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.
Uhlinger CA.This article focuses on what has been established concerning the interaction of equine parasites and their hosts, highlighting those issues for which convincing data are still lacking. There is a compelling need for the participation of the veterinarian in the design of appropriate anthelmintic treatments and prevention strategies.
Naureen A, Saqib M, Muhammad G, Hussain MH, Asi MN.The Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) was evaluated for the diagnosis of equine glanders, and its diagnostic efficiency was compared with that of mallein and other serological tests, including indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT), complement fixation test (CFT), and modified counter immunoelectrophoresis test (mCIET). Sera from 70 naturally infected culture-positive, 96 potentially exposed cohorts, and 110 healthy equines were tested. All tests but mCIET showed 100% specificity when testing the sera from glanders-negative equines. The calculated sensitivities of RBT, IHAT, CFT, mCIET...
Kligler EB, Shkap V, Baneth G, Mildenberg Z, Steinman A.Sera from 800 asymptomatic horses were examined for the presence of antibodies to Neospora caninum by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The presence of antibodies to N. caninum was also tested in sera from 52 mares that had aborted and 40 horses exhibiting neurological signs. A total of 95 (11.9%) of the 800 sera had antibodies for Neospora. Significantly higher seropositivity was obtained from horses that had neurological signs (21.2%) and from aborted mares (37.5%). There was significant linear-by-linear association between age and seropositivity. This is the first serologic survey fo...
Naem S.Drashia megastoma Rudolphi, 1819, Habronema muscae Carter, 1861 and Habronema microstoma Schneider, 1866 are found in the stomach of equine definitive hosts and are known to cause pathogenic effects in the stomach wall, skin, eye and occasionally other sites. These nematodes utilise either house flies or stable flies as their intermediate hosts. Apart from molecular findings that have demonstrated some of the differences between H. muscae and H. microstoma, no detailed morphological description of equine habronematid nematodes has been presented. This article describes most surface features of...
Allsopp MT, Lewis BD, Penzhorn BL.The intra-erythrocytic parasite Theileria equi is one of two tick-transmitted causative agents of equine piroplasmosis. Piroplasms of T. equi can be transmitted across the equine placenta and once a horse is infected, it appears to remain a lifelong carrier, since anti-theilerial drugs suppress but do not eliminate the parasite. Carrier mares may transmit the organism to their offspring and this may result in abortion or neonatal piroplasmosis, but observations by some researchers suggest that foals may be born as carriers yet remain apparently healthy. Using a T. equi-specific oligonucleotide...
Léon A, Fortier G, Fortier C, Freymuth F, Tapprest J, Leclercq R, Pronost S.The major role of EHV-1 in equine abortion is widely reported in the literature but the contribution of EHV-2, EHV-3, EHV-4 or EHV-5 remains less well documented. The objective of this study is to evaluate the contribution of these five different EHVs to equine abortion in a variety of biological tissues using a consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The test was validated for specificity and sensitivity in horses before screening specimens from 407 foetuses, stillbirths and premature foals collected over a 2.5-year interval. Positive results obtained with this assay were compared to other...
Kitai Y, Shoda M, Kondo T, Konishi E.West Nile virus (WNV) is now widely distributed worldwide, except in most areas of Asia where Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is distributed. Considering the movement and migration of reservoir birds, there is concern that WNV may be introduced in Asian countries. Although manuals and guidelines for serological tests have been created in Japan in preparedness for the introduction of WNV, differential diagnosis between WNV and JEV may be complicated by antigenic cross-reactivities between these flaviviruses. Here, we generated a monoclonal antibody specific for the nonstructural protein 1 (NS...
Muñoz JA, Stephen J, Baptiste KE, Lepage OM.The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, efficacy and complications following lavage and drainage of the lateral compartment (LC) of the equine guttural pouch (GP) using a modified Garm's technique (MGT). In an ex vivo study (study 1), six cadaver heads were examined to assess the anatomical limits of the surgical approach and whether vital structures might be damaged. This was followed by an in vivo study (study 2) in which a lavage/drainage tube was placed for 3 days into each LC of four standing horses using the MGT. In both studies, the procedure offered direct access i...
