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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.
Pharmacokinetics of sodium amoxicillin in horses. The pharmacokinetics of sodium amoxicillin were investigated after intravenous and intramuscular administration of a single dose of 15 mg kg-1 body-weight to five horses. A rapid distribution phase was noted after intravenous administration (t1/2 alpha about 20 minutes). The t1/2 beta values obtained after the intravenous and the intramuscular administration were significantly different (P less than 0.05). The bioavailability obtained was about 67 per cent. Plasma protein binding, evaluated in vitro, showed that the percentage of bound fraction was 37 to 38 per cent. It was concluded that sodi...
Determination of the minimum time of praziquantel therapy required for the in vitro treatment of protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus. Ovine and equine protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus were cultured for 26 days with our without praziquantel and viability assessed, by eosin exclusion, for cultures in various drug concentrations (50, 250 and 500 micrograms/l) and periods of exposure (1, 3 or 7 days (d] before removing/'rescuing' to drug-free medium. Drug efficacy was proportional to drug concentration and to length of exposure. At higher drug concentrations shorter exposures were required to produce the effect of continuous drug treatment, 1d therapy at 500 micrograms/l killing 96% ovine protoscoleces by day 14 whereas ...
Antiviral, anti-glycoprotein and neutralizing antibodies in foals with equine infectious anaemia virus. Equine infectious anaemia virus is related by genome sequence homology to human immunodeficiency virus, caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus and visna virus. Failure of the host to mount a strong neutralizing response detectable in vitro or to eliminate persistent infection in vivo characterizes lentivirus infections in the natural host. In this study the specificities and neutralizing activity of antibodies induced during experimental infection with equine infectious anaemia virus were investigated using antiviral ELISA, radioimmunoprecipitation and neutralization assays. ELISA antibody titre...
Effect of induced synovial inflammation on pharmacokinetics and synovial concentration of sodium ampicillin and kanamycin sulfate after systemic administration in ponies. Single doses of sodium ampicillin (10 mg/kg) and kanamycin sulfate (5 mg/kg) were administered intramuscularly (i.m.) separately, and then together, to five pony mares. The plasma antibiotic concentration-time curves were constructed. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the antibiotics given separately were not altered by concurrent administration. Four of the five pony mares were then given the i.m. kanamycin/ampicillin combination 4 h after acute synovitis and fever had been induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide into the left intercarpal joint. The plasma concentration-time curves and the...
Quantitative buffy coat analysis for hematologic measurements of canine, feline, and equine blood samples and for detection of microfilaremia in dogs. A quantitative buffy coat (QBC) analysis was evaluated for 175 canine, 125 feline, and 125 equine blood samples. The method used centrifuged whole blood and yielded rapid results expressed as respective band lengths for RBC, granulocytes, nongranulocytes, and platelets. Simple regression analysis of band lengths and reference laboratory methods yielded correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.72 to 0.99. The PCV, granulocyte count, and total WBC count, as determined by the 2 methods, correlated well (r greater than or equal to 0.93 in all cases). Platelet and nongranulocyte counts were less...
Rhodococcus (Corynebacterium) equi: bactericidal capacity of neutrophils from neonatal and adult horses. The capacity of hematogenous polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes (PMNL) to kill Rhodococcus equi was compared in horses of various ages. A radioisotope bactericidal assay was used to determine the capacity of PMNL to kill R equi. Assays were conducted on PMNL from horses in 3 groups: group I, 13 foals with a mean age of 3.3 days; group II, 10 group-I foals at a mean age of 35.7 days; and group III, adult dams of group-I foals. Bacteria were obtained from the lungs of a foal with R equi pneumonia and opsonized with fresh adult equine serum that contained R equi specific antibody. The mean...
Bilateral seminal vesiculitis and ampullitis in a stallion. A Thoroughbred stallion suspected of having venereal disease was found to have an infection of the accessory sex glands. Purulent debris, blood, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were recovered from all ejaculates. Treatment with gentamicin sulfate, tobramycin, and amikacin sulfate was unsuccessful in eliminating the infection. The stallion's seminal plasma, collected during treatment with gentamicin sulfate, did not contain any appreciable antibacterial activity. Apparently, negligible amounts of gentamicin diffused across the mucosal cell borders of the accessory sex glands into the seminal plasma....
