick-borne protozoan parasites, Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Although no clinical equine piroplasmosis has been reported in the Republic of Korea, the possible existence of the disease has been proposed due to a nationwide distribution of the vector ticks. To determine if the antibodies against B. caballi and T. equi were present, 184 sera of horses (Equus caballus) raised in the Republic of Korea from 2007 to 2010 were assessed using cELISA kits. Two (1.1%) out of 184 sera were positive for T. equi, but none were seropositive for B. caballi. Both samples t...
Gudehus T, Sod GA, Riggs LM, Mitchell CF, Martin GS.To compare the mean number of cycles to failure under axial compression of equine proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint arthrodesis constructs created by 2 parallel transarticular Acutrak Plus screws (AP-TS) or 2 parallel transarticular 5.5 mm cortical screws inserted in lag fashion (AO-TLS). Methods: Paired in vitro biomechanical testing of 2 methods of stabilizing cadaveric adult equine forelimb PIP joints. Methods: Cadaveric adult equine forelimbs (n=5 pairs). Methods: For each forelimb pair, 1 PIP joint was stabilized with AP-TS and 1 with AP-TLS. The 5 construct pairs were tested for cycli...
Snider TA, Sepoy C, Holyoak GR.The equine endometrial biopsy, an important tool in equine reproduction science, has experienced a rich period of increasing knowledge, development, and application over the past 40 y. Much of the foundational work in this field was conducted by Dr. Robert M. Kenney. In view of his recent passing, this review is dedicated to our alumnus, Dr. Robert M. Kenney (OSU, 1954). In this manuscript, we pay tribute to Kenney-eponymous for the equine endometrial biopsy grading system-by reviewing the procedure. We present this review in three parts: 1) how observational data are acquired; 2) how these da...
Barrandeguy M, Thiry E.Equine coital exanthema (ECE) caused by equid herpesvirus 3 (EHV-3) is a contagious venereal disease characterised by the formation of painful papules, vesicles, pustules and ulcers on the external genitalia of both mares and stallions. EHV-3 is an alphaherpesvirus that is distinct from the other equine herpesviruses and endemic in most horse breeding populations worldwide. The negative impacts of ECE on equine breeding enterprises are the forced, temporary disruption of mating activities of mares and stallions, the additional care and supportive treatment that is required for affected horses,...
Timoney JF, Kalimuthusamy N, Velineni S, Donahue JM, Artiushin SC, Fettinger M.Although serologic data indicate horses in N. America are exposed to a variety of leptospiral serovars, abortion is almost always associated with Leptospira interrogans serovar Pomona type kennewicki. A variety of wildlife including raccoons, white tailed deer, striped skunks, opossums, and red and grey foxes have been shown to host serovar Pomona and have therefore been suspect as sources of infection for pregnant mares. The aim of the present study was to examine genetic diversity in serovar Pomona type kennewicki in wildlife and in aborting mares. Our approach utilized PCR that targeted tan...
Nagy K, Sung HK, Zhang P, Laflamme S, Vincent P, Agha-Mohammadi S, Woltjen K, Monetti C, Michael IP, Smith LC, Nagy A.The domesticated horse represents substantial value for the related sports and recreational fields, and holds enormous potential as a model for a range of medical conditions commonly found in humans. Most notable of these are injuries to muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have sparked tremendous hopes for future regenerative therapies of conditions that today are not possible to cure. Equine iPS (EiPS) cells, in addition to bringing promises to the veterinary field, open up the opportunity to utilize horses for the validation of stem cell based therapi...
Cook VL, Holcombe SJ, Gandy JC, Corl CM, Sordillo LM.Monocytes are among the initial cells that interact with circulating LPS. Binding of LPS to monocyte surface receptors triggers an intracellular signaling cascade and results in the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Ethyl pyruvate, a stable derivative of pyruvate, has been effective in mitigating LPS induced alterations in isolated human monocytes. We hypothesized that ethyl pyruvate would suppress proinflammatory gene expression in LPS-stimulated equine monocytes without affecting cell viability. Equine monocytes were isolated from whole blood using a sediment-gradient centrifugation p...
Shi L, Wang D, Riggs CM, Qin L, Griffith JF.Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a computational technique that has been used to analyze statistical differences between groups of MR brain images. This study outlines a new VBM pipeline, designed for determining statistical variation in bone mineral density (BMD). CT images of proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) specimens from the right forelimb of six racehorses that had suffered PSB fractures were compared with six age-matched control specimens. Following segmentation, masked gray-scale images were co-aligned to a statistical template generated with all 12 CT datasets iteratively. Student t-tests ...
