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.
Derisoud E, Auclair-Ronzaud J, Palmer E, Robles M, Chavatte-Palmer P.Although puberty can occur as early as 14-15months of age, depending on breed and use, the reproductive career of mares may continue to advanced ages. Once mares are used as broodmares, they will usually produce foals once a year until they become unfertile, and their productivity can be enhanced and/or prolonged through embryo technologies. There is a general consensus that old mares are less fertile, but maternal age and parity are confounding factors because nulliparous mares are usually younger and older mares are multiparous in most studies. This review shows that age critically affects c...
Tong P, Duan R, Palidan N, Deng H, Duan L, Ren M, Song X, Jia C, Tian S, Yang E, Kuang L, Xie J.EHV-1 is one of the most serious viral pathogens that frequently cause abortion in horses around the world. However, so far, relatively little information is available on EHV-1 infections as they occur in China. In January 2021, during an abortion storm which occurred in Yili horses at the Chinese State Studs of Zhaosu (North Xinjiang, China), 43 out of 800 pregnant mares aborted. Results: PCR detection revealed the presence of EHV-1 in all samples as the possible cause of all abortions, although EHV-4, EHV-2 and EHV-5 were also found to circulate in the aborted fetuses. Furthermore, the parti...
Lawton KOY, Arthur RM, Moeller BC, Barnum S, Pusterla N.More and more studies are reporting on the natural transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between humans with COVID-19 and their companion animals (dogs and cats). While horses are apparently susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the homology between the human and the equine ACE-2 receptor, no clinical or subclinical infection has yet been reported in the equine species. To investigate the possible clinical role of SARS-CoV-2 in equids, nasal secretions from 667 horses with acute onset of fever and respiratory signs were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR. The samples were collected from...
Jasiński T, Zdrojkowski Ł, Kautz E, Juszczuk-Kubiak E, Ferreira-Dias G, Domino M.Endometritis is an important issue decreasing mares' fertility. In the case of endometritis, both inflammatory cells infiltration and proinflammatory molecules production are regulated by various cellular and gene regulatory mechanisms, including the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)-dependent pathway. NF-κB-signalling pathway has been recently studied in the equine endometrium in the context of endometrosis. Thus, this study aimed to determine gene transcription of NF-κB subunits (RelA; NF-κB1; NF-κB2), proinflammatory molecules (MCP-1; IL-6) and hyaluronan synthases (HAS 1; HAS 2; HAS 3) in en...
Nazari F, Seyedabadi HR, Noshary A, Emamjomeh-Kashan N, Banabazi MH.The genetic diversity and genomic regions being under putative natural selection in Kurdish horse population were studied. The samples from 72 horses were genotyped by using GGP Equine 70K SNP arrays. The Ne Slope (NeS) analyses revealed that a sharp decline in Ne has probably occurred around four generations ago, and high frequency of ROH with 2-4 Mbp in length suggested that the inbreeding has probably occurred around 20 generations ago. The effective population size (Ne) was 104 horses up to three generations ago and the average inbreeding (FROH) was 0.047(± 0.045). Using de-correlated com...
Júnior ÂMCA, da Silva AH, Bastos FL, Seidner JT, Filho LAJM, Faleiros RR, Gobesso AAO.This study evaluated the incidence of gastritis in foals subjected to different weaning management methods. Sixteen crossbreed foals [230 ± 35 kg], were enrolled in an experiment with a randomized block design. After weaning, foals were housed in either individual pens or a group pen. Gastritis in the foals was evaluated through gastroscopy. Data were submitted to analysis of variance by the non-parametric Friedman test at 0.05 significance level. Before weaning, gastritis was observed in 87.5% of the foals, and the scores for the number of gastric lesions were 2.10 and 1.56 for foals housed ...
José Antonio G, Jim S, Ramés SJ, Rohrbach BW, Alejandro Rodríguez M, Laura Romero R, Robert D.To examine changes occurring in normal pelvic suspensory ligaments (SLs) of horses after denervating these ligaments and to investigate the effect chronic inflammation might have on these changes. Methods: 10 horses. Methods: The SL of 1 randomly selected pelvic limb of each of 5 horses was injected with collagenase to induce desmitis, and 42 days later, the proximal aspect of both pelvic SLs were denervated. The SLs were harvested 120 days after being denervated, and the morphological and histological characteristics of each collagenase-injected, denervated SL were compared with those of the ...