Septicemic salmonellosis and suspected phenylbutazone toxicosis in an aged pony. A 16-year-old pony with signs of intermittent abdominal pain was treated with phenylbutazone in excess of the recommended dosage. Endoscopy revealed ulceration of the esophagus, stomach, and proximal portion of small intestine. The pony developed diarrhea. Salmonella typhimurium was isolated from the blood and feces. Treatment included fluids, trimethoprim-sulfadiazine, sucralfate, and ranitidine hydrochloride. The diarrhea resolved, as did the gastrointestinal ulceration. This case was unusual because septicemia with salmonellosis is an uncommon finding in adult equids. Also, complications co...
Duration of circulating antibody and immunity following infection with equine influenza virus. The duration of immunity as measured by virological, serological and clinical responses following infection with influenza A/equine/Newmarket/79 (H3N8) was assessed in repeated challenge experiments in which ponies were infected by exposure to aerosols of infectious virus. Previous infection stimulated complete clinical protection which persisted for at least 32 weeks as demonstrated by the absence of febrile responses and coughing in two groups of ponies infected 16 weeks or 32 weeks after the first infection. Partial clinical protection persisted for over a year as demonstrated by the absenc...
Ciliated protozoa in the colonic wall of horses. Ciliated protozoa of several morphological types were found in the colonic tissue of 8 horses, mostly immature Standardbreds. Most of the protozoa observed appeared similar to those normally found as commensals in the equine large intestinal lumen. In all cases, organisms were located in the lamina propria; organisms were also found in the submucosa of 2 horses. The association of colonic disease with the presence of intramural ciliates was unclear.
Biochemical and genetic characterization of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Isolates (n = 94) of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis were obtained from sheep, goats, horses, and cattle from various parts of the world. The isolates were characterized biochemically and by restriction endonuclease analysis of DNA. We found near homogeneity in the ability of isolates to ferment carbohydrates and to produce urease. All isolates produced phospholipase D and catalase. The ability of isolates from horses to reduce nitrate, the inability of isolates from sheep and goats to do so, and the correlation of this characteristic with results of restriction endonuclease analyses confir...
Urachal remnant as a cause of pollakiuria and dysuria in a filly. A urachal remnant, causing pollakiuria and dysuria, was diagnosed by rectal palpation of a urinary bladder adhesion and endoscopic visualization of a urinary bladder diverticulum. Surgical excision of the remnant resulted in relief of abnormal micturition, but the filly was euthanatized 9 months after surgery because of a chronic ventral midline incisional infection. Pollakiuria and dysuria associated with urachal abscessation occur most commonly in calves. This report documents the syndrome in a horse.
Bone lesions caused by Pythium insidiosum in a horse. A 5-year-old, female saddle horse developed a tumoral mass anterolaterally on the metacarpal region of its right front leg. Histopathological study showed hyaline, aseptate, broad hyphae in the sequestered coral-like necrotic masses. Radiographs revealed an extensive osteomyelitis with disorganized bone proliferation of the metacarpal bones, as well as exostosis of the distal radius and the proximal and distal row of carpal bones. The etiologic agent was detected histologically, isolated in culture and identified as Pythium insidiosum. Serological tests were positive. Immunotherapy was applied...
Megaesophagus and aspiration pneumonia secondary to gastric ulceration in a foal. A 3-month-old foal with a history of persistent fever and leukocytosis was found to have pneumonia, ulceration of the squamous portion of the stomach, and dilatation of the distal portion of the esophagus. The foal was euthanatized and necropsied. The distal portion of the esophagus was severely dilated, and there was severe ulceration and mural thickening of the stomach at the cardia. Because of the severe gastric ulceration and mural thickening, the gastroesophageal junction was fixed in an open position, permitting gastroesophageal reflux. The megaesophagus and pneumonia were considered to ...
