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.
Eysker M, Boersema JH, Kooyman FN.The effect of three albendazole treatments at 5-week intervals, beginning at turnout in April, on cyathostome infections in Shetland ponies was compared with the effect of sequential treatments with albendazole, oxfendazole and oxibendazole. The results showed a substantial reduction in faecal egg output after the first albendazole treatment. Since faecal egg counts remained very low, no estimation of the effect of the second treatment was possible. The third treatment with albendazole and oxibendazole was followed by an increase in faecal egg counts to values of greater than 100 eggs g-1 with...
Sweeney CR, Sweeney RW, Benson CE.Results of bacteriologic culture of specimens obtained from 14 horses with pneumonia and from 15 horses that were clinically healthy (nonpneumonia group) were compared. Specimens were obtained by use of an endoscopic guarded tracheal swabbing method and percutaneous tracheal aspiration. The percentage of agreement between the 2 tracheal specimens for the horses of the pneumonia group was 79% for aerobic isolates and 100% for anaerobic isolates. The percentage of agreement between results of the 2 tracheal specimens for horses of the nonpneumonia group was 80% for aerobic organisms and 93% for ...
Krecek RC, Reinecke RK, Horak IG.Between 1980 and 1982, the gastrointestinal tracts of 17 horses which had been grazing on mixed grassveld at Potchefstroom and bushveld at Onderstepoort in the province of Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, were examined at necropsy and processed for parasite recovery. The large strongyles and their prevalences were as follows: Strongylus vulgaris and associated lesions (88-94%), Strongylus edentatus (24%), Strongylus equinus (30%), Triodontophorus nipponicus (35%) and Craterostomum acuticaudatum (18%). The seven most prevalent and abundant cyathostomes collected were Cylicostephanus longibu...
Høie S, Fossum K.An agar diffusion method using microtiter plates was used to detect antibodies to the DNases produced by Staphylococcus aureus, S. intermedius, and S. hyicus. Antibodies to DNase from S. aureus were demonstrated in most of the sera from the species investigated, except dogs, only 11% of whose sera were positive. Positive titers to S. intermedius DNase were found in 84% of deg sera, 61% of Icelandic pony sera, 41% of pig sera, 21% of human sera, and 20% of cow sera but in only 2 and 4% of goat and sheep sera, respectively. Although antibodies to DNase from S. hyicus were not found in sera from ...
Gaughan EM, Rendano VT, Ducharme NG.Over an 8-year period, 9 horses with septic pedal osteitis were admitted to the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine. Septic pedal osteitis was defined by the presence of purulent exudate combined with radiographic evidence of lysis of the distal phalanx. The condition described involved only the distal phalanx, the laminae and hoofwall, and the soft tissues of the sole. Treatment included curettage and removal of the affected portion of the distal phalanx through a ventral approach to the foot, combined with systemic administration of antibodies. Of the 9 horses, 7 returned to soundn...
Yamanaka H, Shimatani S, Tanaka M, Katsu T, Ono B, Shinoda S.The hemolytic activity of Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin (VVH) against erythrocytes from several animal species (sheep, horse, cow, rabbit, chicken) was investigated. VVH was active against erythrocytes from all species, but the amount of VVH causing 50% hemolysis under identical conditions (hemolytic susceptibility to VVH) differed. The degree of 125I-labeled VVH (125I-VVH) binding to each erythrocyte species correlated with the susceptibility of the cells to hemolysis. However, marked differences in the binding ability of 125I-VVH were not observed against liposomes constructed with lipids from...
Martens JG, Martens RJ, Crandell RA, McConnell S, Kit S.Four pregnant mares were inoculated intranasally and/or intravenously with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), subtype 1 during the third trimester of gestation. One mare aborted on postinfection day 15, one mare delivered a sick, weak full term foal, and two mares delivered healthy, full term foals. EHV-1, subtype 1 was isolated from several tissues of the aborted fetus and from the thymus of the sick foal. DNA restriction endonuclease patterns of the recovered EHV-1 viruses were identical to those of the EHV-1 challenge strain, documenting the origin of the abortigenic viruses.
