Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
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.
Measurement of serum amyloid A in the neonatal foal using a latex agglutination immunoturbidimetric assay: determination of the normal range, variation with age and response to disease. This paper describes the use of a latex agglutination assay to measure serum amyloid A (SAA) in the neonatal foal. The normal range and response to clinical disease was determined. This retrospective study evaluated SAA concentrations over the first 3 days postpartum of 226 Thoroughbred foals judged to be clinically healthy. The normal range for each day was determined; levels were found to be significantly highest on Day 2 (Day 1 vs. Day 2 P<0.0001). The 95th percentile for Days 1-3 was 27.1 mg/l. Clinical records of 133 foals, presented as first or second opinion cases, were evaluated. Fo...
Systemic antibodies to Clostridium botulinum type C: do they protect horses from grass sickness (dysautonomia)? The aetiology of equine grass sickness (EGS) is still unknown. There is increasing evidence that toxicoinfection with Clostridium botulinum type C is involved. Epidemiological evidence shows that resistance to EGS can occur in older horses and those that have been on a particular pasture for longer or have been in prior contact with the disease. This resistance may be in the form of an immune response to the aetiological agent. Levels of systemic antibodies to the surface antigens of C. botulinum type C (using the closely related and safe C. novyi type A as a phenotypic marker) and to the botu...
Case reports. Six cases of infection due to Trichophyton verrucosum. Dermatophyte infections due to Trichopkyton verrucosum are not frequent in Europe. Six cases observed in Italy in the period 1995-99 are reported. Two were cases of tinea barbae, two of tinea corporis and two of tinea capitis, one of which had been preceded by tinea faciei. In three cases the source of contagion was horses, in two it was cattle and in one case it was another person. The two cases of tinea barbae were initially interpreted and treated as bacterial infections, a diagnostic error reported with increasing frequency in the literature regarding dermatophytosis due to T. verrucosum.
Molecular characterization of thermoinduced immunogenic proteins Q1p42 and Hsp15 of Leptospira interrogans. Leptospira interrogans is a mammalian pathogen which must adapt to a range of new environmental conditions including temperature change when it infects new hosts. In vitro studies of organisms cultured at 30 degrees C and shifted to 37 degrees C for 5 to 7 days have confirmed that synthesis of several proteins involved in equine infection is regulated in response to temperature change (J. E. Nally, J. F. Timoney, and B. Stevenson, Infect. Immun. 69:400-404, 2001). In order to specifically identify antigenic proteins upregulated at 37 degrees C, groups of three ponies were immunized with organi...
Traumatic myiasis of horses caused by Wohlfahrtia magnifica. A survey was carried out in three stud farms with grazing animals, in order to gather data on the prevalence and clinical manifestation of, and the fly species involved in, traumatic myiasis of horses in Hungary. This parasitic disease was recorded in each farm. On the whole, 9.0% (14) of the inspected horses were infested with fly larvae. The affected horses had one infested lesion only, located at the mucosa of the vulva or the vaginal vestibule. The clinical symptoms depended on the age of infestation. Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) was the only myiasis-causing fly species i...
High-dose Borna disease virus infection induces a nucleoprotein-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response and prevention of immunopathology. Experimental Borna disease virus (BDV) infection of rats and natural infection of horses and sheep leads to severe central nervous system disease based on immunopathological pathways. The virus replicates slowly, and the cellular immune response results in immunopathology. CD8(+) T cells exert effector cell functions, and their activity results in the destruction of virus-infected cells. Previously, Oldach and colleagues (D. Oldach, M. C. Zink, J. M. Pyper, S. Herzog, R. Rott, O. Narayan, and J. E. Clements, Virology 206:426-434, 1995) have reported protection against Borna disease after inocu...
Immune reconstitution prevents continuous equine infectious anemia virus replication in an Arabian foal with severe combined immunodeficiency: lessons for control of lentiviruses. Acute infection with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), a lentivirus of horses, results in a persistent high-level viremia in Arabian foals affected with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). This observation argues against the idea that the transient nature of acute lentiviral viremia is solely a function of viral population dynamics. To extend these studies, EIAV-specific immune reconstitution was attempted prior to EIAV challenge in two SCID foals, using adoptively transferred virus-stimulated lymphocytes derived from persistently EIAV-infected half sibling donors. Following transfer...
Determination of whole blood cholinesterase in different animal species using specific substrates. Whole blood cholinesterase was measured using acetyl-, butyryl- and propionylthiocholine as substrates in 10 healthy adult dogs, cats, horses, pigs, goats, sheep and cows, in order to determine and characterise the cholinesterase activity in whole blood of the main domestic animals. An in vitro exposure test with two anticholinesterase compounds, the organophosphate insecticide coumaphos and the carbamate insecticide imidocarb, was also performed. In whole blood of ruminants and pigs, acetylthiocholine yielded the highest cholinesterase activity and other substrates were poorly hydrolysed; in ...