Paz-Silva A, Francisco I, Valero-Coss RO, Cortiñas FJ, Sánchez JA, Francisco R, Arias M, Suárez JL, López-Arellano ME, Sánchez-Andrade R....The analysis of the capability of the nematode trapping-fungus Duddingtonia flagrans to adapt to the cyathostomin egg-output in horses was evaluated. Fecal samples from 196 pasturing autochthonous Pura Raza Galega horses were collected from the rectum and then divided according to the egg-output into three groups: ≤ 300, 310-800 and >800 eggs per gram feces. Four doses of chlamydospores (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 × 10(6)/100g feces) were directly spread onto fecal pats on the ground, remaining one without treatment as control. Fecal pats confirmed the presence of gastrointestinal nematode la...
Clutterbuck AL, Smith JR, Allaway D, Harris P, Liddell S, Mobasheri A.This study employed a targeted high-throughput proteomic approach to identify the major proteins present in the secretome of articular cartilage. Explants from equine metacarpophalangeal joints were incubated alone or with interleukin-1beta (IL-1β, 10ng/ml), with or without carprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, for six days. After tryptic digestion of culture medium supernatants, resulting peptides were separated by HPLC and detected in a Bruker amaZon ion trap instrument. The five most abundant peptides in each MS scan were fragmented and the fragmentation patterns compared to m...
Zielińska-Dawidziak M, Błaszak R, Piasecka-Kwiatkowska D.The presented experiments show the model of expectation of equine spleen ferritin extraction in a new aqueous two-phase system which was formed by mixing polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hydroxyethyl starch (HES). The tendency of the protein to migrate in the analyzed systems was dependent on the concentrations of HES and PEG as well as PEG molecular weight. The highest concentration of ferritin in the top phase (rich in PEG) was recorded in the system composed of 6% PEG 3000 and 3% HES. The obtained concentration was 0.88 mg mL(-1). The lowest concentration was 0.42 mg mL(-1) in the system compo...
Pitzer JB, Kaufman PE, Tenbroeck SH, Maruniak JE.A species-specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction targeting the cytochrome b gene of cattle, horses, humans, and dogs was developed to determine the blood meal sources of stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), collected from Florida equine facilities. Of 595 presumptive blood-fed stable flies analyzed, successful host amplification was obtained in 350, for a field host-detection efficiency of 58.8%. The majority of analyzed stable flies had fed on cattle (64.6%), followed by horses (24.3%), humans (9.5%), and dogs (1.6%). A survey of animal-enclosed pastures occurring within 3 km of stab...
Broaddus CC, Balasuriya UB, Timoney PJ, White JL, Makloski C, Torrisi K, Payton M, Holyoak GR.The objective was to evaluate the potential risks associated with embryo transfer from mares bred with equine arteritis virus (EAV) infective semen. Twenty-six mares were embryo donors, whereas 18 unvaccinated and EAV antibody seronegative mares were embryo recipients. Of the 26 donor mares, 15 were unvaccinated and seronegative for antibodies to EAV and 11 were vaccinated for the first time with a commercially available modified live virus vaccine against EVA before breeding and subsequent embryo transfer. All donor mares were bred with EAV-infective semen from a stallion persistently infecte...
Jackson MA, Vizard AL, Anderson GA, Mattoon JS, Lavelle RB, Smithenson BT, Lester NV, Clarke AF, Whitton RC.We aimed to identify common mistakes made when radiographing yearling sale horses. Radiographic examinations from repositories at eight yearling sales held in Australia in 2003 were assessed by one of four veterinary radiology specialists. Each radiographic examination consisted of a maximum of 34 radiographs. Each radiograph was assessed for errors associated with movement, exposure, positioning, labeling or marker placement, and processing, and categorized as either ideal, less than ideal or nondiagnostic. In addition, from the first 800 sets catalogued, 167 were selected randomly and read t...
Forbes G, Sorich E, Nath LC, Church S, Savage CJ, Bailey SR.This study evaluated the inflammatory mediator activin A in horses with acute abdominal disease and compared this putative novel biomarker with serum amyloid A (SAA). Thirty-three adult horses referred for evaluation of acute abdominal disease were grouped into three lesion categories, non-strangulating, strangulating or inflammatory. Eleven healthy adult horses served as controls. Serum activin-A was significantly increased in animals with inflammatory or strangulating lesions compared with controls. Horses with non-strangulating, strangulating or inflammatory lesions had significantly elevat...