Dutta SK, Mattingly BL, Shankarappa B.The antibody response and the antibody reactivity to component antigens of Ehrlichia risticii were studied in horses with induced Potomac horse fever. These horses had no detectable antibodies to E. risticii in their preinoculation (PrI) sera by indirect fluorescent-antibody assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the horses exhibited typical disease features following experimental infection and responded with specific antibodies, as measured by ELISA and indirect fluorescent-antibody assay. A primary antibody response was detected in 70% of the horses, while a secondary-type ...
Hodgin EC, Miller DA, Lozano F.Leptospira infection was diagnosed as the cause of 4 late-term equine abortions/stillbirths and 1 neonatal death in Louisiana. The most consistent gross and microscopic lesions were icterus and interstitial nephritis, respectively. Diagnoses were based on visualization of compatible spirochetes in Warthin-Starry-stained sections of kidney, liver, and placenta. Confirmation by immunofluorescence was made in 2 cases.
Wallace KD, Selcer BA, Tyler DE, Brown J.Transrectal ultrasonography was performed on the cranial mesenteric artery and its major branches in 23 conscious adult horses. Ultrasonographically, 25 arterial segments were classified as either normal or abnormal. These ultrasonographic classifications were later compared with the gross and histologic evaluations of each artery following necropsy of each horse. In this study, transrectal ultrasonography as a diagnostic test for verminous arteritis had a 90% sensitivity for detecting normal arteries and an 86% specificity for detecting abnormal arteries, suggesting that ultrasonography may b...
Hamir AN, Reef VB.Gross and histopathological findings in a 9-year-old horse implanted with permanent transvenous pacing cardiac catheters, 18 and 34 months before its death, are described. Lesions consisting of extensive fibrino-haemorrhagic thrombi with large numbers of bacterial colonies were present along the electrode wires and on mural and valvular endocardial surfaces of the right heart. There was a locally extensive area of suppurative endocarditis around the attachment site of the atrial electrode, which was loosely attached by a thin band of membranous tissue to the endocardium. The ventricular electr...
Schlater LK, Brenner DJ, Steigerwalt AG, Moss CW, Lambert MA, Packer RA.The name Pasteurella caballi is proposed for a group of organisms represented by 29 strains isolated from respiratory and other infections in horses. P. caballi strains are gram-negative, oxidase-positive, nonmotile, fermentative rods with the key characteristics of the genus Pasteurella. These strains differed from other Pasteurella species in that all were aerogenic and catalase negative, and some strains produced acid from myo-inositol and L-rhamnose. The levels of DNA relatedness of 28 P. caballi strains with labeled DNA from the proposed type strain averaged 91 and 85% (hydroxyapatite met...
Braverman Y.The feasibility of using infra-red thermography for early and out of season detection of summer seasonal recurrent dermatitis (sweet itch) was tested on 13 sensitive and six insensitive horses in Israel. In summer (June, July and September) six affected mares and two unaffected sensitive mares (one of them a pony) were clearly 'warmer' in the affected zones than three insensitive mares. In winter (February and March) unaffected sensitive horses could be differentiated from insensitive mares by the warm areas detected in the affected zones. Small numbers of Culicoides imicola bites may have bee...
Snyder JR, Pascoe JR, Olander HJ, Spier SJ, Meagher DM, Bleifer DR.Of 57 horses with strangulating volvulus of the ascending colon, 42 were mares (including 21 postparturient mares), 8 were stallions, and 7 were geldings. Volvulus occurred most frequently in the summer (n = 24) and spring (n = 17). Pain was evaluated as severe in 41 horses, moderate in 9, and mild in 4. The abdominal fluid from 30 horses varied from clear yellow in 19 horses, to cloudy yellow in 3 horses, and serosanguineous in 8 horses. Protein content and nucleated cell count in the abdominal fluid were 2.5 +/- 1 g/dl and 1,000 +/- 900 microliters, respectively. Fifty horses had greater tha...
Allen WE, Pycock JF.Mares with persistent and recurrent endometritis are said to be susceptible to infection; in particular they are unable to resolve the acute endometritis that always follows mating. It is thought, therefore, that these mares have a local immunological defect in the uterus that impedes the elimination of bacteria. Studies on immunoglobulins, opsonins and the functional ability of neutrophils in the uterus of susceptible mares have not confirmed the presence of an impaired immune response. It is concluded that factors involved in the production and drainage of uterine fluid may be important in t...
