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Topic:Infection
Infections in horses encompass a range of diseases caused by various pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. These infections can affect different systems within the horse, such as the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and integumentary systems, leading to a variety of clinical signs depending on the pathogen and the severity of the infection. Common infectious diseases in horses include equine influenza, strangles, and equine herpesvirus. Diagnosis often involves clinical examination, laboratory testing, and sometimes imaging, to identify the causative agent and assess the extent of the disease. Treatment strategies may include antimicrobial therapy, supportive care, and preventive measures such as vaccination and biosecurity practices. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases in equine populations.
Anthelmintic resistance in equine helminth parasites – a growing issue for horse owners and veterinarians in New Zealand? There is growing concern that given the high frequency with which anthelmintics are being administered to many horses, anthelmintic resistance amongst equine helminth populations will be an increasing problem, rendering many of the currently available products unusable with little prospect of new products becoming available, at least in the near future. Worldwide, much reliance has been placed on the macrocyclic lactone (ML) group of anthelmintics, but resistance has been reported to these products as well as to the two other major anthelmintic classes used in this species, the benzimidazoles ...
[Infection control and hygiene management in equine hospitals]. With the rising importance of nosocomial infections in equine hospitals, increased efforts with regard to biosecurity and infection control are necessary. This even more since nosocomial infections are often associated with multi-drug resistant pathogens. Consequently, the implementation of targeted prevention programs is essential. Since nosocomial infections are usually multifactorial events, realization of only a single measure is rarely effective to overcome nosocomial spread in clinical practice. Equine patients may be colonized at admission with multi-drug resistant pathogens such as met...
Intra-host viral variability in children clinically infected with H1N1 (2009) pandemic influenza. Recent in-depth genetic analyses of influenza A virus samples have revealed patterns of intra-host viral genetic variability in a variety of relevant systems. These have included laboratory infected poultry, horses, pigs, chicken eggs and swine respiratory cells, as well as naturally infected poultry and horses. In humans, next generation sequencing techniques have enabled the study of genetic variability at specific positions of the viral genome. The present study investigated how 454 pyrosequencing could help unravel intra-host genetic diversity patterns on the full-length viral hæmagglutin...
Identification of phlebotomine sand fly blood meals by real-time PCR. Phlebotomine sand flies are blood-feeding insects of great medical and veterinary significance acting as vectors of Leishmania parasites. Studying the blood-feeding pattern of these insects may help in the understanding of their interactions with potential reservoir hosts of Leishmania parasites. In this study, we developed real time PCR assays for the identification of sand fly blood meal. Methods: Six pairs of primers were designed based on cytochrome b gene sequences available in GenBank of the following potential hosts: dog, cat, horse, chicken, black rat, and human. Firstly, SYBR Green-ba...
Suspected nosocomial infections with multi-drug resistant E. coli, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains, in an equine clinic. Enterobacteriaceae such as Escherichia coli are common commensals as well as opportunistic and obligate pathogens. They cause a broad spectrum of infectious diseases in various hosts, including hospital-associated infections. In recent years, the rise of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli in companion animals (dogs, cats and horses) has been striking. However, reports on nosocomial infections are mostly anecdotic. Here we report on the suspected nosocomial spread of both ESBL-producing and non-ESBL-producing multi-drug resistant E. coli isolates in three equine patients ...
Gallium maltolate as an alternative to macrolides for treatment of presumed Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals. Macrolide-resistant isolates of Rhodococcus equi are emerging, prompting the search for clinically effective alternative antimicrobials. Objective: The proportion of foals with ultrasonographic evidence of pneumonia presumed to be caused by R. equi that had a successful outcome when administered gallium maltolate (GaM) PO would not be more than 10% inferior (ie, lower) than that of foals receiving standard treatment. Methods: Fifty-four foals with subclinical pulmonary abscesses among 509 foals at 6 breeding farms in Kentucky. Methods: Controlled, randomized, prospective noninferiority study. ...