Wilson WJ, Mills PC, Dzulkarnain AA.To use the brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) to test the hypothesis that auditory function could be worse in older horses than in younger horses. Methods: BAER waveforms in response to click stimuli were measured in five younger horses (5-8 years) and four older horses (17-22 years). Results: Compared with the younger horses, the older horses showed significantly (P < 0.02) worse BAER thresholds and significantly (P < 0.02) worse BAER wave V amplitudes to the 90 decibels above normal hearing level stimulus. These results were consistent with partial deafness in the older horse gr...
Thompson CH, Yager JA, Van Rensburg IB.To determine whether the virus responsible for human molluscum contagiosum (MCV) is the causal agent of a similar disease in horses, in situ hybridisations using cloned fragments of human MCV DNA labelled with digoxigenin were carried out on formalin-fixed biopsy sections of lesions from two horses with molluscum contagiosum-like skin lesions. In both instances there was evidence of specific hybridisation of the labelled probe to target DNA in the sections under high stringency conditions, identified by the development of a deep blue-purple stain in the cytoplasm of cells in the stratum spinos...
Ninfali P, Aluigi G.The oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) was measured both in whole (ORAC-T) and deproteinized (ORAC-AS) plasma samples of human, pig, cow, rabbit, dog, cat, sheep, horse, dolphin, turkey, guinea-hen and chicken. In the 12 species, ORAC-T data, expressed as micromoles of peroxyl radicals trapped by 11 of sample, were found scattered between 8,600 and 23,000 micromol/l. The species with the highest ORAC-T values were cat among mammals and chicken among avies. ORAC-AS values ranged between 600 and 2000 micromol/l, with the highest values found in dolphin and sheep among mammals, while chick...
Müller C, Heidenreich E, Franzreb M, Frankenfeld K.Current purification of the glycoprotein equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) from horse serum includes consecutive precipitation steps beginning with metaphosphoric acid pH fractionation, two ethanol precipitation steps, and dialysis followed by a numerous of fixed-bed chromatography steps up to the specific activity required. A promising procedure for a more economic purification procedure represents a simplified precipitation process requiring only onethird of the solvent, followed by the usage of magnetic ion exchange adsorbents employed together with a newly designed 'rotor-stator' type Hi...
Dunkel B, Pfau T, Fiske-Jackson A, Veres-Nyeki KO, Fairhurst H, Jackson K, Chang YM, Bolt DM.To investigate whether acupuncture can alter gait in horses as assessed by objective and subjective parameters. Methods: Prospective, randomized, singleblinded, crossover study. Methods: Eight adult horses. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to a treatment (three acupuncture treatments in 8 days) or control group. Subjective and objective gait analyses were performed before and after each treatment and at 1, 3 and 7 days after the last treatment (time-points 1-9, respectively). Horses were assessed at the trot in a straight line on a hard surface and on the lunge on the left and right rein...
Aleman M, Scalco R, Malvick J, Grahn RA, True A, Bellone RR.Deleterious genetic variants are an important cause of skeletal muscle disease. Immunohistochemical evaluation of muscle biopsies is standard for the diagnosis of muscle disorders. The prevalence of alleles causing hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), malignant hyperthermia (MH), polysaccharide storage myopathy 1 (PSSM1), glycogen branching enzyme deficiency (GBED), myotonia congenita (MC), and myosin heavy chain myopathy (MYHM) in horses with muscle disease is unknown. Archived slides processed for immunohistochemical analysis from 296 horses with muscle disease were reviewed blinded and c...
Smith KM, Pucket JD, Gilmour MA.To describe a reproducible technique for intrastromal injection in the standing horse for treatment of corneal stromal abscessation. Methods: A retrospective clinical study addressing the history, treatment, and outcome of six equids (six eyes) that received intrastromal voriconazole injection. Methods: Equids having a deep stromal abscess suspected to be of fungal origin were administered intrastromal injection of 5% voriconazole solution under standing sedation in an effort to bring about enhanced resolution of clinical disease. Results: Intracorneal administration of 5% voriconazole solutio...
Bailey E, Albright DG, Henney PJ.Foals with the Ca blood group antigen on their RBC were given colostrum with anti-Ca antibodies (6 foals) or colostrum without anti-Ca antibodies (6 foals). The PCV were determined at birth and 2, 4, and 6 days after birth for the foals in each group. Significant differences were not observed for the PCV between the 2 groups, indicating that foals were not adversely affected by ingesting colostrum with the anti-Ca antibody. Standardbred mares without the Aa blood group antigen were evaluated to determine whether production of anti-Ca antibodies influenced production of anti-Aa antibodies. Of 2...
