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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.
Comparison of two sampling and culture systems for detection of Salmonella enterica in the environment of a large animal hospital. Nosocomial salmonellosis is an important problem in veterinary hospitals that treat horses and other large animals. Detection and mitigation of outbreaks and prevention of healthcare-associated infections often require detection of Salmonella enterica in the hospital environment. Objective: To compare 2 previously published methods for detecting environmental contamination with S. enterica in a large animal veterinary teaching hospital. Methods: Hospital-based comparison of environmental sampling techniques. Methods: A total of 100 pairs of environmental samples were collected from stalls us...
Experimental infection with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) induces chorioretinal lesions. Equine herpesvirus myeloencephalitis (EHM) remains one of the most devastating manifestations of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection but our understanding of its pathogenesis remains rudimentary, partly because of a lack of adequate experimental models. EHV-1 infection of the ocular vasculature may offer an alternative model as EHV-1-induced chorioretinopathy appears to occur in a significant number of horses, and the pathogenesis of EHM and ocular EHV-1 may be similar. To investigate the potential of ocular EHV-1 as a model for EHM, and to determine the frequency of ocular EHV-1, our ...
Molecular monitoring of the bacterial community structure in foal feces pre- and post-weaning. This study assessed the time-scale variability of bacterial community structure in foal feces from birth to 365 days of age using Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA). Fecal samples were collected from five foals 2 h after birth (meconium) and in the morning at days 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 179, 183, 194 and 365. The ARISA profiles were compared using an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Although both the age effect and the foal effect were highly significant (P < 0.010), the R-ANOSIM value for the foal effect was very low (R-ANOSIM = 0.089), while that of the age eff...
Use of lomustine (CCNU) in a case of cutaneous equine lymphoma. A 12-year-old gelding was diagnosed with recurrent lymphoma in multiple cutaneous sites. A highly invasive preputial mass caused urethral obstruction. The horse was treated with surgery and chemotherapy consisting of lomustine (CCNU) and prednisolone. The treatment was well-tolerated and effective. This is the first reported use of lomustine (CCNU) in a horse for the treatment of equine lymphoma. Utilisation de lomustine (CCNU) dans un cas de lymphone cutané équin. Un hongre âgé de 12 ans a été diagnostiqué avec un lymphome récurrent sur plusieurs sites cutanés. Une masse préputiale ...
Sequential L-lactate concentration in hospitalised equine neonates: A prospective multicentre study. Evaluation of serial blood lactate concentrations [LAC] are of prognostic value for morbidity and mortality in critically ill human patients and neonatal foals, but have not been prospectively evaluated in a large multicentre study of critically ill neonatal foals. Objective: To prospectively evaluate the prognostic value of sequential [LAC] analysis in critically ill neonatal foals with risk of mortality. Methods: Prospective, observational study. Methods: Thirteen university and private equine referral hospitals enrolled 643 foals over the 2008 foaling season and [LAC] was measured at admiss...
Systemic and respiratory oxidative stress in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. Oxidative stress (OS) is most simply defined as an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants. Oxidative stress has been suggested to play roles in various equine respiratory diseases and the significance of OS in the pathogenesis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia is unknown. Objective: To measure and relate biomarkers of OS to lesions consistent with R. equi pneumonia. Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Various OS biomarkers were measured from blood and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) samples collected from 26 foals between 1 and 2 months of age (n = 12 cases and n = 14 controls) on 2 Thoro...
Interstitial lung disease associated with Equine Infectious Anemia Virus infection in horses. EIA (Equine Infectious Anemia) is a blood-borne disease primarily transmitted by haematophagous insects or needle punctures. Other routes of transmission have been poorly explored. We evaluated the potential of EIAV (Equine Infectious Anemia Virus) to induce pulmonary lesions in naturally infected equids. Lungs from 77 EIAV seropositive horses have been collected in Romania and France. Three types of lesions have been scored on paraffin-embedded lungs: lymphocyte infiltration, bronchiolar inflammation, and thickness of the alveolar septa. Expression of the p26 EIAV capsid (CA) protein has been...