McCue PM, Wilson WD.Mastitis was diagnosed in 28 mares. Cytological evaluation of milk samples showed large numbers of neutrophils in 72 per cent and bacteria in 33 per cent. Aerobic bacteria were cultured from 71 per cent of samples. Streptococcus zooepidemicus was the most common isolate (37 per cent). Gram-negative species accounted for 42 per cent. Determination of the probability for antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates from mares with mastitis indicated that a trimethoprim-sulphonamide combination would be active against more than 75 per cent of isolates while penicillin would be active agains...
Stadler P, Van Amstel SR.Commercially available Escherichia coli 055: B5 lipopolysaccharide was administered intravenously experimentally at a dosage of 10 micrograms/kg to 2 horses. Various clinical and clinico-pathological parameters were monitored before and after the endotoxin administration. Because of a hopeless prognosis, and for humane reasons, euthanasia was applied on both horses 6 h after administration. Values recorded for the different parameters, including the blood lactate level, were consistent with a lethal condition. It would appear that an intravenous dose of 10 micrograms/kg of endotoxin is potenti...
Brusie RW, Sullins KE, Silverman DG, Rosenberger JL.Arteriovenous (ischaemic strangulating obstruction, ISO) and venous obstructions (haemorrhagic strangulating obstruction, HSO) were created for 70 min in the small intestine of eight anaesthetised horses, and ISO was created in four horses for 2 h and four horses for 3 h at the sternal and diaphragmatic flexures of the large colon. Five minutes following release of the occlusions, sodium fluorescein 20 per cent (0.5 mg/kg bodyweight intravenously) was administered. Serial quantitative measurements of serosal surface fluorescence of the injured segments and a control segment were made at 2, 10,...
Walton TE, Jochim MM, Barber TL, Thompson LH.Eighteen equids were inoculated with eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) and 18 equids with western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) viruses to produce EEE virus- and WEE virus-immunized equids. Twelve surviving EEE virus-seropositive equids, 15 surviving WEE virus-seropositive equids, and 10 nonimmunized, seronegative equids (controls) were subsequently inoculated with an equine pathogenic (epizootic) strain of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) virus to determine cross-protective immunity. Challenge infection produced 90% mortality in control (nonimmunized) equids, and 40% mortality ...
Friedman DS, Schoster JV, Pickett JP, Dubielzig RR, Czuprynski C, Knoll JS, Wolfgram LJ.The fungal organism Pseudallescheria boydii was isolated from the cornea of a Quarter Horse with ulcerative keratitis. Despite aggressive hourly medication through a subpalpebral lavage system, with drugs including miconazole and natamycin, the cornea developed a stromal abscess. Orbital exenteration was performed after 3 weeks. The fungal isolate was later determined to be resistant to all 8 antifungal drugs tested. Microscopic examination of the cornea revealed fungal hyphae throughout the corneal stroma and penetrating the Descemet membrane. Pseudallescheria boydii has not been implicated p...
Kobluk CN, Ducharme NG, Lumsden JH, Pascoe PJ, Livesey MA, Hurtig M, Horney FD, Arighi M.From May 1, 1983 to April 1, 1985, 142 operations were performed on horses with signs of acute abdominal pain (colic), using a ventral midline incision. Seventy-eight horses lived for at least 15 days after surgery or had acute dehiscence and were included in the study. Seventy horses had surgery once, and 8 horses had surgery 2 or more times. Six-month follow-up evaluation was obtained for 66 horses that had 1 surgery and for 6 horses that had multiple surgeries. Incisional complications included drainage (including infection), acute dehiscence, hernia, and suture sinus formation. The effects...
Grundy FJ, Baumann RP, O'Callaghan DJ.The immediate early (IE) proteins of herpesviruses are important regulatory factors which control the expression of genes at the transcriptional level. We report the DNA sequence of the immediate early gene of the alphaherpesvirus equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). This sequence is shown to be extremely rich in guanine and cytosine, resulting in a highly biased codon usage. The IE gene region possesses 38 open reading frames (ORFs) greater than 300 bp in length, 11 of which have coding regions of at least 100 amino acids (aa) following potential translation initiator codons. The largest ORF co...
Gray WL, Yalamanchili R, Raengsakulrach B, Baumann RP, Staczek J, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) preparations enriched in defective interfering particles (DIPs) have previously been demonstrated to mediate the coestablishment of persistent infection and oncogenic transformation in primary hamster embryo fibroblasts. In this study, it was demonstrated that infection of a rabbit kidney (RK) cell line with EHV-1 DIP-enriched preparations also results in the establishment of persistent infection. Viral transcription was characterized in RK cells infected with DIP-enriched stocks and compared to viral transcription in RK cells infected with standard (STD) EHV-...