Kulikova EE, Isaeva AS, Rotkina AS, Manykin AA, Letarov AV.The complex cellulolytic microbial community of the horse intestines is a convenient model for studying the ecology of bacteriophages in natural habitats. Unlike the rumen of the ruminants, this community of the equine large intestine is not subjected to digestion. The inner conditions of the horse gut are much more stable in comparison to other mammals, due to the fact that the horse diet remains almost unchanged and the intervals between food consumption and defecation are much shorter than the whole digestive cycle. The results of preliminary analysis of the structure and dynamics of the vi...
Njiru ZK, Constantine CC.To investigate the population genetic structure of Trypanosoma evansi from domesticated animals, we have analysed 112 stocks from camels, buffaloes, cattle and horses using the tandemly repeated coding sequence (MORF2) and minisatellite markers 292 and cysteine-rich acidic integral membrane protein (CRAM). We recorded a total of six alleles at the MORF2 locus, seven at 292 and 12 at the CRAM loci. Nei's genetic distance showed reduced allelic diversity between buffaloes and cattle stocks (1.2) as compared to the diversity between camels and buffaloes (3.75) and camels and cattle stock (1.69). ...
Riddle WT, LeBlanc MM, Stromberg AJ.Endometrial cytology and culture specimens (n=2123) were collected concurrently with a guarded uterine culture instrument from 970 mares (738 barren, 1230 foaling and 155 maiden mares) during three breeding seasons (2001-2004). Results were compared to the 28-d pregnancy rate for the cycle from which the samples were taken. Cytological smears were evaluated for inflammation at x100 and graded as: not inflammatory (0-2 neutrophils/field), moderate inflammation (2-5 neutrophils/field), severe inflammation (>5 neutrophils/field), or hypocellular (scant epithelial cells and no neutrophils). Ute...
Aleman M, Magdesian KG, Peterson TS, Galey FD.A 4-month-old American Paint filly was evaluated because of sudden onset of ataxia that progressed to recumbency. Five additional horses from the same and neighboring premises developed signs of poor performance, generalized weakness, ataxia, and recumbency; 2 of those horses were also evaluated. A new batch of a commercial feed supplement had been introduced to the horses' diet on each farm within the preceding 3 days. Results: Other than recumbency, findings of physical and neurologic examinations of the foal were unremarkable. The other 2 horses had generalized weakness and mild ataxia, and...
Nardoni S, Sgorbini M, Barsotti G, Corazza M, Mancianti F.To identify and quantify ocular fungi from healthy donkeys living in the center of Italy. Methods: One hundred and two Amiata donkeys were examined. Methods: Conjunctival swabs from both eyes were seeded onto Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and malt extract agar (MEA), and incubated at 25 degrees C over a 10-day period. Filamentous fungi identification was achieved to the genus level; yeast colonies were identified for macro-micromorphologic and physiological characteristics. Results: Eighty-one donkeys out of 102 (79.4%) were positive for fungi; 47/102 (46.1%) had positive cultures from both ey...
Eckert RE, Neuder LE, Bell JL, Trujillo JC, Jones SL.The goal of this study was to define the role for p38 mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK) in the signaling mechanism regulating pro-inflammatory cyclooxygenase (COX) gene expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated equine leukocytes for the purposes of identifying novel targets for anti-inflammatory therapy in endotoxemic horses. The p38 MAPK has been shown to positively regulate inflammatory gene expression in human leukocytes and can be activated by a variety of stimuli including LPS, TNF-alpha, and IL-1. Activation-associated phosphorylated p38 MAPK has been implicated in the up-regulation...
Adams AP, Oriol JG, Campbell RE, Oppenheim YC, Allen WR, Antczak DF.This research tested the hypothesis that immunological sensitization of mares by skin allografting, followed by the establishment of pregnancy using semen from the skin-graft donor, would give rise to secondary immune responses to the developing horse conceptus, resulting in an earlier demise of the fetally derived endometrial cups. Maiden mares received skin allografts from a stallion homozygous for Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) antigens and/or equivalent autografts and were subsequently mated to the skin-graft donor stallion during the next two breeding seasons. Mares that had been ...
Ghanem YM, Ibrahim el-SM, Yamada S, Matsumura T, Osterrieder N, Yamaguchi T, Fukushi H.The pathogenicities of RacL11 and Kentucky D strains of equine herpesvirus 1 in the hamster infection model are different from those of Ab4p and the Japanese isolates. Virus genome restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequence comparison of an intergenic region, glycoproteins and tegument genes showed higher conservation but with some strain-specific differences. These results indicate that point nucleotide differences in RacL11 and Kentucky D might be responsible for their pathogenicity in rodent models.