Kaiser-Thom S, Gerber V, Collaud A, Hurni J, Perreten V.Many contributing factors are involved in the development of equine pastern dermatitis (EPD). Among the most frequently suspected is Staphylococcus aureus, known for its pathogenic potential in skin and soft tissue infections. We therefore investigated the association between S. aureus carriage and EPD. Results: One hundred five EPD-affected horses and 95 unaffected controls were examined for the presence of methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA) on the pastern skin and in the nostrils. S. aureus isolates were cultivated from swab samples on selective MSSA...
Depuydt E, Broeckx SY, Chiers K, Patruno M, Da Dalt L, Duchateau L, Saunders J, Pille F, Martens A, Van Hecke L, Spaas JH.The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of equine tendon disease is widely investigated because of their regenerative and immunomodulatory potential. However, questions have been raised concerning the immunogenic properties of allogeneic MSCs. Therefore, two studies were conducted to assess the safety of equine allogeneic peripheral blood-derived tenogenic primed MSCs (tpMSCs). The objective was to evaluate if a single and repeated tpMSC administration induced a cellular and humoral immune response in horses suffering from tendon injuries. Horses enrolled in the first study ...
Van Steenkiste G, Delhaas T, Hermans B, Vera L, Decloedt A, van Loon G.In human cardiology, the anatomical origin of atrial premature depolarizations (APDs) is derived from P wave characteristics on a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and from vectorcardiography (VCG). The objective of this study is to differentiate between anatomical locations of APDs and to differentiate APDs from sinus rhythm (SR) based upon VCG characteristics in seven horses without cardiovascular disease. A 12-lead ECG was recorded under general anaesthesia while endomyocardial atrial pacing was performed (800−1000 ms cycle length) at the left atrial free wall and septum, right atrial free ...
Van Steenkiste G, Delhaas T, Hermans B, Vera L, Decloedt A, van Loon G.In human cardiology, the anatomical origin of ventricular premature depolarizations (VPDs) is determined by the characteristics of a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Former studies in horses had contradictory results regarding the diagnostic value of the 12-lead ECG and vectorcardiography (VCG), which results were attributed to the different cardiac conduction system in this species. The objective of this study was to determine if the anatomical origin of pacing-induced VPDs could be differentiated in horses based upon VCG characteristics. A 12-lead ECG was recorded in seven horses under gener...
Sellon DC, Sanz M, Kopper JJ.Little is known about the acquisition and use of equine analgesic drugs by horse owners in the United States (US). Objective: To determine factors associated with possession of analgesic drugs by horse owners in the US or with analgesic drug acquisition from sources noncompliant with a valid veterinarian-client-patient (VCPR) relationship. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: An internet-based questionnaire included items related to experiences with horses and equine analgesic drugs. Factors associated with possession of ≥5 types of analgesic drugs and with the acquisition of drugs from...
Yang G, Chen K, Guo W, Hu Z, Qi T, Liu D, Wang Y, Du C, Wang X.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a serious problem in the horse industry, and controlling EP is critical for international horse trading. EP is caused by two apicomplexan protozoan parasites, Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. Rapid and accurate methods that are suitable for detecting these parasites in the field are crucial to control the infection and spread of EP. In this study, we developed a card to detect antibodies against T. equi and B. caballi based on two colloidal gold immunochromatographic strips according to the principle of the double-antigen sandwich. The proteins equi merozoite an...
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, Stover SM, Symons JE, Cleary PW.Distal limb injuries are common in racing horses and track surface properties have been associated with injury risk. To better understand how track surfaces may contribute to equine limb injury, we developed the first 3D computational model of the equine hoof interacting with a racetrack and simulated interactions with model representations of 1) a dirt surface and 2) an all-weather synthetic track. First, a computational track model using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method with a Drucker-Prager (D-P) elastoplastic material model was developed. It was validated against analytical...
Tesena P, Kingkaw A, Phaonakrop N, Roytrakul S, Limudomporn P, Vongsangnak W, Kovitvadhi A.Equine melanocytic neoplasm (EMN) is a common disease in older grey horses. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential proteins throughout EMN stages from faecal proteomic outlining using functional analysis. Faecal samples were collected from the rectum of 25 grey horses divided into three groups; normal group without EMN ( = 10), mild EMN ( = 6) and severe EMN ( = 9). Based on the results, 5910 annotated proteins out of 8509 total proteins were assessed from proteomic profiling. We observed differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) between the normal group and the EMN group, and 1...