Anderson C, Baha H, Boghdeh N, Barrera M, Alem F, Narayanan A.Zoonotic pathogens that are vector-transmitted have and continue to contribute to several emerging infections globally. In recent years, spillover events of such zoonotic pathogens have increased in frequency as a result of direct contact with livestock, wildlife, and urbanization, forcing animals from their natural habitats. Equines serve as reservoir hosts for vector-transmitted zoonotic viruses that are also capable of infecting humans and causing disease. From a One Health perspective, equine viruses, therefore, pose major concerns for periodic outbreaks globally. Several equine viruses ha...
Eysker M, Boersema JH, Grinwis GC, Kooyman FN, Poot J.The efficacy of a 2% moxidectin equine gel at a dosage rate of 0.4 mg kg-1 was evaluated in a controlled trial at Utrecht University. Twelve yearling castrated male Shetland ponies grazed a pasture of 2 ha from May 1994 until housing in November. Six ponies were treated with moxidectin, whereas the others served as non-treated controls. Necropsy was carried out 35 days after treatment. Greater than 99% efficacy of moxidectin was observed on faecal egg output. No effect of moxidectin was observed on mucosal inhibited early cyathostome L3 (EL3) or on the total numbers of mucosal developing stage...
Sugimoto C, Isayama Y, Kashiwazaki M, Mitani K.The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 31 antimicrobial agents were determined for 99 isolates of Haemophilus equigenitalis by the agar dilution method. All the isolates showed good susceptibility to 26 antimicrobial agents tests, minimal inhibitory concentrations of which were less than 3.13 micrograms/ml for more than 90% of the isolates. Of these agents, 4 macrolides (erythromycin, oleandomycin, kitasamycin, tylosin), 3 tetracyclines (tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline), 1 peptide (colistin), 1 penicillin (ampicillin) and 1 pleuromutilin (tiamulin) were the most active agent...
Henson FM, Schofield PN, Jeffcott LB.This study describes the distribution pattern of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) mRNA and protein in normal pre- and post natal growth cartilage and alterations present in lesions of dyschondroplasia (osteochondrosis). TGF-beta 1 expression and immunoreactivity have been investigated by in situ hybridisation and immunolocalisation in the articular/epiphyseal growth cartilage of the lateral trochlear ridge of the distal femur. Cartilage was obtained from 19 normal Thoroughbred horses (5 prenatal and 14 post natal horses) and 15 post natal horses with dyschondroplasia (DCP). TGF-b...
Tortschanoff M, Aurich C, Rosengarten R, Spergser J.Mycoplasma equigenitalium and Mycoplasma subdolum have been associated with infertility, endometritis, vulvitis and abortions in mares, and with reduced fertility and balanoposthitis in stallions. Despite their role in equine genital disorder, determinants of virulence and pathogenesis as well as factors provoking specific host immune responses have not been identified, so far. To establish the major immunogenic components of Mycoplasma (M.) equigenitalium and M. subdolum, antigen profiles of their type strains as well as 30 clinical isolates were compared by SDS-PAGE and immunoblot analysis u...
Robert MP, Stemmet GP, Smit Y.Bilateral paranasal sinus diseases are rarely reported in horses. Treatment using a bilateral frontonasal bone flap on a standing, regular-sized adult horse has not been described previously. A 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was evaluated for bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge. Radiographic, endoscopic and computed tomographic examinations revealed bilateral sinus pathological changes consistent with an ethmoid haematoma involving the maxillary and frontal sinuses. A bilateral frontonasal bone flap was created under standing sedation and local anaesthesia. A tracheotomy was performed ini...
Wallace KD, Selcer BA, Tyler DE, Brown J.Transrectal ultrasonography was performed on the cranial mesenteric artery and its major branches in 23 conscious adult horses. Ultrasonographically, 25 arterial segments were classified as either normal or abnormal. These ultrasonographic classifications were later compared with the gross and histologic evaluations of each artery following necropsy of each horse. In this study, transrectal ultrasonography as a diagnostic test for verminous arteritis had a 90% sensitivity for detecting normal arteries and an 86% specificity for detecting abnormal arteries, suggesting that ultrasonography may b...