Climent F, Carmona JU, Cuenca R, Prades M.Eosinophilic synovitis (ES) is a rare disease described in human and veterinary medicine. Only three cases have been reported in the horse. A case of tarsocrural synovitis in an Hispano-Arabian gelding is presented in this report. The patient presented with severe joint effusion and lameness of the right tarsocrural joint on admission. Synovial fluid analysis revealed an increased WBC of 12800 leukocytes/microliter with 76% of eosinophils. Lavage of the diseased joint and medical treatment with antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs produced remission of the clinical problem.
Neil KM, Axon JE, Todhunter PG, Adams PL, Caron JP, Adkins AR.To determine the clinical characteristics and outcome of foals with septic osteitis of the distal phalanx. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: 22 foals. Methods: Information obtained from medical records included signalment; clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings; treatment method; and outcome. Foals included in the study had lameness referable to the foot, radiographic evidence of localized lysis or focal loss of bone density of the distal phalanx, and suppurative discharge or necrosis of the affected bone evident at surgery. Foals with a history or evidence of penetrating w...
Morein B, Blomqvist G, Hu K.The maintenance of pregnancy requires suppression of the maternal immune system which would naturally recognize the developing fetus as an allograft and seek to destroy it by mounting a Th1 regulated cytotoxic immune response. During pregnancy a range of soluble factors are produced by the placenta which switch maternal immune regulation towards a protective Th2 phenotype. These factors also influence the developing fetal immune system and all newborns initially have an immunological milieu skewed towards Th2 immunity. Vaccination during the neonatal period must therefore overcome the dual cha...
Brandes K, Wollanke B, Niedermaier G, Brem S, Gerhards H.This study documents the examination of 17 horses (both sexes, 3-18 years old) suffering from spontaneous equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). Vitreal samples obtained by pars plana vitrectomy were examined macroscopically and ultrastructurally, and in most cases also by cultural examination, by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and by polymerase chain reaction. In 24% (4/17) of the animals, ultrastructural examination by electron microscopy revealed intact leptospiral bacteria in the vitreous. The leptospires were detected freely in the vitreous and also incorporated by a phagocyte. They were s...
Luce R, Shepherd M, Paillot R, Blacklawst B, Wood JL, Kydd JH.An assay has been developed that measures EHV-1 specific interferon gamma synthesis (IFNgamma), a cytokine produced following the activation of memory T lymphocytes and therefore a measure of cell mediated immunity. The method requires validation in the field. Objective: To measure the frequency of EHV-1 specific, IFNgamma synthesising peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in a population of Thoroughbred horses, and examine its relationship with age, gender, premises and history of vaccination or field infection with EHV-1. Methods: Lymphocytes from 200 Thoroughbred horses were stimulated ...
Jost U, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Dolf G, Swinburne JE, Ramseyer A, Bugno M, Burger D, Blott S, Gerber V.REASONS FOR STUDY: Equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is probably dependent on a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors and shares many characteristic features with human asthma. Interleukin 4 receptor a chain (IL4RA) is a candidate gene because of its role in the development of human asthma, confirmation of this association is therefore required. Methods: The equine BAC clone containing the IL4RA gene was localised to ECA13q13 by the FISH method. Microsatellite markers in this region were investigated for possible association and linkage with RAO in 2 large Warmblood ...
Frye JG, Fedorka-Cray PJ.Third-generation cephalosporin (3GC) antimicrobials are the drugs of choice for treatment of salmonellosis in children. Salmonella isolated in the USA are assayed by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) for resistance to antimicrobials including first-, second- and third-generation cephalosporins. From 1999 to 2003, 34,411 Salmonella were isolated from animals in the USA, of which 10.9% were found to be resistant to ceftiofur, a 3GC used in animals, whilst only 0.3% were resistant to ceftriaxone, a 3GC used in human medicine. Ceftiofur resistance rose from 4.0% in 19...