Hobbs KJ, Porter E, Wait C, Dark M, MacKay RJ.Magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly available for evaluation of horses with suspected pituitary adenomas; however, published studies describing the MRI features of normal equine pituitary glands are currently lacking. This retrospective, descriptive, anatomic study describes the MRI appearance and size of presumed normal equine pituitary glands and assesses potential correlations between pituitary size, brain size, and patient weight. These findings serve as a reference for MRI evaluation of the equine pituitary gland. Inclusion criteria consisted of adult horses (2-15 years old), over ...
Spriet M, Edwards L, Arndt S, Wilson SS, Galuppo LD, Stepanov P, Beylin D.A positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, with an openable ring of detectors, was specifically designed to image the distal limb of standing horses. The goals of this prospective, preclinical, experimental, methods comparison study were to validate the safety of the scanner, assess image quality, and optimize scanning protocols. Six research horses were imaged three times (twice standing, once anesthetized) and six horses in active race training were imaged once under standing sedation. Multiple scans of both front fetlocks were obtained with different scan durations and axial fields of vi...
Nápravníková J, Várady M, Vadlejch J.The control of strongylid infections has become challenging globally for equine practitioners due to the development of anthelmintic resistance. Comprehensive information on anthelmintic resistance in the Czech Republic, however, is still lacking. This study monitored the current efficacy of fenbendazole, pyrantel embonate, ivermectin and moxidectin. Forty-eight of 71 operations met the criteria (≥6 horses with ≥200 eggs per gram), with 969 fecal egg count reduction tests performed. Anthelmintic resistance was evaluated on an operation level based on fecal egg count reduction (FECR) and th...
Ahern BJ, Sole A, de Klerk K, Hogg LR, Vallance SA, Bertin FR, Franklin SH.Upper airway endoscopy of thoroughbred (TB) yearlings is commonly used in an attempt to predict laryngeal function (LF) and its impact on future race performance. The aim of this study was to determine if different grading systems and laryngeal grades were correlated with future performance. Methods: Postsale endoscopic recordings were obtained from an Australian TB yearling sale during a four-year period from 2008 to 2011. Horses were included if they had a diagnostic postsale video endoscopic recording and raced within Australia. Recordings were graded using the Havemeyer system and subseque...
Maher MA, Ahmad IM.The current study was performed on ten adult Egyptian donkeys of both sexes for anatomical and radiographic studies in addition to six other donkeys for enzymatic, biochemical and statistical analysis. The aim was to illustrate the normal hepatic arterial and biliary distribution using different anatomic techniques and radiographic imaging besides, establishing an accurate laboratory profile specific for donkeys that used as standard indicators for hepatobiliary dysfunction. The right branch of the hepatic artery in donkey forms a curved arch erupting five branches, unlike the left branch that...
Walendy L, Goehring LS, Zablotski Y, Weyh T, Matiasek K, May A.Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been successfully used in horses to evaluate function and integrity of descending motor pathways in patients affected by neurological gait abnormalities. In preceding studies, lengthening latency times (LT) of cranially evoked limb muscle potentials have been considered a reliable diagnostic parameter. Standardized settings use device output signal intensities of 100%. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of submaximal stimulation intensities (SI) and to determine the minimum coil output necessary to evoke motor unit potentials. As an ad...
Gish A, Robveille C, Gicquel T, Allorge D, Gault G, Gaulier JM.Analytical detection of Oenanthe crocata toxins in biological samples is challenging because of their instability, the lack of commercially available standards and the exceptionally low detection of these molecules using mass spectrometry. This work aims to report the used analytical methods that allowed identification of the main plant toxins in biological samples from an equid (an Arabian horse) fatality related to hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata Linnaeus) intake. Using both LC-DAD and LC-HRMS methods allowed identification (i) of oenanthotoxin in roots found on the site, root fragm...