Slocombe JO, Rendano VT, Owen RR, Pennock PW, McCraw BM.Radiographs of the aorta and abdominal arteries were obtained from a normal anesthetized pony following catheterization of a femoral artery for nonselective, semiselective or selective arteriography. The arteries had smooth borders and regular diameters and the branches of the cranial mesenteric artery could be followed distally on the angiogram through to the smaller branches proximal to the bowel wall. Following arteriography, the pony walked normally and there were minimal alterations of the levels of serum muscle enzymes and blood lactate. The procedures for arteriography were repeated in ...
Hay AN, Potter A, Kasmark L, Zhu J, Leeth CM.Varying susceptibility exists among mammalian species to the development of potentially fatal endotoxemia due to gram-negative bacteria molecular component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is responsible for LPS-associated immune response and is expressed on numerous immune cells including B lymphocytes. TLR4 is expressed in a functional form on mouse B lymphocytes, a species much less susceptible to endotoxemia compared with humans who are highly sensitive to endotoxin. Humans possess B lymphocytes that are not responsive to LPS. Likewise, horses are highly susceptible t...
Kuroda T, Nagata SI, Tamura N, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Mita H, Minami T, Fukuda K, Hobo S, Kuwano A.To determine plasma pharmacokinetics of metronidazole and imipenem following administration of a single dose PO (metronidazole, 15 mg/kg) or IV (imipenem, 10 mg/kg) in healthy Thoroughbreds and simulate pleural fluid concentrations following multiple dose administration every 8 hours. Methods: 4 healthy Thoroughbreds. Methods: Metronidazole and imipenem were administered, and samples of plasma and pleural fluid were collected at predetermined time points. Minimum concentrations of metronidazole and imipenem that inhibited growth of 90% of isolates (MIC90), including 22 clinical Bacteroides iso...
Marley LK, Soffler C, Hackett ES.OBJECTIVE To describe clinical features, diagnostic methods, treatments, and outcomes associated with ingested wire foreign bodies in the abdomen of horses. DESIGN Retrospective case series. ANIMALS 16 client-owned horses with ingested wire in their abdomens that were evaluated at a veterinary teaching hospital between April 2002 and February 2013. PROCEDURES Data for each case were collected from medical records and owners and then reviewed. Differences in clinicopathologic variables between horses that did (survivors) or did not (nonsurvivors) survive to discharge from the hospital were asse...
Kilcoyne I, Nieto JE.For the equine veterinarian, orthopedic emergencies are a common occurrence in clinical practice, with traumatic wounds of the distal limb and penetrating injuries of the hoof being some of the most common medical conditions to affect horses. Intravenous regional limb perfusion is a technique widely used for the treatment of orthopedic infections in horses. The objectives of this review are to discuss some of the clinical applications for this treatment modality in the field and to review the technique for the practitioner.
Buening GM, Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Nasal washings and tears were collected from seven Arabian foals with combined immunodeficiency and nine normal foals. The major immunoglobulin in the external secretions of normal foals over 2 months of age was secretory immunoglobulin A, whereas foals with combined immunodeficiency lacked this immunoglobulin. The external secretions of both normal and immunodeficient foals contained free secretory component at birth.
Dennis VA, Klei TR, Chapman MR, Jeffers GW.Eosinophils and neutrophils from ponies with Strongylus vulgaris-induced eosinophilia (eosinophilic ponies; activated eosinophils and neutrophils) were assayed in vitro for chemotactic and chemokinetic responses to zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) using the filter system in Boyden chambers, for Fc and complement (C) receptors using the EA and EAC-rosette assays, respectively, and for phagocytic and bactericidal activities using opsonized Escherichia coli and the acridine orange method. The responses of activated eosinophils and neutrophils in the above assays were compared with those of eosinophi...
Brown JE, Corstvet RE, Stratton LG.Two experiments incorporating 13 mares were conducted for the purpose of producing and monitoring intrauterine infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae. In the pilot study, the infection was produced with strains of K pneumoniae type 68 and type 10 isolated from the genital tract of stallions with a history of breeding problems. In the principal study, K pneumoniae type 68 was used to produce the infection. Tampons and guarded culture swabs were used to obtain uterine samples in the pilot study. In comparing the efficacies of isolation of K pneumoniae with the tampons and isolation with standard g...