Free-virus and cell-to-cell transmission in models of equine infectious anemia virus infection. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus in the retrovirus family that infects horses and ponies. Two strains, referred to as the sensitive strain and the resistant strain, have been isolated from an experimentally-infected pony. The sensitive strain is vulnerable to neutralization by antibodies whereas the resistant strain is neutralization-insensitive. The sensitive strain mutates to the resistant strain. EIAV may infect healthy target cells via free virus or alternatively, directly from an infected target cell through cell-to-cell transfer. The proportion of transmission from f...
Serological evidence of equine influenza infections among persons with horse exposure, Iowa. Equine influenza virus (EIV) is considered enzootic in North America and experimental studies have documented human EIV infections. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 94 horse-exposed and 34 non-exposed controls for serological evidence of EIV infection. Sera were evaluated for antibodies against three EIV and two human H3N2 viruses using microneutralization (MN), neuraminidase inhibition (NI), enzyme-linked lectin (ELLA), and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) serological assays. Risk factor analyses were conducted using logistic regression and proportional odds modeling. Results: The...
Use of loop-mediated isothermal amplification to detect six groups of pathogens causing secondary lower respiratory bacterial infections in horses. Microbial substitution occasionally occurs following the administration of antimicrobials to horses that have pneumonia or pleuropneumonia. Four specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays were developed to detect some equine respiratory pathogens, namely strains of the Bacteroides-Prevotella group, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Staphylococcus aureus. These four LAMP assays and two previously published LAMP assays targeting Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used on clinical respiratory specimens and a high accordance found between the ...
A novel pore-forming toxin in type A Clostridium perfringens is associated with both fatal canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and fatal foal necrotizing enterocolitis. A role for type A Clostridium perfringens in acute hemorrhagic and necrotizing gastroenteritis in dogs and in necrotizing enterocolitis of neonatal foals has long been suspected but incompletely characterized. The supernatants of an isolate made from a dog and from a foal that died from these diseases were both found to be highly cytotoxic for an equine ovarian (EO) cell line. Partial genome sequencing of the canine isolate revealed three novel putative toxin genes encoding proteins related to the pore-forming Leukocidin/Hemolysin Superfamily; these were designated netE, netF, and netG. netE a...
Transgenically expressed Parascaris P-glycoprotein-11 can modulate ivermectin susceptibility in Caenorhabditis elegans. P-glycoproteins (Pgps) are suspected to mediate drug extrusion in nematodes contributing to macrocyclic lactone resistance. This association was recently shown for Parascaris Pgp-11. Ivermectin resistance was correlated with the presence of three pgp-11 single nucleotide polymorphisms and/or increased pgp-11 mRNA levels. In the present study, the ability of Pgp-11 to modulate ivermectin susceptibility was investigated by its expression in a pgp-11-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans strain. Expression of Parascaris pgp-11 in two transgenic lines significantly decreased ivermectin susceptibility i...
Altered secretion of selected arachidonic acid metabolites during subclinical endometritis relative to estrous cycle stage and grade of fibrosis in mares. Mares that fail to become pregnant after repeated breeding, without showing typical signs of clinical endometritis, should be suspected of subclinical endometritis (SE). Contact with infectious agents results in altered synthesis and secretion of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines and arachidonic acid metabolites, and disturbs endometrial functional balance. To address the hypothesis that SE affects the immune endocrine status of the equine endometrium, spontaneous secretion of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)), 6-keto-PGF(1α )(a metabolite of prostacyclin ...
[Flow-cytofluorometric study of bactericidal granules in blood phagocytes of animals with various species sensitivity to experimental plague infection]. Compare the content of bactericidal granules (BG) in blood phagocytes of animals, that differ by species sensitivity to plague infection, under the conditions of measuring, that ensure automatic differentiating by this parameter of monocytes and granulocytes of human blood. Methods: Human whole blood leukocytes were studied, as well as from 7 animal species: mice, guinea pigs, golden hamsters, white rats, rabbits, dogs and horses. Acridine orange (AO) was used for supra-vital staining in primary (bactericidal) granule cells. Relative BG content was measured in separate cells in conventional un...