Epidemiological investigation of equine piroplasmosis in China by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The objective of this study is to investigate the seroprevalence of equine piroplasmosis in China. A total of 1990 sera were collected from clinically healthy horses in various districts located in ten different provinces of China and examined by using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with recombinant Theileria equi (T. equi) merozoite antigen 2 (rEMA-2) and Babesia caballi (B. caballi) 48-kDa rhoptry protein (rBc48), respectively. The results showed that 1,018 (51.16%) and 229 (11.51%) samples were positive for B. caballi and T. equi infection, respectively. The number of ...
Syndromic surveillance for evaluating the occurrence of healthcare-associated infections in equine hospitals. Methods that can be used to estimate rates of healthcare-associated infections and other nosocomial events have not been well established for use in equine hospitals. Traditional laboratory-based surveillance is expensive and cannot be applied in all of these settings. Objective: To evaluate the use of a syndromic surveillance system for estimating rates of occurrence of healthcare-associated infections among hospitalised equine cases. Methods: Multicentre, prospective longitudinal study. Methods: This study included weaned equids (n = 297) that were admitted for gastrointestinal disorders at ...
Replication of avian influenza viruses in equine tracheal epithelium but not in horses. We evaluated a hypothesis that horses are susceptible to avian influenza viruses by in vitro testing, using explanted equine tracheal epithelial cultures, and in vivo testing by aerosol inoculation of ponies. Results showed that several subtypes of avian influenza viruses detectably replicated in vitro. Three viruses with high in vitro replication competence were administered to ponies. None of the three demonstrably replicated or caused disease signs in ponies. While these results do not exhaustively test our hypothesis, they do highlight that the tracheal explant culture system is a poor pre...
The evaluation of a nucleoprotein ELISA for the detection of equine influenza antibodies and the differentiation of infected from vaccinated horses (DIVA). Antibodies against equine influenza virus (EIV) are traditionally quantified by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) or single radial haemolysis (SRH). Objective: To evaluate an ELISA for the detection of antibodies against influenza nucleoprotein in the diagnosis and surveillance of equine influenza (EI). Methods: The ELISA was compared with the SRH and HI tests. Serial serum samples from 203 naturally and 14 experimentally infected horses, from 60 weanlings following primary vaccination with five different vaccines (two whole inactivated vaccines, two ISCOM-based subunit vaccines and a recombin...
Identification and characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Austrian companion animals and horses. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance, resistance gene patterns and genetic relatedness of a collection of Austrian methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from companion animals and horses. A total of 89 non-repetitive MRSA isolates collected during routine veterinary microbiological examinations from April 2004 to the end of 2012, and one isolate from 2013 were used for this study. The presence of mecA and other resistance genes was confirmed by PCR. Isolates were genotyped by spa typing, two multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat ana...
Recrudescent infection supports Hendra virus persistence in Australian flying-fox populations. Zoonoses from wildlife threaten global public health. Hendra virus is one of several zoonotic viral diseases that have recently emerged from Pteropus species fruit-bats (flying-foxes). Most hypotheses regarding persistence of Hendra virus within flying-fox populations emphasize horizontal transmission within local populations (colonies) via urine and other secretions, and transmission among colonies via migration. As an alternative hypothesis, we explore the role of recrudescence in persistence of Hendra virus in flying-fox populations via computer simulation using a model that integrates publ...
Adenocarcinoma involving the tongue and the epiglottis in a horse. Tumors involving the oral cavity of the horse are uncommon. No cases of equine adenocarcinoma on the dorsum of the tongue have been reported in the literature. We report a case of adenocarcinoma located on the dorsum of the posterior one-third of the tongue in a 29-year-old gelding with severe dysphagia. Endoscopy revealed an epiglottis involvement, and histology was consistent with adenocarcinoma arising from minor salivary glands, which was associated with a severe fungal colonization of affected tissues. The goals of this report are to present an uncommon case of dorsum of the tongue-associ...