Strohmayer C, Klang A, Kummer S, Walter I, Jindra C, Weissenbacher-Lang C, Redmer T, Kneissl S, Brandt S.Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is a common malignant tumor in humans and animals. In humans, papillomavirus (PV)-induced HNSCCs have a better prognosis than papillomavirus-unrelated HNSCCs. The ability of tumor cells to switch from epithelial to mesenchymal, endothelial, or therapy-resistant stem-cell-like phenotypes promotes disease progression and metastasis. In equine HNSCC, PV-association and tumor cell phenotype switching are poorly understood. We screened 49 equine HNSCCs for equine PV (EcPV) type 2, 3 and 5 infection. Subsequently, PV-positive versus -negative lesi...
Mainguy-Seers S, Diaw M, Lavoie JP.While the prevalence of asthma is higher in boys than in girls during childhood, this tendency reverses at puberty, suggesting an effect of sex hormones on the disease pathophysiology. Fluctuations of asthma severity concurring with the estrus cycle are reported in women, but this phenomenon has never been investigated in mares to date. The objective of this exploratory study was to determine whether the estrus cycle modulates airway obstruction in severe equine asthma (SEA). Five mares with SEA during exacerbation of the disease were studied. The whole breath, expiratory and inspiratory resis...
Uzal FA, Navarro MA, Asin J, Henderson EE.The clostridial diseases of horses can be divided into three major groups: enteric/enterotoxic, histotoxic, and neurotoxic. The main enteric/enterotoxic diseases include those produced by Clostridium perfringens type C and Clostridioides difficile, both of which are characterized by enterocolitis. The main histotoxic diseases are gas gangrene, Tyzzer disease, and infectious necrotic hepatitis. Gas gangrene is produced by one or more of the following microorganisms: C. perfringens type A, Clostridium septicum, Paeniclostridium sordellii, and Clostridium novyi type A, and it is characterized by ...
Hopster K, Hurcombe SD, Simpson K, VanderBroek AR, Driessen B.Mechanical ventilation is usually achieved by active lung inflation during inspiration and passive lung emptying during expiration. By contrast, flow-controlled expiration (FLEX) ventilation actively reduces the rate of lung emptying by causing linear gas flow throughout the expiratory phase. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of FLEX on lung compliance and gas exchange in anesthetized horses in dorsal recumbency. Methods: 8 healthy horses. Methods: All animals were anesthetized twice and either ventilated beginning with FLEX or conventional volume-controlled ventilation in a randomized, cros...
Diana A, Freccero F, Giancola F, Linta N, Pietra M, Luca V, Salamanca G, Cipone M, Chiocchetti R.Ultrasonographic morphometry of wall layers is commonly used in veterinary patients with suspected small intestinal disease, however published studies comparing this method with histopathology in horses are limited. This prospective, methods comparison study compared the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of small intestinal wall layers using ex vivo high-frequency ultrasound versus histopathology in a sample of 16 horses. Transverse section images of duodenum, distal jejunum, and ileum were acquired with a high-frequency linear transducer (7-15 MHz). Transverse histological cryosec...
Sears KP, Knowles DP, Fry LM.The global importance of the hemoparasite to equine health was recently shown by its resistance to imidocarb dipropionate (ID) and its interference with clearance by ID in some co-infected horses. Genetic characterization of revealed marked genomic reduction compared to , and initial experiments demonstrated reduced clinical severity in spleen-intact horses. Furthermore, in early experiments, splenectomized horses survived infection and progressed to an asymptomatic carrier state, in stark contrast to the high fatality rate of in splenectomized horses. Thus, we hypothesized that is less ...
Frippiat T, van Beckhoven C, Moyse E, Art T.Heart rate is evaluated in exercising horses to monitor the level of fitness to exercise, and it is usually acquired using heart rate monitors (HRM) or telemetric electrocardiograms (ECG). While HRM are commonly available and easy-to-use for horse's owners, ECG is a more expensive equipment requiring user's experience. Interest for heart rate variability (HRV) in horses is increasing for both research and clinical purposes. HRV is usually calculated from interbeat intervals (IBI) obtained by ECG. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of an HRM to detect IBI for the calculation of...
Shilton CA, Kahler A, Davis BW, Crabtree JR, Crowhurst J, McGladdery AJ, Wathes DC, Raudsepp T, de Mestre AM.The first 8 weeks of pregnancy is a critical time, with the majority of pregnancy losses occurring during this period. Abnormal chromosome number (aneuploidy) is a common finding in human miscarriage, yet is rarely reported in domestic animals. Equine early pregnancy loss (EPL) has no diagnosis in over 80% of cases. The aim of this study was to characterise aneuploidies associated with equine EPL. Genomic DNA from clinical cases of spontaneous miscarriage (EPLs; 14-65 days of gestation) and healthy control placentae (various gestational ages) were assessed using a high density genotyping arr...