Pickles K, Pirie RS, Rhind S, Dixon PM, McGorum BC.The aim of this study was to develop a diagnostically useful smear method for preparation of equine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for use by practitioners. A smear method for equine BALF preparation which included the addition of serum was developed, and cell morphology, differential cell counts (DCC) and repeatability of counting DCC compared with those of cytocentrifuged BALF preparations. BALF samples (n = 21) were collected from 5 control horses and 5 heaves-susceptible horses. Smear preparations of BALF produced smaller, darker, staining cells, making cytological identification more...
Chiavaccini L, Hassel DM, Shoemaker ML, Charles JB, Belknap JK, Ehrhart EJ.The black walnut extract (BWE) model of equine laminitis is associated with a systemic inflammatory response manifest by increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in the lungs and liver as well as the laminae. The specific role of the gastrointestinal tract in development of this response is unclear and is of utmost importance, as gastrointestinal disease and laminitis are intimately related. We investigated calprotectin expression and epithelial and endothelial apoptosis in the colon of horses exposed to orally administered BWE. Sections of colon from 19 horses including 7 controls not e...
Borromeo V, Berrini A, Gaggioli D, Secchi C.Heterophile antibodies (HAs) present in serum recognize animal immunoglobulins and are one of the most unpredictable causes of false results in immunoassays. However, no study has yet reported their interference on the diagnostic reliability of immunochemical analyses on horse plasma. Recently, we developed a sandwich ELISA for detection of equine growth hormone (eGH) in plasma. In a pilot study to measure basal eGH levels (blood samples were drawn from 13 horses every 10 min for 1h), we noted one horse with abnormally high eGH (>100 ng/mL). We demonstrate here that this plasma eGH level wa...
Westermann CM, Dorland L, van Diggelen OP, Schoonderwoerd K, Bierau J, Waterham HR, van der Kolk JH.Earlier research on ten horses suffering from the frequently fatal disorder atypical myopathy showed that MADD (multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency) is the biochemical derangement behind atypical myopathy. From five horses that died as a result of this disease and seven healthy control horses, urine and plasma were collected ante mortem and muscle biopsies were obtained immediately post-mortem (2 patients and 7 control horses), to analyse creatine, purine and carbohydrate metabolism as well as oxidative phosphorylation. In patients, the mean creatine concentration in urine was increased...
Bergmann W, de Lest CV, Plomp S, Vernooij JCM, Wijnberg ID, Back W, Gröne A, Delany MW, Caliskan N, Tryfonidou MA, Grinwis GCM.Gross morphology of healthy and degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs) is largely similar in horses as in dogs and humans. For further comparison, the biochemical composition and the histological and biochemical changes with age and degeneration were analyzed in 41 warmblood horses. From 33 horses, 139 discs and 2 fetal vertebral columns were evaluated and scored histologically. From 13 horses, 73 IVDs were assessed for hydration, DNA, glycosaminoglycans, total collagen, hydroxyl-lysyl-pyridinoline, hydroxylysine, and advanced glycation end-product (AGE) content. From 7 horses, 20 discs were ...
Busechian S, Turini L, Sgorbini M, Pieramati C, Pisello L, Orvieto S, Rueca F.Obesity and overconditioning are becoming more prevalent in horses, and are influencing the animal's health, activity, and reproductive efficiency. Body condition score (BCS) and cresty neck score (CNS) have been correlated with the development of various diseases. Many of the papers in the literature evaluate the prevalence of obesity and overconditioning in horse populations considering BCS given by owners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the owners' estimation of the degree of equine obesity or overconditioning by comparing BCS and CNS provided by each owner and a boar...
Luttman AM, Komine M, Thaiwong T, Carpenter T, Ewart SL, Kiupel M, Langohr IM, Venta PJ.Tetranucleotide and pentanucleotide short tandem repeat (hereafter termed tetraSTR and pentaSTR) polymorphisms have properties that make them desirable for DNA profiling and paternity testing. However, certain species, such as the horse, have far fewer tetraSTRs than other species and for this reason dinucleotide STRs (diSTRs) have become the standard for DNA profiling in horses, despite being less desirable for technical reasons. During our testing of a series of candidate genes as potentially underlying a heritable condition characterized by megaesophagus in the Friesian horse breed, we foun...