Illumina sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region 16S rRNA gene reveals extensive changes in bacterial communities in the cecum following carbohydrate oral infusion and development of early-stage acute laminitis in the horse. In the equine carbohydrate overload model of acute laminitis, disease progression is associated with changes in bacteria found in the cecum. To date, research has focused on changes in specific Gram-positive bacteria in this portion of the intestinal tract. Metagenomic methods are now available making it possible to interrogate microbial communities using animal protocols that sufficiently power a study. In this study, the microbiota in cecal fluid collected from control, non-laminitic horses (n=8) and from horses with early-stage acute laminitis induced with either oligofructan (n=6) or corns...
Differential virulence and pathogenesis of West Nile viruses. West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that cycles between mosquitoes and birds but that can also infect humans, horses, and other vertebrate animals. In most humans, WNV infection remains subclinical. However, 20%-40% of those infected may develop WNV disease, with symptoms ranging from fever to meningoencephalitis. A large variety of WNV strains have been described worldwide. Based on their genetic differences, they have been classified into eight lineages; the pathogenic strains belong to lineages 1 and 2. Ten years ago, Beasley et al. (2002) found that dramatic differences exist...
The soluble form of the EIAV receptor encoded by an alternative splicing variant inhibits EIAV infection of target cells. Equine lentivirus receptor 1 (ELR1) has been identified as the sole receptor for equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) and is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily. In addition to the previously described membrane-associated form of ELR1, two other major alternative splicing variant mRNAs were identified in equine monocyte-derived macrophages (eMDMs). One major spliced species (ELR1-IN) contained an insertion of 153 nt, which resulted in a premature stop codon situated 561 nt upstream of the predicted membrane spanning domain. The other major species (ELR1-DE) has a...
Clinical course of ophthalmic findings and potential influence factors of herpesvirus infections: 18 month follow-up of a closed herd of lipizzaners. To date the influence of herpesviruses on the development of equine ocular diseases has not been clearly determined. Objective: The purpose of this study was to illustrate the course of equine ocular findings over a period of 18 months at 6 month intervals, in correlation with the results of herpesvirus detection. Methods: 266 Lipizzaners in 3 federal states of Austria underwent complete ophthalmologic examination 4 times. Blood samples, nasal- and conjunctival swabs were obtained at the same time and used for the detection of the equid gammaherpesviruses EHV-2 and EHV-5 using consensus herpes...
Evidence of lateral gene transfer among strains of Streptococcus zooepidemicus in weanling horses with respiratory disease. Streptococcus zooepidemicus (Sz) is a tonsillar commensal of healthy horses but with potential to opportunistically invade the lower respiratory tract. Sz is genetically variable and recombinogenic based on analysis of gene sequences including szp, szm and MLST data. Although a variety of serovars of the protective SzP are commonly harbored in the tonsils of the same horse, lower respiratory infections usually involve a single clone. Nevertheless, isolation of specific clones from epizootics of respiratory disease has been recently reported in horses and dogs in N. America, Europe and Asia. In...
Computed tomographic features of apical infection of equine maxillary cheek teeth: a retrospective study of 49 horses. Computed tomographic (CT) studies evaluating the relevance of individual CT features of apical infection in maxillary cheek teeth are lacking. Objective: To study the prevalence and relationship of single CT features in horses with and without clinical evidence of apical infection in maxillary cheek teeth. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: Multislice CT scans of the head of 49 horses were evaluated retrospectively. Changes of the infundibulum, pulp, root, lamina dura, periodontal space and alveolar bone in maxillary cheek teeth were recorded. Results: Single CT changes were m...
A multigene approach for comparing genealogy of Betacoronavirus from cattle and horses. Gastroenteritis is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among young and newborn animals and is often caused by multiple intestinal infections, with rotavirus and bovine coronavirus (BCoV) being the main viral causes in cattle. Given that BCoV is better studied than equine coronaviruses and given the possibility of interspecies transmission of these viruses, this research was designed to compare the partial sequences of the spike glycoprotein (S), hemagglutinin-esterase protein (HE), and nucleoprotein (N) genes from coronaviruses from adult cattle with winter dysentery, calves w...