Hardy ME, Woode GN, Xu ZC, Williams JD, Conner ME, Dwyer RM, Powell DG.Equine group A rotaviruses isolated over a 10-year period in New York State, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Texas were compared serotypically and electropherotypically. All isolates were determined to be serotype 3 by reaction with hyperimmune antiserum to the serotype 3 H-2 strain of equine rotavirus. All displayed RNA electrophoretic migration patterns related to that of the H-2 strain but distinct from that of serotype 5 strain H-1. A serologic survey of 184 mares in Kentucky, which was done to determine the incidence of H-1 and H-2 infections, showed geometric mean serum neutralizing titers to ...
Madani H, Casal J, Alba A, Allepuz A, Cêtre-Sossah C, Hafsi L, Kount-Chareb H, Bouayed-Chaouach N, Saadaoui H, Napp S.Antibodies against bluetongue virus were detected in cattle, sheep, goats, and camels in Algeria in 2008. Antibodies against epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus were detected in cattle, but antibodies against African horse sickness virus were not detected in horses and mules. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease in northern Africa poses a major risk for the European Union.
Tucker RL, Farrell E.Horses are frequently presented with clinical conditions warranting diagnostic imaging of the head. Unfortunately, evaluation of the equine head can be difficult using conventional radiography. The anatomic complexity and superimposition of the osseous, dental, and soft tissue structures complicate radiographic interpretation and diagnoses. Multiple radiographic projections may be necessary to image specific regions, and side-to-side comparison is often essential.
Jang SS, Hirsh DC.During the years from 1984 through 1991, 1,067 specimens from canine, equine, exotic, feline, porcine, and ruminant animal sources were found to contain members of the genus Fusobacterium: The most common sites or conditions from which members of this genus were isolated were abscesses, the respiratory tract, and pleural and peritoneal cavities. Most specimens contained a single Fusobacterium species. The most commonly isolated species was Fusobacterium necrophorum. Almost all of the specimens contained other obligate anaerobes together with facultative and obligate aerobes. The identities of ...
Yates P, Mumford JA.To investigate the level of cross-protection induced by equine influenza H3N8 vaccines derived from different lineages, two studies have been carried out with ponies vaccinated with 'American-like' and 'European-like' vaccines and experimentally challenged with a European-like strain. The results demonstrated that equine influenza vaccines clearly protect against challenge with homologous virus if serum antibody titres are sufficiently high. On the other hand, protection is incomplete even when animals vaccinated with heterologous strains have comparative antibody levels. Nevertheless, the pro...
Dietz WH, Galindo P, Johnson KM.In late June 1973, a small outbreak of equine encephalitis caused by eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus occurred in the Republic of Panama. At least 100 horses were affected by the disease and 40 died. More than 1,700 human sera were obtained from areas of virus activity but no serological evidence for infection was found. Four isolates of EEE virus were recovered, one of which was from a small pool of Culex taeniopus mosquitoes. Serologic studies of infected horses and classification by the short incubation hemagglutination-inhibition tests revealed that these isolates were South Am...
Vidament M, Dupere AM, Julienne P, Evain A, Noue P, Palmer E.The freezability of stallion semen defined as the number of selected ejaculates/total number of ejaculates frozen from 161 different stallions was analyzed. Of the stallions, 19, 30, 27 and 24% had a freezability of 0%, 0 to 33%, 33 to 66%, over 66%, respectively In 85 different stallions, the correlation of freezability between first and second year was 0.60 (P < 0.001). The relationship between fertility with fresh and frozen semen and freezability was analyzed in 40 stallions whose freezability and fertility information was recorded during 5 years. There was a strong relationship between fe...
Ertelt A, Barton AK, Schmitz RR, Gehlen H.This review summarizes similarities and differences between the metabolic syndromes in humans and equines, concerning the anatomy, symptoms, and pathophysiological mechanisms. In particular, it discusses the structure and distribution of adipose tissue and its specific metabolic pathways. Furthermore, this article provides insights and focuses on issues concerning laminitis in horses and cardiovascular diseases in humans, as well as their overlap.