Friedman DS, Schoster JV, Pickett JP, Dubielzig RR, Czuprynski C, Knoll JS, Wolfgram LJ.The fungal organism Pseudallescheria boydii was isolated from the cornea of a Quarter Horse with ulcerative keratitis. Despite aggressive hourly medication through a subpalpebral lavage system, with drugs including miconazole and natamycin, the cornea developed a stromal abscess. Orbital exenteration was performed after 3 weeks. The fungal isolate was later determined to be resistant to all 8 antifungal drugs tested. Microscopic examination of the cornea revealed fungal hyphae throughout the corneal stroma and penetrating the Descemet membrane. Pseudallescheria boydii has not been implicated p...
Trim CM, Moore JN, Hardee MM, Hardee GE, Slade EA.Horses with colic may be endotoxaemic and subsequently develop hypotension during anaesthesia for surgical operation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dopamine as a means to improve cardiovascular function in anaesthetised endotoxaemic horses. Nine horses (five in group 1 and four in group 2) were anaesthetised with thiopentone and guaifenesin and anaesthesia was maintained with halothane. After approximately one hour, facial artery pressure, heart rate, pulmonary artery pressure, cardiac output, temperature, pHa, PaCO2, PaO2, base excess, packed cell volume, plasma protei...
Frazer JL, Perkins NR, Pitt D.During the 2007 equine influenza (EI) outbreak, infected horses were quarantined at Morgan Park Recreational Grounds (MPRG) near Warwick, Queensland. Some individuals caring for horses were reported to have made return journeys between MPRG and home properties containing other horses during the time there was active infection at MPRG. Objective: A retrospective cohort study to assess the biosecurity and hygiene measures undertaken and their outcomes. Methods: All individuals recorded as being responsible for caring for one or more horses at MPRG, and who were also recorded on entry and exit lo...
Petrov KK, Dicks LM.The aim of this study was to determine which of the two species, Fusobacterium necrophorum or Dichelobacter nodosus, are associated with hoof thrush in horses. Fourteen hoof samples, collected from eight horses with thrush and 14 samples collected from eight horses with healthy hooves, were examined for the presence of F. necrophorum, Fusobacterium equinum and D. nodosus. Only isolates with phenotypic characteristics representing Fusobacterium could be cultured. Total DNA extracted from the 28 hoof samples was amplified by using DNA primers designed from gene lktA, present in F. necrophorum su...
Štritof Z, Mitchell C, Turk N, Habuš J, Hađina S, Perharić M, Waller AS.Clinical cases resembling strangles are regularly seen in some areas of Croatia. However, there are no data on the prevalence of infection and the clinical forms or geographic distribution of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in horses resident in Croatia, in order to estimate the geographic distribution of infection. The study included 291 horse sera from the eight counties where the majority of Croatian horses are kept. Sera were tested by indirect ELISA (iELISA) for the presence of serum antibodies against S. equi pr...
Mitchell SM, Zajac AM, Davis WL, Lindsay DS.Toxoplasma gondii is an important apicomplexan parasite of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Ponazuril is a triazine anticoccidial recently approved for use in horses in the United States. We investigated the mode of action of ponazuril against developing RH strain T. gondii tachyzoites in African green monkey kidney cells. Host cells were infected with 2.0 x 10(5) tachyzoites and treated with 5 microg/ml ponazuril. Cultures were fixed and examined by transmission electron microscopy 3 days after treatment. Ponazuril interfered with normal parasite division. This led to the presence of mu...
Liu IK, Pascoe DR, Chang LW, Zee YC.Serum antibody concentrations against influenza A-equi-1 virus and A-equi-2 virus were measured in a group of 18 foals from birth to 4 months of age. More than 50% of the foals were seronegative to A-equi-1 virus infection by 4 weeks of age, with titers of less than or equal to 1:16. For A-equi-2 virus, more than 50% of the foals were seronegative by 2 weeks of age, with titers of less than or equal to 1:8. Passively derived antibodies against influenza A-equi-1 virus and A-equi-2 virus in foals obtained from recently vaccinated mares and from mares not vaccinated within 6 months before foalin...
