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.
Salat J, Ruzek D.Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a disease caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), represents a serious neural infection of humans in Europe and Asia. The main reservoir hosts of TBEV are ticks, rodents and insectivores, but domestic animals may also be infected with the virus. This review summarizes what is known about TBE in domestic species (e.g., dogs, horses), in which infection may manifest with clinical signs similar to those seen in severe human cases. We also focus on TBE in ruminants where TBE infections are typically asymptomatic and do not cause health problems in the infecte...
Alonso JM, Esper CS, Pantoja JCF, Rosa GDS, Giampietro RR, Dos Santos B, Guerra ST, Ribeiro MG, Takahira RK, Watanabe MJ, Alves ALG, Rodrigues CA....Difference in blood and peritoneal glucose (DBPG) is used in clinical practice to support a diagnosis of septic peritonitis in horses. It is inexpensive, easy and rapid to perform. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the DBPG to differentiate between septic and non-septic peritonitis in horses. Blood and peritoneal fluids were harvested from suspected animals. Plasma and peritoneal glucose levels, total nucleated cell count, direct microscopic and microbiological examinations of the peritoneal fluid were evaluated. Using DBPG levels, the animals were classified into two group...
Lawless SP, Cohen ND, Lawhon SD, Chamoun-Emanuelli AM, Wu J, Rivera-Vélez A, Weeks BR, Whitfield-Cargile CM.Distal limb wounds are common injuries sustained by horses and their healing is fraught with complications due to equine anatomy, prevalence of infection, and challenges associated with wound management. Gallium is a semi-metallic element that has been shown to possess antimicrobial properties and aid in wound healing in various preclinical models. The effects of Gallium have not been studied in equine wound healing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare healing rates between gallium-treated and untreated wounds of equine distal limbs and to demonstrate the antimicrobial effect...
Onyiche TE, Taioe MO, Ogo NI, Sivakumar T, Biu AA, Mbaya AW, Xuan X, Yokoyama N, Thekisoe O.Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are biological agents responsible for equine piroplasmosis (EP). We conducted a robust and extensive epidemiological study in Nigeria on the prevalence and risk factors of EP. Blood (468, both horses and donkeys) and ticks (201 pools) were screened using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). DNA of equine piroplasms was observed in tick pools with B. caballi amplified in Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi only [minimum infection rate (MIR) of 7.6%] while T. equi was observed in R. e. evertsi (MIR, 61.6%), Hyalomma dromedarii (MIR, 23.7%) and H. truncatum (MIR, 50.0%). ...
Baigazinov ZА, Lukashenko SN, Panitsky АV, Kadyrova NZ, Karatayev SS, Mamyrbayeva АS, Baigazy SА, Bazarbaeva АМ, Kabdyrakova AB....Horses are important food sources in several countries however, data on their radionuclide uptake is less available than for many other farm animals. Information on the transfer of artificial radioisotopes from the environment to the food supply is necessary for internal dose assessment and assuring the safety of the population relying on this food source. This study provides data for a less studied farm animal and, in the case of Am and Pu, relatively poorly studied radionuclides with respect to transfer to animal products. The transfer parameters for Pu, Am, Cs and Sr to the organs of 1-year...
Lilliehöök I, Bröjer J, Nostell K, Kindahl H, Tvedten HW, Edner A, Hagman R.Endotoxemia is a common and severe disease of horses. Most previous studies have monitored changes caused by a bolus dose of endotoxin over short time periods. Objective: We aimed to describe inflammatory responses to endotoxin with inflammatory and hematologic markers monitored over a longer time than has been performed in the past using more prolonged endotoxin exposures. Methods: Escherichia coli O55:B5 endotoxin was administered as a 6-hour continuous intravenous infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to eight horses. Blood cell counts, and prostaglandin F -metabolite (PGM), serum amyloid A ...
Zhao A, Zhang Y, Wang W, Jing B, Xing J, Tao D, Zhao W, Qi M.Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a zoonotic pathogen, has the potential to infect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent humans. It is found in large number of animals; however, not much is known regarding its prevalence in equine animals, particularly donkeys. This is the first molecular epidemiological evaluation of E. bieneusi in 178 free-ranging donkeys from five countrysides; and 502 farmed donkeys from 18 farms in 12 cities of Xinjiang, China by Nested PCR. Results: E. bieneusi was detected in 2.5% (17/680) donkeys, with 2.6% (13/502) in farmed and 2.2% (4/178) in free-ranging ones. Sequence...