A comparison of foal and adult horse neutrophil function using flow cytometric techniques. Flow cytometric assays were used to compare phagocytic and oxidative burst activity of neutrophils from healthy foals less than 7 days of age with the activity of cells from healthy adult horses. The phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus by foal neutrophils was less than that observed for adult neutrophils when autologous serum was used as the source of opsonins in the assay. The use of adult serum did not significantly improve the ability of foal neutrophils to attach bacteria. The oxidative burst activity of foal neutrophils was equivalent to that of adult cells. However, when serum or plasm...
Severe complication after administration of formalin for treatment of progressive ethmoidal hematoma in a horse. Formalin was injected into an ethmoidal hematoma in an 18-year-old Arabian gelding. Abnormal neurologic signs were observed within minutes of the injection. The horse did not respond favorably to medical treatment of the neurologic signs and was euthanatized. Postmortem examination revealed erosion and necrosis of the ventral cribriform plate, which appeared to have allowed the injected formalin to reach the rostral portion of the frontal lobe of the brain. Endoscopy and radiography had been performed prior to euthanasia, but neither delineated the cribriform lesion. Before treating large prog...
Peritonitis associated with Actinobacillus equuli in horses: 51 cases. To review the clinical findings, diagnosis and treatment of 51 horses with peritonitis attributed to Actinobacillus equuli. Methods: Retrospective study of clinical cases. Methods: Breed, age and gender of horse, history, physical examination findings, treatment and outcome were determined from the hospital records of 51 horses in which a diagnosis of peritonitis attributed to A. equuli was made between January 1993 and June 1999. Results of abdominal fluid cytology and bacteriology, antimicrobial sensitivity patterns, haematology and faecal egg counts, when performed, were also retrieved. Res...
Identification of equine herpesviruses 1 and 4 by polymerase chain reaction. To develop and validate specific, sensitive and rapid (< 8 hour) diagnostic tests using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of abortion and respiratory disease caused by equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1; equine abortion virus) and EHV4 (equine rhinopneumonitis virus). Methods: Primer sets based on nucleotide sequences encoding glycoprotein H (gH) of EHV1 and gB of EHV4 were designed and used in single round and second round (seminested) PCRs, and in a multiplex PCR for the diagnosis of EHV1 and EHV4 infections. Methods: Oligonucleotide primers were designed for each virus, PCR condi...
Pharmacokinetics of fluconazole following intravenous and oral administration and body fluid concentrations of fluconazole following repeated oral dosing in horses. To determine the pharmacokinetics of fluconazole in horses. Methods: 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Fluconazole (10 mg/kg of body weight) was administered intravenously or orally with 2 weeks between treatments. Plasma fluconazole concentrations were determined prior to and 10, 20, 30, 40, and 60 minutes and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 hours after administration. A long-term oral dosing regimen was designed in which all horses received a loading dose of fluconazole (14 mg/kg) followed by 5 mg/kg every 24 hours for 10 days. Fluconazole concentrations were determined i...
Detection of Babesia equi (Laveran, 1901) by nested polymerase chain reaction. We describe a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Babesia equi in equine infected erythrocytes using oligonucleotides designed on the published sequence of a B. equi merozoite antigen gene (ema-1). A 102bp DNA fragment is specifically amplified from B. equi but not from Babesia caballi, Babesia bovis or Babesia bigemina DNA. In a mock infection we were able to detect down to six infected cells in 10(8) equine erythrocytes or to detect the parasite in blood with an equivalent parasitemia of 0.000006%. Furthermore, gene polymorphism was found by performing a PCR-RFLP (PCR...
Cyathostome fecal egg count trends in horses treated with moxidectin, ivermectin or fenbendazole. Commercial preparations of fenbendazole (Safe-Guard, Intervet), ivermectin (Eqvalan, Merial) or moxidectin (Quest, Fort Dodge) were administered once to horses scheduled for routine parasiticide treatment. In total, 93 horses from six cooperating farms were used in the study. Computer generated, random allocation of horses to treatment group was conducted at each farm. Fecal egg counts were determined for all horses on trial days 0, 56, 84 and 112, with corresponding calendar dates that were unique to each farm. Only strongyle egg counts from animals which were positive at day 0 were used for ...
Prevalence and incidence of trypanosomosis in horses and donkeys in the Gambia. In a study of the prevalence and incidence of trypanosomosis in horses and donkeys in two regions of the Gambia, surveys were carried out at Niamina east and Bansang south with a high and low to moderate tsetse challenge, respectively. Eleven horses and 67 donkeys were sampled monthly from August 1997 to September 1998. Blood samples were examined for trypanosomes using the buffy-coat (BC) method and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Three primer sets were used, specific for either Trypanosoma vivax (TVW), Trypanosoma congolense (GOL) or Trypanosoma brucei (ORPHON5J). The BC results showed that...