Bundgaard L, Stensballe A, Elbæk KJ, Berg LC.Similar to humans, the horse is a long-lived, athletic species. The use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) is a relatively new frontier, but has been used with promising results in treating joint diseases, e.g., osteoarthritis. It is believed that MSCs exert their main therapeutic effects through secreted trophic biomolecules. Therefore, it has been increasingly important to characterize the MSC secretome. It has been shown that the effect of the MSCs is strongly influenced by the environment in the host compartment, and it is a crucial issue when considering MSC therapy. The aim of this stud...
Equine sarcoids are benign fibroblastic skin tumours that are recognized throughout the world. Infection with bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 has been implicated as a major factor in disease development; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying fibroblast transformation remain poorly defined. The present study further characterizes aspects of the association with BPV in 15 equine sarcoids. BPV DNA was demonstrated in 12/15 tumours collected from different areas of Italy. Nine of these 12 tumours expressed the BPV oncoproteins E5 and E7, but these oncoproteins were not expressed by...
Denoix JM, Thibaud D, Riccio B.Bisphosphonates, such as tiludronate, are used to normalise bone metabolism via inhibition of bone resorption. Areas of increased bone resorption and formation are typical lesions in a diseased navicular bone. Objective: To determine if bone remodelling changes occurring in navicular disease may be corrected with therapies regulating bone metabolism. Methods: We designed a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to compare 2 doses of tiludronate, 0.5 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg bwt administered via daily i.v. injections over 10 days for the treatment of navicular disease. Seventy-three horses, s...
Marycz K, Szłapka-Kosarzewska J, Geburek F, Kornicka-Garbowska K.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is characterized by adiposity, insulin dysregulation and increased risk for laminitis. Increased levels of specific liver enzymes in the peripheral blood are typical findings in horses diagnosed with EMS. Current management of EMS is based on caloric restriction and increased physical activity. However, new potential treatment options are arising such as the transplantation of autologous adipose stem cells (ASC). However, cytophysiological properties of ASC derived from EMS horses are impaired which strongly limits their therapeutic potential. We hypothesized, t...
Plummer G, Goodheart CR, Studdert MJ.Equine herpesviruses with a deoxyribonucleic acid density of 1.716 to 1.717 g/cm(3) were compared with one another by the plaque-reduction test and by the rate of development of cytopathic effect as indicated by plaque size in rabbit kidney cultures. Of the 19 isolates studied, the 9 which had already been tentatively labeled equine abortion viruses were serologically similar to one another; each of them grew more quickly than did any of the other 10 isolates although the mean plaque sizes formed a series of gradations with no clear hiatus which would permit the unequivocal delineation of the ...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Apanaskevich DA, Mumcuoglu KY, Steinman A.Ticks are important ectoparasites of horses that can affect animal welfare and vector several infectious, including zoonotic, diseases. In order to investigate the species distribution, epidemiology and seasonal dynamics of ticks infesting horses in Israel, 3267 ticks were collected from 396 horses in 24 farms across the country from July 2014 to June 2015. Results: Ticks were found on 50% of the farms and on 25% of the horses, with Hyalomma being the most prevalent genus (70% of ticks). Pasture was the most prominent risk factor for tick infestation (99% of ticks, P < 0.001), and is repres...
Karagianni AE, Lisowski ZM, Hume DA, Scott Pirie R.The mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) is a family of cells of related function that includes bone marrow progenitors, blood monocytes and resident tissue macrophages. Macrophages are effector cells in both innate and acquired immunity. They are a major resident cell population in every organ and their numbers increase in response to proinflammatory stimuli. Their function is highly regulated by a wide range of agonists, including lymphokines, cytokines and products of microorganisms. Macrophage biology has been studied most extensively in mice, yet direct comparisons of rodent and human macro...
Franck T, Grulke S, Deby-Dupont G, Deby C, Duvivier H, Peters F, Serteyn D.Equine inflammatory disease is accompanied by a neutrophil activation resulting in the release of granulocytic enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO). To measure MPO in horse plasma as marker of neutrophil activation, the authors purified equine neutrophil MPO and developed a specific enzyme immunoassay using 2 specific polyclonal antibodies obtained from rabbit (primary antibody) and guinea pig (secondary antibody). The sandwich complex "primary antibody-MPO-secondary antibody" was detected using a goat anti-guinea pig immunoglobulin antibody conjugated to alkaline phosphatase. The enzyme-linked immuno...