Inflammatory mechanisms of endometritis. Transient post breeding endometritis is a normal physiological reaction in the mare, as it is believed that an inflammatory response is necessary for the effective removal of contaminating bacteria and excess spermatozoa introduced into the uterus. While most mares can clear endometritis within a reasonable amount of time, persistent endometritis caused by either bacteria or spermatozoa can threaten the success of a pregnancy. A subpopulation of mares is susceptible to persistent endometritis, and these mares are a concern in equine reproductive medicine. Research has identified several factor...
Gammaherpesvirus infections in equids: a review. Although the first equine gammaherpesvirus was identified over 50 years ago, the isolation and characterization of other members of this virus group has been relatively recent. Even so, numerous clinical syndromes have been identified in equid species in association with these viruses. Equid gammaherpesviruses are a genetically heterogeneous viral subfamily, the function of which in host immune modulation and disease pathogenesis has not yet been elucidated. While they share similarities with gammaherpesviruses in humans, the role they play in their relationship with the host is the subject of...
Plasma C-reactive protein and haptoglobin concentrations in critically ill neonatal foals. Accurate diagnostic markers for sepsis in neonatal foals are needed. Plasma C-reactive protein concentration (p[CRP]) and haptoglobin concentration (p[Hp]) are well-established biomarkers of infection in humans, but studies are lacking in foals. Objective: p[CRP]) and p[Hp] are increased in septic foals compared to sick nonseptic and healthy control foals, and are predictive of survival. Methods: Eighty critically ill foals (40 septic, 40 sick nonseptic) and 39 healthy control foals 11, and p[CRP] and p[Hp] were measured by using ELISA tests. Data were analyzed by using the Mann-Whitney U-test...
Prevalence and Antibiogram study of Rhodococcus equi in equines of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Rhodococcus equi infection in equines of Jammu and Kashmir, India, and evaluate the zoonotic threat posed by this organism to equine owners and tourists. One hundred and forty-one samples (98 samples from adult animals ≥5 years old and 43 samples from foals less than 6 months old) were collected in duplicate from nasopharyngeal tract of equines for isolation and direct PCR. A total of 12 isolates of R. equi were recovered, of which 9 were from foals and 3 from adult animals. Therefore, the present study recorded prevalence rates ...
Preliminary investigation of the area under the L-lactate concentration-time curve (LACArea) in critically ill equine neonates. A variety of measures of L-lactate concentration ([LAC]) in the blood of critically ill neonatal foals have shown utility as prognostic indicators. These measures, evaluating either the severity of hyperlactatemia or the duration of exposure to hyperlactatemia, perform fairly well and have correctly classified 75-80% of foals examined in several studies. The area under the L-lactate concentration versus time curve (LACArea) encompasses both severity and duration of hyperlactatemia and should improve correct classification of patient survival. Objective: LACArea is larger in nonsurviving critic...
Application of in vivo microdialysis for investigation of unbound drug concentrations of intravenously administered sulfadimidine in the paranasal sinus mucosa of horses. To monitor concentrations of sulfadimidine in the paranasal sinus mucosa (PSM) of unsedated horses following IV administration of trimethoprim-sulfadimidine via in vivo microdialysis. Methods: 10 healthy adult horses. Methods: Concentric microdialysis probes were implanted into the subepithelial layers of the frontal sinus mucosa of standing sedated horses. Four hours after implantation, trimethoprim-sulfadimidine (30 mg/kg) was administered IV every 24 hours for 2 days; dialysate and plasma samples were collected at intervals during that 48-hour period and analyzed for concentrations of sulfa...