Detection of North American West Nile virus in animal tissue by a reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction assay. A traditional single-stage reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) procedure is effective in determining West Nile (WN) virus in avian tissue and infected cell cultures. However, the procedure lacks the sensitivity to detect WN virus in equine tissue. We describe an RT-nested PCR (RT-nPCR) procedure that identifies the North American strain of WN virus directly in equine and avian tissues.
The use of a neutralizing monoclonal antibody to detect infections of equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV-2). A blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to detect antibodies to equine herpesvirus 2 in serum samples of horses. By measuring the binding to a single epitope, this blocking ELISA gives a good picture of the antibody status in the animal. The test is based on a monoclonal antibody with neutralizing activity and had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 100%. Antibodies due to newly acquired infection in foals were successfully detected with this blocking ELISA.
Mapping the sequences that mediate interaction of the equine herpesvirus 1 immediate-early protein and human TFIIB. The sole immediate-early (IE) gene of equine herpesvirus 1 encodes a 1,487-amino-acid (aa) regulatory phosphoprotein that independently activates expression of early viral genes. Coimmunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that the IE protein physically interacts with the general transcription factor TFIIB. Using a variety of protein-binding assays that employed a panel of IE truncation and deletion mutants expressed as in vitro-synthesized or glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins, we mapped a TFIIB-binding domain to aa 407 to 757 of the IE protein. IE mutants carrying internal deletions of ...
Suppression of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) and black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) blood feeding from Hereford cattle and ponies treated with permethrin. The blood feeding of mosquitoes and black flies from Hereford cattle and ponies treated with commercial formulations of permethrin was evaluated using an animal enclosure trap sample system that allowed comparison of insect blood-feeding levels between treated and nontreated animals. Blood feeding of both Aedes dorsalis Meigen and A. melanimon Dyar from heifers treated with pour-on concentrate and whole body spray treatments was reduced significantly by 79-88% at 4 d posttreatment, with apparent but not significant reductions of 61-68% at 11 d posttreatment. Simulium bivittatum Malloch and S. ...
Lymphocyte phenotype subsets in the cerebrospinal fluid of normal horses and horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. The percentages of T-lymphocytes, lymphocyte subsets CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, and lymphocyte adhesion molecule CD11a/CD18 were determined in the peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of seven normal horses and four horses with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) using flow cytometry. There was a greater percentage of CD5+ cells in the CSF (79.0%) than in peripheral blood (67.0%), although this did not achieve statistical significance. Furthermore, the lymphocyte population in CSF comprises a significantly greater (P = .01) percentage of CD8+ T-cells, resulting in a decrease of the ...
Radiculomeningomyelitis due to Halicephalobus gingivalis in a horse. An adult horse was euthanatized following a clinical diagnosis of cauda equina neuritis. Significant gross postmortem and histopathologic findings were limited to the sacral spinal cord and cauda equina. The sacral spinal cord, meninges, and spinal nerve roots were expanded and partially effaced by sclerosing granulomatous inflammation with necrosis. The lesion contained numerous nematode larvae and fewer adults with a rhabditiform esophagus having a corpus, isthmus, and valved bulb. Female nematodes were amphidelphic and didelphic with reflexed ovaries. These morphologic features confirm Hali...
Socioeconomic, health and management aspects of working donkeys in Moretele 1, North West Province, South Africa. Structured interviews using a questionnaire were conducted to gather information on socioeconomic aspects, health, nutrition, breeding and management of working equids in 3 study areas of Moretele 1 near Hammanskraal, North West Province, South Africa. The questionnaire addressed questions about the role of animals with a focus on donkeys used for work in these areas. Extension and animal health officers and donkey owners participated. The analysis highlights the use of donkeys for transport of water, wood and people; that ticks, wounds and harness sores are the conditions reported most freque...
Serum and vitreous humor antibody titers in and isolation of Leptospira interrogans from horses with recurrent uveitis. To measure antibody titers against Leptospira interrogans in serum and vitreous humor and determine the prevalence of L interrogans in vitreous humor of horses with recurrent uveitis. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: 242 horses (270 eyes) with recurrent uveitis undergoing vitrectomy and 39 control horses (54 eyes) without any history or clinical signs of recurrent uveitis undergoing euthanasia or enucleation for unrelated reasons. Methods: Serum and vitreous humor were tested for antibodies against 13 serovars of L interrogans. Vitreous humor was submitted for leptospiral culture; isol...
Reactivity of serum samples of dogs and horses tested by use of class-specific recombinant-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of granulocytic ehrlichiosis. To test serum samples of dogs and horses by use of class-specific recombinant-based ELISA for establishing a diagnosis of granulocytic ehrlichiosis attributable to infection with organisms from the Ehrlichia phagocytophila genogroup. Methods: Serum samples from 43 client-owned dogs and 131 horses (81 with signs of acute illness and 50 without signs of disease). Methods: Serum samples were analyzed, using ELISA with a recombinant 44-kd protein antigen for IgM and IgG antibodies to the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent (NCH-1 strain). Western blot analyses, using infected human promyel...