Boyle A.Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (strangles) is a highly contagious upper respiratory infection in horses. The infection is transmitted by inhalation or direct contact with mucopurulent discharge from an infective animal, resulting in fever, depression, and submandibular and retropharyngeal lymph node enlargement that can lead to respiratory distress. Complications include purpura hemorrhagica and metastatic abscessation. Control of outbreaks requires strict isolation protocols and hygiene measures. Detection of carriers is essential for preventing disease recurrence on a farm.
Anderson JL, Sloss BL, Meece JK.Several studies have shown that Blastomyces dermatitidis, the etiologic agent of blastomycosis, is a genetically diverse pathogen. Blastomycosis is a significant health issue in humans and other mammals. Veterinary and human isolates matched with epidemiological case data from the same geographic area and time period were used to determine: (i) if differences in genetic diversity and structure exist between clinical veterinary and human isolates of B. dermatitidis and (ii) if comparable epidemiologic features differ among veterinary and human blastomycosis cases. Results: Genetic typing of 301...
Kerber CE, Ferreira F, Pereira MC.The importance of equine piroplasmosis control in endemic countries has increased in recent years and plays an important role to maintain the international market open to the horse industry. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the occurrence of equine piroplasmosis (Babesia equi or Theileria equi and Babesia caballi) in Brazil--a country where the disease occurs endemically--in different climatic conditions, and to evaluate the results of a strategy for tick control in order to decrease infection rates. Blood samples were taken from 720 horses on 28 farms from different regions and su...
Kleiboeker SB, Turnquist SE, Johnson PJ, Kreeger JM.In previous studies, novel putative viral pathogens designated that asinine herpesvirus 4 (AsHV4) and asinine herpesvirus 5 (AsHV5) were associated with fatal interstitial pneumonia in donkeys (Equus asinus). Nucleotide sequence analysis of a portion of the DNA polymerase gene identified these putative pathogens as herpesviruses and possibly as members of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily. Although similar to equine herpesvirus 2 (EHV2) and equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV5), sequence diversity was observed among the detected viruses. In this study, novel sequence is reported for a DNA-packaging prote...
Patel JR, Didlick S, Bateman H.Currently, there is no recommended immunoprophylaxis against febrile respiratory diseases due to equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and -4 (EHV-4) in horses below age 5-6 months. This is because of interference by maternally-derived antibody (MDA) of vaccines. Objective: Unweaned equine foals are an important reservoir of EHV-1 transmission; therefore, we experimentally assessed the efficacy of a live EHV-1 vaccine in foals age 1.4-3.5 months with MDA. Methods: Following vaccination and challenge, parameters assessed were virus shedding in nasal mucus, leucocyte-associated viraemia, circulating viru...
Tornquist SJ, Oaks JL, Crawford TB.Thrombocytopenia is a common finding in infection with equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), a lentivirus with some homology to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The thrombocytopenia of EIA, like that in some HIV patients, appears to have a multifactorial pathogenesis. To investigate the decreased platelet production seen in experimental EIA, the levels of three potential negative regulators of platelet production--tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha)--were measured in serum and bone marrow of six severe combi...
Tomizawa N, Nishimura R, Sasaki N, Nakayama H, Kadosawa T, Senba H, Takeuchi A.Nineteen wobbling foals (17 males and 2 females) showing lameness of hindlimbs at 6 to 21 months of age were investigated radiographically and histopathologically. Minimum sagittal diameter (MSD), minimum flexion diameter (MFD) and minimum dural sagittal diameter (MDD) were measured on plain radiograms or myelograms taken at neutral and flexed positions as indicators of narrowed vertebral canal. After necropsy, the cervical spines and the spinal cord were examined macroscopically and respectively the relationships between radiographic findings and the corresponding morphological lesions were e...
Pan LG, Forster HV, Bisgard GE, Murphy CL, Lowry TF.We investigated arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) and pH (pHa) responses in ponies during 6-min periods of high-intensity treadmill exercise. Seven normal, seven carotid body-denervated (2 wk-4 yr) (CBD), and five chronic (1-2 yr) lung (hilar nerve)-denervated (HND) ponies were studied during three levels of constant load exercise (7 mph-11%, 7 mph-16%, and 7 mph-22% grade). Mean pHa for each group of ponies became alkaline in the first 60 s (between 7.45 and 7.52) (P less than 0.05) at all work loads. At 6 min pHa was at or above rest at 7 mph-11%, moderately acidic at 7 mph-16% (7.32-7.35), and markedly...