Understanding virus-host dynamics following EIAV infection in SCID horses. We develop a mathematical model for the interaction between two competing equine infectious anemia virus strains and neutralizing antibodies. We predict that elimination of one or both virus strains depends on the initial antibody levels, the strength of antibody mediated neutralization, and the persistence of antibody over time. We further show that the ability of a subdominant, neutralization resistant virus to dominate the infection transiently or permanently is dependent on the antibody-mediated neutralization effect. Finally, we determine conditions for persistence of both virus strains. ...
Purulent pericarditis and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus. Purulent pericarditis is a life-threatening disease that usually manifests following bacteraemia or through spreading from an intrathoracic focus. Only a few cases of this disease have been reported with Lancefield group C streptococci as aetiological agents, and the primary focus in these infections remains unknown. We report a case of purulent pericarditis with septic and cardiogenic shock, caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (group C) in a 51-year-old patient. The pathogen was possibly contracted through contact with horses. Most probably, it caused initially pneumonia before ...
Validation of an improved competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect Equine arteritis virus antibody. The objective of the present study was to validate a previously described competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) to detect antibody to Equine arteritis virus (EAV) based on GP5-specific nonneutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb) 17B7(9) using the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)-recommended protocol, which includes the following 5 in-house analyses. 1) The assay was calibrated with the OIE-designated reference serum panel for EAV; 2) repeatability was evaluated within and between assay runs; 3) analytical specificity was evaluated using sera specific to related viruses...
Prevalence of asinine herpesvirus type 5 (AsHV-5) infection in clinically normal Lipizzaner horses. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of asinine herpesvirus (AsHV) type 5 infection in 'closed' populations of clinically normal Lipizzaner horses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells plus nasal and conjunctival swabs were obtained on four occasions over an 18 month period from 266 animals as part of a health surveillance programme. Sequence analysis of samples that were positive by nested consensus herpesvirus PCR but negative using quantified equid herpesvirus (EHV) type 2 and 5 PCR, revealed a total of 51 samples from 39 horses positive for AsHV-5. No statistically significant asso...
The equine CD1 gene family is the largest and most diverse yet identified. The CD1 family is a group of non-polymorphic MHC class I-like molecules that present lipid-based antigens to T cells. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that cytotoxic T lymphocytes from immune adult horses recognize lipids from the cell wall of an important equine pathogen, Rhodococcus equi. These findings suggest an important role for the equine CD1 antigen presentation system in protective immune responses to microbial pathogens in the horse. In this study, we characterized and mapped the equine CD1 gene cluster. The equine genome was found to contain 13 complete CD1 genes; seven ...
Neurological trypanosomiasis in quinapyramine sulfate-treated horses–a breach of the blood-brain barrier? Trypanosoma evansi infection typically produces wasting disease, but it can also develop into a neurological or meningoencephalitis form in equids. Trypanosomiasis in horses was treated with quinapyramine sulfate, and all the 14 infected animals were recovered clinically. After clinical recovery, four animals developed a neurological form of the disease at various intervals. Two of these animals treated with diminazene aceturate recovered temporarily. Repeated attempts failed to find the parasite in the blood or the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), but all of the animals were positive in enzyme-link...
Active infection and morphometric study of Trypanosoma evansi among horses in Peninsula Malaysia. Apart from occasional reports of clinical disease affecting horses, there is no information about Trypanosoma evansi in horses in Peninsula Malaysia. Thus, a cross-sectional study was conducted in eight states in Peninsula Malaysia to determine the active presence of T. evansi in horses. A total of 527 blood samples were obtained and examined by haematocrit centrifugation technique (HCT), Giemsa-stained thin blood smear (GSS), morphometric measurements, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloning of PCR products. The results showed an overall parasitological prevalence of 0.57% (3/527, CI: 1.6...