Salas-Romero J, Gómez-Cabrera KA, Salas JE, Vázquez R, Arenal A, Nielsen MK.Anthelmintic resistance in equine cyathostomins has been described worldwide, with resistance to the benzimidazole class being particularly widespread. The status of anthelmintic efficacy in Cuba has been virtually unknown due to the lack of equine labelled products. One recent report documented suboptimal efficacy levels of extra-label albendazole products against cyathostomins, but it remains unknown to which extent benzimidazole resistance exists in the population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anthelmintic efficacy of two benzimidazole products labelled for equines, fenb...
McClure JT, DeLuca JL, Lunn DP, Miller J.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of an equine plasma product i.v. and a concentrated serum product i.v. to deliver antibodies to 46 foals with failure of passive transfer (FPT). Treatment of FPT was as per manufacturers recommendations, using plasma (950 ml/unit) or a concentrated serum product (250 ml/unit). Significant variables affecting the 3 day post-transfusion serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration of foals included body weight, pretransfusion IgG concentration, number of product units transfused, foaling season and product administered. Plasma treatment had a g...
Verhaar N, de Buhr N, von Köckritz-Blickwede M, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Pfarrer C, Mazzuoli-Weber G, Schulte H, Kästner S.Ischaemic postconditioning (IPoC) refers to brief periods of reocclusion of blood supply following an ischaemic event. This has been shown to ameliorate ischaemia reperfusion injury in different tissues, and it may represent a feasible therapeutic strategy for ischaemia reperfusion injury following strangulating small intestinal lesions in horses. The objective of this study was to assess the degree cell death, inflammation, oxidative stress, and heat shock response in an equine experimental jejunal ischaemia model with and without IPoC. Methods: In this randomized, controlled, experimental in...
Focková V, Styková E, Simonová MP, Maďar M, Kačírová J, Lauková A.Bacteriocin-producing bacteria with probiotic character are known as nutritional supplements mainly for livestock. Among those beneficial bacteria we also found enterococci. Because the species strains Enterococcus mundtii also can produce bacteriocins, this study was focused on fecal strains E. mundtii from horses and their bioactivity with a view to their possible future use in breeding. Rectal removal from 47 horses (40 mares and 7 stallions), the Norik breed from Muráň were sampled in eastern Slovakia during November 2019 year. Horses age ranged from five months up to 23 years. Using MAL...
Information on equine infectious anaemia (EIA) in mules, including those with an equivocal reaction in agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGIDT), is scarce. For this, a study was conducted to evaluate the clinical, viral loads and pathological findings of two groups of naturally infected asymptomatic mules, respectively with a negative/equivocal and positive AGIDT reactivity, which were subjected to pharmacological immune suppression (IS). A non-infected control was included in the study that remained negative during the observation period. Throughout the whole study, even repeated episodes of rec...
Okada A, Suganuma S, Badr Y, Omatsu T, Mizutani T, Ohya K, Fukushi H.VP22 is a major tegument protein of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). In the present study, we examined functions of VP22 in EHV-1 replication by viral protein expression analyses in cells infected with the VP22-deficient virus. The expressions of several viral proteins in the cells infected with the VP22-deficient virus were lower than those in the cells infected with the parent virus. One of the weakly expressed proteins was identified as ICP4, which is a major regulatory protein encoded by an immediate early gene of EHV-1. A real-time PCR analysis showed that the mRNA expression of ICP4 wa...
Moreira CJC, De Cicco NNT, Galdino TS, Feder D, Gonzalez MS, Miguel RB, Coura JR, Castro HC, Azambuja P, Atella GC, Ratcliffe NA, Mello CB.Chagas disease, infecting ca. 8 million people in Central and South America, is mediated by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. The parasite is transmitted by the bite of blood sucking triatomine insects, such as Rhodnius prolixus, that had previously fed on parasite-infected vertebrate blood and voided their contaminated feces and urine into the wound. The stages of the parasite life cycle in both the insect vector and human host are well-known, but determinants of infection in the insect gut are complex and enigmatic. This paper examines the possible role of the R. prolixus gut agglut...
Perryman LE, McGuire TC, Torbeck RL.The capacity of cells from thymus, liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, peripheral blood, and bone marrow to respond to in vitro phytolectin and allogeneic lymphocyte-stimulation was determined in 16 pony fetuses 61 to 200 days old (gestational age). Phytolectin-responsive cells were detected in the thymus at the 80th gestational day, peripheral blood at 120 days, lymph node at 160 days, and spleen at 200 days. Mixed lymphocyte culture-responsive cells were detected in thymus at 100 days and in the spleen at 200 days (gestational age). Immunoglobulins (Ig) M and IgG were quantitated by radio...