Reyner CL, Wagner B, Young JC, Ainsworth DM.To examine gene expression of selected cytokines in pulmonary mononuclear cells isolated from healthy horses and horses susceptible to recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), and to determine whether interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 were associated with pulmonary inflammation. Methods: 6 RAO-susceptible and 5 healthy horses. Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage cells were retrieved from horses that were stabled and fed dusty hay for 24 hours. Lavage cells devoid of neutrophils were incubated for 24 hours with solutions of PBS, hay dust, lipopolysaccharide, or B-glucan. Gene expression of IL-17, IL-23 (p19...
Goraya K, Iqbal Z, Sajid M, Muhammad G, Ain QU, Saleem M.Plants have widely been used and documented for their therapeutic potential in many parts of the world. There are, however, few reports on the use of plants for the treatment of diseases of equines. To this end, participatory epidemiology and rapid rural appraisal techniques were used to document the plants having pharmacotherapeutic significance against different ailments of equines in selected population of Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: A survey was conducted to interview a total of 450 respondents (150 from each of the districts of Faisalabad, Lahore and Sargodha of Pakistan) to collect inform...
Casey MB, Tremaine WH.With the advent of detailed oral examination in horses using dental mirrors and rigid endoscopy, secondary dentinal lesions are observed more frequently. More information regarding the association of secondary dentinal defects with apical dental disease would improve the sensitivity of oral examination as a diagnostic aid for pulpitis. Objective: To assess prevalence and severity of secondary dentinal defects observed on examination of occlusal surfaces of cheek teeth (CT) from horses showing clinical signs of pulpitis compared to asymptomatic controls. Methods: Records from all cases of equin...
Wimmer-Scherr C, Taminiau B, Renaud B, van Loon G, Palmers K, Votion D, Amory H, Daube G, Cesarini C.Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A (HGA) and methylenecyclopropylglycine (MCPG) intoxication resulting from the ingestion of seeds or seedlings of some Acer tree species. Interestingly, not all horses pasturing in the same toxic environment develop signs of the disease. In other species, it has been shown that the intestinal microbiota has an impact on digestion, metabolism, immune stimulation and protection from disease. The objective of this study was to characterize and compare fecal microbiota of horses suffering from AM and healthy co-grazers. Furthermore, potential d...
Roberts MC, Clarke LL, Johnson CM.A reproducible, reversible model of colitis induced in ponies by administering castor oil (2.5 ml/kg bodyweight [bwt] per os) was characterised by abdominal pain, fever, watery diarrhoea, dehydration, hypovolaemia, toxaemia, leucopenia, decreased serum Cl, Na and K levels and metabolic acidosis. The signs were most severe between 24 and 48 h post induction, stabilisation was frequently observed after 72 h, although diarrhoea could persist beyond 96 h. Morphological and in vitro transport studies (right ventral colon) were conducted on tissues from animals destroyed at 24, 48 and 72 h. In the c...
Wilson JH, Olson EJ, Haugen EW, Hunt LM, Johnson JL, Hayden DW.Progressive multisystemic disease caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis was diagnosed in a 17-year-old Quarter horse broodmare. The mare had been treated unsuccessfully with antibiotics for mastitis 3 months postpartum. The disease progressed to exudative cutaneous lesions affecting the ventrum, pectoral region, and limbs accompanied by weight loss across several months. Yeast bodies were observed in swabs of the cutaneous exudate, suggesting a clinical diagnosis of blastomycosis. Following referral, pleural effusion, cavitated lung lesions, and hyperproteinemia were identified, and the mare was ...
Raidal SL, Catanchin CSM, Burgmeestre L, Quinn CT.Respiratory insufficiency and pulmonary health are important considerations in equine neonatal care. As the majority of foals are bred for athletic pursuits, strategies for respiratory support of compromised foals are of particular importance. The administration of supplementary oxygen is readily implemented in equine practice settings, but does not address respiratory insufficiency due to inadequate ventilation and is no longer considered optimal care for hypoxia in critical care settings. Non-invasive ventilatory strategies including continuous or bi-level positive airway pressure are effect...
Buechner-Maxwell VA.In recent years, equine neonatal medicine has made significant advances. The importance of nutritional support for the sick neonatal foal has been recognized, and methods of providing that sup-port have been developed. Today, the clinician has many options when designing a nutritional plan for the neonatal foal. When the foal's gut permits, enteral diets are an inexpensive source of nutrients. Under conditions where the gut requires rest, methods for delivering nutrients by the parenteral route have also been developed. In this article, the nutrition of the normal and sick foal is described. G...