Paweska JT.Clinical, virological and serological responses were investigated in five pregnant donkey mares after experimental exposure to the South African asinine-94 strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV), and the duration of maternal immunity to EAV was studied in their foals. In four intranasally inoculated mares, fever with maximum rectal temperatures of 39.1-40.7 degrees C was recorded 2-11 d after challenge. All the inoculated mares developed mild depression, and a serous ocular and nasal discharge; in three mares mild conjuctivitis was observed. The virus was recovered from the nasopharynx and fro...
Momoi Y, Kato H, Youn HY, Aida H, Takagi S, Watari T, Goitsuka R, Tsujimoto H, Hasegawa A.Levels of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the blood of horses were measured before and after a long-distance transportation to clarify the pathogenesis of transportation-induced fever. The serum G-CSF level was measured by its ability to stimulate growth in a mouse myeloblastic cell line, NFS-60. Of 26 horses transported for a long distance, 9 had fever more than 39.0 degrees C during or after transportation. After transportation, the serum G-CSF level significantly increased in horses with transportation-induced fever but not in those without fever, and the serum G-CSF level ...
Mason DK, Watkins KL, McNie JT, Luk CM.In late November 1988 large numbers of thoroughbred horses in training in Hong Kong developed a transient pyrexia with, in some cases, the clinical signs of viral respiratory disease. Serial blood samples for haematological examination were taken from 10 of the horses which were stabled in six different blocks. They had developed a high temperature within three days of each other and subsequently seroconverted to equine herpes virus 1 (EHV1). The absolute monocyte count was more than 0.5 x 10(9)/litre in all 10 within the first five days, and nine of them had a high neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio...
Ross MW.Cecal impaction and cecal perforation, the two most common equine cecal diseases, are thought to develop after slowing or interruption of a single progressive motility pattern, which begins in a pacemaker area near the apex, occurs once every 3 minutes, and propels ingesta from the cecum to the right ventral colon. Rectal examination in horses with cecal impaction is the most useful technique to grade the severity of the condition. Medical treatment is undertaken if the impaction is judged to be mild to moderate. Surgical correction of cecal impaction in severe cases requires a ventral midline...
Arora S, Sharma S, Goel SK, Singh US.Implementation of the recommended post-exposure prophylaxis by vaccination and specific immunoglobulin therapy for rabies is largely hampered by its high cost and inadequate production. Therefore, the development and availability of an economic preparation of rabies immunoglobulin is a high priority for India, where rabies is a major cause of death. We studied the efficacy of four different adjuvants in raising antibodies to rabies antigen in older, discarded equines. Methods: Eleven equines, 23-26 years old, were divided into 4 groups to receive four different adjuvants in small amounts (1-2 ...
De Paolis L, De Ciucis CG, Peletto S, Cappelli K, Mecocci S, Nervo T, Guardone L, Crescio MI, Pietrucci D, Fruscione F, Gabbianelli F, Turco S....Papillomavirus (PV) infections may be related to anogenital lesions and cancer development in humans and several other animal species. To date, 11 different PVs have been reported in horses. Among them, a newly described PV named Papillomavirus Type9 (EcPV9) was thus far only reported in the semen of a stallion with penile lesions in Australia. This study reports for the first time the presence of EcPV9 in asymptomatic Italian horses. From July 2020 to January 2022, genital brush samples were collected from 209 horses with no apparent signs of neoplastic disease and no PV-associated lesions, ...
Pezzanite LM, Griffenhagen GM, Krause DM, Hendrickson DA.Prophylactic perioperative antimicrobial protocols in equine synovial endoscopy have been described but not compared with respect to post-operative outcomes and complications. Increasing antimicrobial resistance in equine practice and interest in promoting judicious use of antimicrobials has prompted reevaluation of drug selection and dosing strategies. To determine the frequency of and compare post-operative complications following elective synovial endoscopy between horses receiving different perioperative antimicrobial protocols. Records from the Colorado State University Veterinary Teachin...
Tukia E, Hallman I, Penttilä M, Hänninen S, Kareskoski M.Endometritis is one of the major causes of infertility in mares. and -haemolytic streptococci are among the bacterial species most frequently isolated from the equine uterus. Some bacteria such as -hemolytic streptococci, can persist in dormant forms and cause prolonged, latent or recurrent infections. Dormant bacteria may be present despite negative bacterial cultures, and they are resistant to antimicrobial treatment due to their resting metabolic state. The purpose of this study was to study formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded equine endometrial biopsies for the presence and localization of -...