Pavlásek I, Hess L, Stehlík I, Stika V.The first occurrence of Giardia spp. in horses in the Czech Republic is reported. During preventive examination of 360 five-month up to 14-year horses from various parts of the region of Central Bohemia carried out from January 1993 to June 1994 in the parasitological laboratory of the State Veterinary Institute in Prague, the Giardia cysts were detected in the excrements of 18 (5%) horses, mostly 2-4 years of age, and in two foals 3 and 6 weeks old. During the period between March 1993 and June 1994, systematic and repeated observation was aimed at a group of 38 racing horses two up to four y...
Boyle AG, Rankin SC, D￮ LA, Morris D.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is recognized as a cause of nosocomial infections in both human and veterinary medicine. Studies that examine the nasopharynx and guttural pouches of the horse as carriage sites for MRSA have not been reported. Objective: MRSA colonizes the nasopharynx and guttural pouch of horses. To determine the prevalence of MRSA in equine nasopharyngeal wash (NPW) and guttural pouch lavage (GPL) samples in a field population of horses. Methods: One hundred seventy-eight samples (123 NPW and 55 GPL) from 108 horses. Methods: Prospective study. Samples were...
Perkins SL, Magdesian KG, Thomas WP, Spier SJ.A 13-year-old Oldenburg mare was evaluated for lethargy and signs of mild colic. Pericardial tamponade caused by fibrinoeffusive pericarditis was diagnosed. Cytologic and biochemical evaluation of pericardial fluid was consistent with a septic effusion. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, the cause of pigeon fever, was identified by bacteriologic culture of pericardial fluid. Drainage and lavage of the pericardial sac, local (intrapericardial) and systemic antimicrobial treatment, and subsequent corticosteroid treatment resulted in a successful outcome in this horse. To the authors' knowledge,...
Horspool LJ, McKellar QA.The present study was designed to determine and compare the plasma disposition and pharmacokinetics of penicillin G sodium following intravenous (i.v.) administration to horses, ponies and donkeys. The plasma disposition and pharmacokinetics of penicillin G was similar in horses, ponies and donkeys (elimination half-lives--39.0, 27.3 and 31.5 min, respectively) and a dosage interval of 6-8 h would be suitable to treat infections caused by susceptible bacteria. Although penicillin G was absorbed rapidly following nasogastric administration, the systemic availability was low (0.12-0.34%), theref...
Blangy-Letheule A, Vergnaud A, Dupas T, Rozec B, Lauzier B, Leroux AA.Sepsis is a life-threatening disease defined as an organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to an infection. Early diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis are necessary for specific and timely treatment. However, no predictive biomarkers or therapeutic targets are available yet, mainly due to the lack of a pertinent model. A better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with sepsis will allow for earlier and more appropriate management. For this purpose, experimental models of sepsis have been set up to decipher the progression and pathophysiology of human seps...
Schulman M, Becker A, Ganswindt S, Guthrie A, Stout T, Ganswindt A.Validation of a method for the minimally-invasive measurement of physiological stress will help understanding of risk factors that may contribute to stress-associated events including recrudescence of Equid herpesvirus (EHV), which is anecdotally associated with sales consignment of pregnant Thoroughbred mares. In this study we compared two similar groups of late-gestation Thoroughbred broodmares on the same farm: a consigned Sales group (N = 8) and a non-consigned Control group (N = 6). The Sales mares were separated from their paddock companions and grouped prior to their preparation...
Miller RI, Wold D, Lindsay WA, Beadle RE, McClure JJ, McClure JR, McCoy DJ.Five horses with pythiosis of the limbs were treated unsuccessfully by surgery or topical application of amphotericin B, or both. Follow-up immunotherapy resulted in 1 horse responding favorably. Three horses were cured of the fungal infection but developed osteitis or deep-seated laminitis, which necessitated their destruction. The remaining horse, which had severe anemia, died before the course of vaccination was completed.