Ranera B, Remacha AR, Álvarez-Arguedas S, Romero A, Vázquez FJ, Zaragoza P, Martín-Burriel I, Rodellar C.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow (BM-MSCs) and adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) are being applied to equine cell therapy. The physiological environment in which MSCs reside is hypoxic and does not resemble the oxygen level typically used in in vitro culture (20% O2). This work compares the growth kinetics, viability, cell cycle, phenotype and expression of pluripotency markers in both equine BM-MSCs and AT-MSCs at 5% and 20% O2. Results: At the conclusion of culture, fewer BM-MSCs were obtained in hypoxia than in normoxia as a result of significantly reduced cell division. Hypoxi...
Butler CM, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Stout TA, van der Kolk JH, Wollenberg Lv, Nielen M, Jongejan F, Werners AH, Houwers DJ.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) has not been considered indigenous in The Netherlands. However, following the detection of an apparently indigenous subclinical Babesia caballi infection in a horse on Schouwen-Duiveland (an island in the Zeeland Province), a survey was undertaken between May and September 2010 to assess the prevalence of the causative agents of EP in the South-West of The Netherlands. Blood samples from 300 randomly selected horses were tested for specific antibodies against Theileria equi and B. caballi using an indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT), and for parasite DNA using ...
Mouser VHM, Dautzenberg NMM, Levato R, van Rijen MHP, Dhert WJA, Malda J, Gawlitta D.The implantation of chondrocyte-laden hydrogels is a promising cartilage repair strategy. Chondrocytes can be spatially positioned in hydrogels and thus in defects, while current clinical cell therapies introduce chondrocytes in the defect depth. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of spatial chondrocyte distribution on the reparative process. To reduce animal experiments, an ex vivo osteochondral plug model was used and evaluated. The role of the delivered and endogenous cells in the repair process was investigated. Full thickness cartilage defects were created in equine ost...
McLean AK, Navas González FJ, Canisso IF.Donkeys and mules often are misunderstood because of their behavioral differences compared with horses. Working with these animals requires more patience and ability to notice the slightest changes in behavior to diagnose disease. Mules and donkeys form strong bonds and trust with familiar people and other equids. Training mules and hinnies from an early age is key to modifying behavior and acceptance of unfamiliar people. Reproductive behavior is different from that of horses and requires more patience when collecting jacks. Practitioners working with mules and donkeys should take a methodolo...
Astakhova NM, Perelygin AA, Zharkikh AA, Lear TL, Coleman SJ, MacLeod JN, Brinton MA.Toll-like receptors 3, 7, and 8 (TLR3, TLR7, and TLR8) were studied in the genomes of the domestic horse and several other mammals. The messenger RNA sequences and exon/intron structures of these TLR genes were determined. An equine bacterial artificial chromosome clone containing the TLR3 gene was assigned by fluorescent in situ hybridization to the horse chromosomal location ECA27q16-q17 and this map location was confirmed using an equine radiation hybrid panel. Direct sequencing revealed 13 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding regions of the equine TLR 3, 7, and 8 genes. Of these p...
Bunpapong N, Charoenkul K, Nasamran C, Chamsai E, Udom K, Boonyapisitsopa S, Tantilertcharoen R, Kesdangsakonwut S, Techakriengkrai N, Suradhat S....To investigate an outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) on a horse farm in northeastern Thailand, we used whole-genome sequencing to detect and characterize the virus. The viruses belonged to serotype 1 and contained unique amino acids (95V,166S, 660I in virus capsid protein 2), suggesting a single virus introduction to Thailand.
Schwarz ER, Long MT.West Nile virus (WNV) neuroinvasive disease threatens the health and well-being of horses and humans worldwide. Disease in horses and humans is remarkably similar. The occurrence of WNV disease in these mammalian hosts has geographic overlap with shared macroscale and microscale drivers of risk. Importantly, intrahost virus dynamics, the evolution of the antibody response, and clinicopathology are similar. The goal of this review is to provide a comparison of WNV infection in humans and horses and to identify similarities that can be exploited to enhance surveillance methods for the early dete...