The characterization of equine herpes virus-1-infected cell polypeptides recognized by equine lymphocytes. Ponies, without evidence of previous exposure to Equine herpes virus-1 (EHV-1), were experimentally infected with EHV-1 subtype 2 and investigated for lymphocyte transformation to virus-infected cell polypeptides, as shown by separation with gel electrophoresis. Animals made significant responses to Western blot fractions that corresponded to molecular weights of approximately 30,000, 40,000-45,000, 60,000-65,000, 80,000-95,000 and 100,000-140,000 MW. These molecular weight ranges correlated with the positions of major EHV-1 subtype 2 glycoproteins that were found at migration distances approx...
Equine ehrlichial colitis: effect of oxytetracycline treatment during the incubation period of Ehrlichia risticii infection in ponies. Equine ehrlichial colitis was experimentally induced in 18 ponies, using Ehrlichia risticii-infected blood. Four ponies (group 1) were treated with oxytetracycline (6.6 mg/kg of body weight, IV, q 12 h), beginning 14 hours before inoculation and continuing for 5 days after inoculation. Four additional ponies (group 2) were treated similarly for 10 days after inoculation. The remaining 10 ponies were used as nontreated, infected controls. Clinical disease was delayed in 3 group-1 ponies and in 4 group-2 ponies. Protective immunity developed in the remaining pony that did not develop clinical di...
Septic periorchitis in a horse. A 2-month-old Standard-bred colt with signs of abdominal pain and large scrotum was found to have septic periorchitis involving the right testis. Surgical exploration of the abdomen and scrotum was performed; the colt was then castrated. Actinobacillus equuli was isolated from specimens obtained at surgery. The colt was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics and flunixin meglumine after surgery, and fully recovered. The clinical signs of periorchitis in the colt were similar to an inguinal/scrotal hernia.
Correction of bilateral ureteral defects in a foal. Bilateral ureteral defects were diagnosed as the cause of depression and azotemia in an 8-day-old Thoroughbred filly. The azotemia resulted from accumulation of urine in the retroperitoneal area. A ventral midline laparotomy was performed, and defects found in both the left and right ureter were repaired. Uroperitoneum and abdominal distention, presumably from urine leakage at the left ureteral surgery site, were detected on the fourth postoperative day and necessitated abdominal drainage. Thirty-six hours later, the leakage stopped spontaneously, and the foal recovered normally. This report s...
Treatment of cattle, sheep and horses with lincomycin: case studies. In large animal practice, clinical cases involving deep-seated infections affecting bones, joints, meninges and the larynx are particularly difficult to treat. The antibiotic lincomycin has the ability to penetrate tissue of poor vascularity and is also effective in the presence of pus. Eleven cattle, six sheep and three horses were treated with the drug at various doses and in 75 per cent of the cases there was a positive response.
Absorption of neomycin from the equine uterus: effect of bacterial and chemical endometritis. Plasma concentrations of neomycin were measured after intrauterine infusion of 3.3 mg/kg neomycin sulphate. Mares infected two hours previously with an intra-uterine infusion of beta-haemolytic streptococci absorbed approximately 12 per cent of the neomycin in both the oestrous and the luteal phases of the cycle. Normal mares in oestrus absorbed 6 per cent of the neomycin infused and luteal mares absorbed 56 per cent. In infected mares the peak plasma concentrations occurred two hours after neomycin infusion, earlier than in healthy mares. Cervical flushings after neomycin infusion in infected...
Phaeohyphomycosis caused by Alternaria alternata in a mare. A phaeohyphomycotic infection caused by Alternaria alternata is reported in a 5-month-old Spanish mare. The diagnosis was made by direct microscopic examination and by repeated isolation of the fungus in culture. This is the first documented case to be reported in Spain.
Natural infection with Eimeria leuckarti: prevalence of oocysts in feces of horse foals on several farms in Kentucky during 1986. During 1986, fecal specimens were collected 1 or more times from each of 164 horse foals (158 Thoroughbred and 6 mixed light horse type), ranging in age from 0 to 252 days, on 13 farms in central Kentucky. To detect natural infection with Eimeria leuckarti, feces were examined for oocysts. Oocysts were found in 67 (41%) of the foals on 11 (85%) of the farms. The earliest age at which oocysts were first detected was 15 days (1 foal); the latest age was 123 days (1 foal). The mean age for the first appearance of oocysts in the feces of the 67 foals positive for E leuckarti was approximately 70 d...