Sofronic-Milosavljevic L, Pozio E, Patrascu IV, Skerovic N, Gomez Morales MA, Gamble HR.From 1998 to 2000, 5,267 horse sera were collected from several Trichinella regions in Romania. Sera were initially screened in laboratories in Romania, Serbia and Italy with an ELISA and a Western blot (Wb) using an excretory/secretory (ES) antigen and several conjugates (protein A, protein G, and sheep or goat anti-horse). Differences in serology results were obtained among the different conjugates and also between ELISA and Wb. Depending on the test used, specific antibodies were found at a prevalence rate of 3-6% of horses. Serum samples classified as positive were tested again by ELISA us...
Gregory CR, Latimer KS, Niagro FD, Campagnoli RP, Steffens WL, Ritchie BW.Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (F.EE) virus was detected in infected formalin-fixed horse and emu tissues and in infected chicken embryo fibroblasts. Results of in situ hybridization using a digoxigenin-labeled 40-base DNA probe complementary to a conserved region of the EEE virus RNA compared favorably with results of both virus isolation and serum neutralization tests. This technique may be useful for diagnosis of EEE virus infection in various animal species, especially when fresh tissues are not available for analysis, and also will provide a means for studying the involvement of alphavi...
Kingsley NB, Sandmeyer L, Bellone RR.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an ocular inflammatory disease that can be difficult to manage clinically. As such, it is the leading cause of bilateral blindness for horses. ERU is suspected to have a complex autoimmune etiology with both environmental and genetic risk factors contributing to onset and disease progression in some or all cases. Work in recent years has aimed at unraveling the primary triggers, such as infectious agents and inherited breed-specific risk factors, for disease onset, persistence, and progression. This review has aimed at encompassing those factors that have been...
Lacerda MDSC, Wilson TM, Argenta VLS, de Araújo Pinto ÉG, E Macêdo JTSA, Soto-Blanco B, Keller KM, Ocampos Pedroso PM, Câmara ACL.The present report describes the clinical and pathological changes induced by the consumption of oats contaminated with Crotalaria spectabilis seeds by horses. Eighty horses were exposed to oats containing 10 g/kg of C. spectabilis seeds with 0.46% pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and 21 horses died within a 6-month period. Clinical signs included jaundice, apathy, a hypotonic tongue, ataxia, hyporexia, weight loss, aimless wandering, violent behavior, and proprioceptive deficits. Pathological findings were predominant in the liver and included periportal bridging fibrosis, megalocytosis, centrilobul...
Bello TR, Allen TM.To compare the McMaster and centrifugal flotation techniques and larval culture for recovery of cyathostomin (small strongyle) eggs from the feces of horses. Methods: Fecal samples from 101 horses. Methods: In experiment I, homogenized fresh feces from a single horse were randomly subsampled by use of each technique for 10 replicates. In experiment II, samples from 43 horses that had no anthelmintic treatment were analyzed by use of McMaster, centrifugal flotation, and larval culture techniques. In experiment III, 57 horses were treated with an anthelmintic by owners, and fecal samples were an...
de Oliveira Lima AN, da Silva Santos S, Herrera HM, Gama C, Cupolillo E, Jansen AM, Fernandes O.The protozoan Trypanosoma evansi is described as presenting high morphological and genetic similarities among the isolates despite its biological heterogeneity and wide geographical distribution. PCR amplification of the internal transcribed spacers of the ribosomal gene in combination with the coding region of the 5.8S ribosomal subunit further submitted to restriction enzymes digestion were carried out in DNAs extracted from 41 T. evansi strains isolated from horses, dogs, coatis and capybaras from two distinct regions of the Brazilian Pantanal. We also used one T. evansi isolate from Africa...
Todhunter KH, Muscatello G, Blishen AJ, Chicken C, Perkins NR, Gilkerson JR, Begg AP.A series of unusual abortions occurred in Thoroughbred and Quarterhorse mares in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales from mid-March to November 2004. The initial link between early cases was the microbiological culture of atypical environmental coryneforms from the stomach contents and/or lungs of fetuses aborted on different properties. Methods: The unique pathologic lesions were described with a case definition and the term 'equine amnionitis and fetal loss' (EAFL) was established. Results: The causal factor was the ingestion of the processionary caterpillar (Ochrogaster lunifer). Ba...