Experimental transmission of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis biovar equi in horses by house flies. The route of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in horses remains undetermined, but transmission by insects is suspected. Objective: To investigate house flies (Musca domestica L.) as vectors of C. pseudotuberculosis transmission in horses. Methods: Eight healthy, adult ponies. Methods: Randomized, controlled, blinded prospective study. Ten wounds were created in the pectoral region where cages for flies were attached. Three ponies were directly inoculated with C. pseudotuberculosis. Four ponies were exposed for 24 hours to 20 hours C. pseudotuberculosis-inoculated flies. One negativ...
Epidemiological survey on Cryptosporidium in an Equine Perinatology Unit. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence, pattern of spread and risk factors for the transmission of cryptosporidiosis in foals and mares hospitalized in a University Equine Perinatology Unit, where a new subtype family of Cryptosporidium horse genotype was described by Caffara et al. (2013). Mares (36) and foals (37) hospitalized during the 2012 foaling season were included. Multiple sampling from each animal was performed (a total of 305 stool samples were collected). One hundred and eleven environmental samples (gauze swabs) were also collected before and after the breeding season....
An evidence-based approach to the evaluation of ethnoveterinary medicines against strongyle nematodes of equids. Cyathostomins are the most important gastrointestinal nematode infecting equids. Their effective control is currently under threat due to widespread resistance to the broad spectrum anthelmintics licenced for use in equids. In response to similar resistance issues in other helminths, there has been increasing interest in alternative control strategies, such as bioactive plant compounds derived from traditional ethnoveterinary treatments. This study used an evidence-based approach to evaluate the potential use of plant extracts from the UK and Ethiopia to treat cyathostomins. Plants were shortl...
Serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in farm animals (horses, swine, and sheep) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using chimeric antigens. Toxoplasma gondii infects all warm-blooded animals including humans, causing serious public health problems and great economic loss in the animal husbandry. Commonly used serological tests for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis involve preparation of whole Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA) from tachyzoites. The production of this antigen is associated with high costs and lengthy preparation and the possibility of staff infection. There are also some difficulties in the standardization of such tests. One approach in order to improve the diagnosis of T. gondii infection is to use recombinant chimeric anti...
Intermediate hosts of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Tenerife, Spain. The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the causative agent of human angiostrongyliasis, the main clinical manifestation of which is eosinophilic meningitis. Although this parasite has been found recently in its definitive rat host in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), showing a widespread distribution over the north-east part of the island, there are no available data regarding which snail and/or slug species are acting as intermediate hosts on this island. Consequently, the objective of this work was to determine the possible role of three mollusc species, Plutonia lamarckii, Cornu aspers...
Proteomic alteration of equine monocyte-derived macrophages infected with equine infectious anemia virus. Similar to the well-studied viruses human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is another member of the Lentivirus genus in the family Retroviridae. Previous studies revealed that interactions between EIAV and the host resulted in viral evolution in pathogenicity and immunogenicity, as well as adaptation to the host. Proteomic analysis has been performed to examine changes in protein expression and/or modification in host cells infected with viruses and has revealed useful information for virus-host interactions. In this ...
Bacterial isolates, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and factors associated with infection and outcome in foals with septic arthritis: 83 cases (1998-2013). To determine clinical characteristics, clinicopathologic data, and bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility results associated with septic arthritis in foals ≤ 180 days old. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 83 foals with septic arthritis. Methods: Medical records at 2 teaching hospitals between 1998 and 2013 were searched to identify those for foals ≤ 180 days old with confirmed infection of ≥ 1 synovial structure. Data extracted from the records included signalment, clinicopathologic information, bacteriologic culture and antimicrobial susceptibility results, and o...
Update on interstitial pneumonia. Interstitial pneumonias encompass a wide variety of acute and chronic respiratory diseases and include the specific diseases equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis and acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress. These diseases have been diagnosed in all age groups of horses, and numerous agents have been identified as potential causes of interstitial pneumonia. Despite the varied causes, interstitial pneumonia is uniformly recognized by the severity of respiratory disease and often poor clinical outcome. This article reviews the causal agents that have been associated with the developmen...