Pavone S, Veronesi F, Piergili Fioretti D, Mandara MT.Gastrointestinal motility disorders represent a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in horses. Previously regarded as a non-pathogenic tapeworm, Anoplocephala perfoliata has been recently associated with equine colic. In this study, pathological changes related to A. perfoliata at the ileocecal junction were investigated in 31 slaughtered horses. Our results showed a significant relationship between parasitic burden and grading of histopathological lesions in both the mucosa and submucosa. Moreover, in infested horses, hypertrophy of the circular muscle layer was determined. Finally, ...
Clausen PH, Gebreselassie G, Abditcho S, Mehlitz D, Staak C.A field study of horses was conducted in the province of Bale, Ethiopian highlands. A rapid questionnaire analysis indicated that dourine, known as "Dirressa", is a major health problem of equines in this area. A total of 121 horses suspected of dourine were examined by use of clinical, parasitological, serological and DNA based techniques. Incoordination of hindlegs (76%), swelling of external genitalia (48.8%) and emaciation (39.7%) were the most common clinical signs observed. Using the haematocrit centrifugation technique (HCT), no trypanosomes were detected in blood, genital washes or tis...
Pin D.Dermatophytoses in animals are fungal diseases of the skin caused by dermatophyte fungi of the genus Microsporum or Trichophyton. Because the infection is generally follicular, the most common clinical sign is one or many circular areas of alopecia with variable erythema, scaling and crusting, and the primary differential diagnoses are follicular infections, such as bacterial folliculitis and demodicosis. Although dermatophyte folliculitis or ringworm is the most commonly observed lesion of dermatophytoses in animals, other presentations may be observed according to the host species and the de...
Drudge JH, Lyons ET, Tolliver SC.Critical tests were conducted on eight horses naturally infected with several species of large and small strongyles from population B. Tested were six benzimidazoles, including thiabendazole (2 lots) (44 mg/kg of body weight); mebendazole (8.8 mg/kg); cambendazole (two formulations) (20 mg/kg); fenbendazole (10 mg/kg); oxibendazole (10 mg/kg); and oxfendazole (10 mg/kg). All compounds were administered by stomach tube except one of the two cambendazole formulations which was an intraoral paste. Removal of large strongyles (when present), Strongylus vulgaris and Strongylus edentatus, was 100% b...
Zheng YH, Sentsui H, Sugita M, Nakaya T, Kishi M, Hagiwara K, Inoshima Y, Ishihara C, Kono Y, Lu JL, Ikuta K.An attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), V26, was previously prepared by 50 passages of the Japanese virulent strain V70 in primary horse macrophage culture. The horses inoculated with this V26 virus were shown to raise neutralizing antibodies against V70 without any viremia. Here, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo replication ability of V26. Comparison of the long-terminal repeat (LTR) sequences between V26 and V70 revealed a large insertion within the LTR U3 hypervariable region of V26. V26 with the mutation in the LTR showed much higher promoter activity in vitro than V70...
Saman E, Breugelmans K, Heyndrickx L, Merregaert J.The genome of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) contains several small open reading frames (ORFs), the importance of which in the development of the virus is not clear. We investigated the possibility that the largest of these ORFs (ORF S3) is expressed during the course of the viral infection. The ORF S3 information was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the antigen was used to raise monospecific antiserum. A 20-kDa protein expressed in cells producing EIAV was identified as the gene product of ORF S3. Furthermore, sera from EIAV-infected animals specifically recognized this protein, indi...
Smith HJ, Snowdon KE.Light Trichinella infections were established in three ponies given 1000, 5000 and 25000 T. spiralis spiralis infective larvae respectively by stomach tube. A predilection site of infection in all ponies was the tongue. Anti-Trichinella antibodies were detected in all ponies by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a T. spiralis spiralis excretory-secretory antigen. The ponies given 5000 and 25000 infective larvae reacted positively on days 26 and 24 postinfection, respectively, using a criterion of greater than or equal to 5 X mean optical density readings of preinfection sera as positi...
Mantovani A, Filippini I, Bergomi S.The present article completes the information already given in previous papers (Mantovani et al., 1976; Bellani et al., 1977; Mantovani, 1978) and is connected with the research on the infection of horses by Pampiglione et al. (1978). In September 1975 an epidemic of Trichinellosis involving at least 89 people was reported at Bagnolo in Piano (Reggio Emilia). This present article describes the epidemiological investigations. In the introductory part, the Trichinellosis outbreaks are summarized which were reported in Italy during this century along with research on domestic and wild animals. Th...