Torquato RBC, Iamamoto K, Fernandes ER, Achkar S, Silva SR, Katz ISS, Guedes F.Laboratory diagnosis of rabies in equines is essential for distinguishing the disease from other sources of encephalitis. Diagnosis by conventional techniques such as a direct fluorescent antibody test (dFAT) or viral isolation in mice or cell culture can be difficult, and the application of molecular biological methods may be necessary. We performed an indirect rapid immunohistochemistry test (iRIT) for the detection of the rabies virus (RABV) antigen in the central nervous system (CNS) of equines and compared the results with those of other diagnostic techniques. We reviewed result records f...
Dik B, Ceylan O, Ceylan C, Tekindal MA, Semassel A, Sönmez G, Derinbay Ekici Ö.Approximately 250 feral horses [ (Linnaeus, 1758)] living on Karadağ Mountain near Karaman City were caught by Kazakh horse herdsmen with permission of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and brought to a farm in Karkın village in Konya Province, 70 km from Karadağ, in November, 2017. This study was carried out to determine the presence of ectoparasites infesting a subsample of 36 feral horses. The horses were visually inspected, and then their bodies were checked by hand for ectoparasites. Thirty-five (97.2%) were infested with at least one of five species of ectoparasites: ...
Duran MC, Dumrath CAC, Bartmann CP, Medina Torres CE, Moschos A, Goehring LS.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a sensitive acute-phase response (APR) marker in equids. Prominent APRs with elevations of SAA concentrations ([SAA]) have been reported after vaccination. The authors hypothesized that vaccination with an inactivated EHV-1/-4 vaccine would cause increase in [SAA] and antibody responses and that higher [SAA] would be positively correlated with the antibody titer in both equids. Twelve Haflinger horses and 12 mules were included in this longitudinal prospective study. All horses and mules were vaccinated with a commercially available EHV-1/-4 vaccine. Blood was sampled ...
Uzcanga GL, Bubis J.Two horses were infected with distinct non-tsetse transmitted Venezuelan stocks, namely TeAp-N/D1 and TeAp-El Frio01 . Preceding reports have revealed that a 64-kDa antigenic glycopolypeptide (p64), which is the soluble form of the predominant variant surface glycoprotein from TeAp-N/D1 , can be used as a good antigen for immunodiagnosis of animal trypanosomosis. Here, the course of the experimental acute infection in both horses was monitored by evaluating total anti-p64 IgG and particular anti-p64 γ-specific IgG and μ-specific IgM isotypes in sera using indirect enzyme-linked immunoso...
Dillmann JB, Cossetin LF, de Giacometi M, Oliveira D, de Matos AFIM, Avrella PD, Garlet QI, Heinzmann BM, Monteiro SG.The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Linnaeus 1758), is a hematophagous fly responsible for causing loss of performance in horses, causing losses in cattle productivity, and impacting the animals' health through the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. The objective of this work was to investigate the insecticidal activity of essential oil obtained from Melaleuca alternifolia (Cheel), presenting high 1,8-cineole content, against S. calcitrans adults. Insecticidal activity was determined using surface application methods and exposure to oil impregnated paper. It was observed that treatments at ...
Gerber V.Genetic factors influence the development of guttural pouch tympany, recurrent laryngeal neuropathy, severe equine asthma, exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage, and possibly also some malformations and infectious diseases of the respiratory tract. The current data suggest that most of these diseases are complex, resulting from the interaction between several genes and environmental factors. To date, no specific genes or causative mutations have been identified that would allow the development of practical genetic tests. In the future, genetic profiling panels, based on multiple genetic marker...
Abu-Halaweh M, Abo-Shehada MN, Khalil R.A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 379 horses to determine the seroprevalence of Neospora spp. in Jordan using the indirect fluorescent antibody test. Five variables, namely locality (n=10), climatic zone (n=4), age group (n=3), gender, and breed were tested as risk factors for Neospora-immunoglobulin (Ig)G seropositivity at four cutoff titers (1:50, 1:200, 1:400, and 1:800) using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. A total of 122 (32%; 95% CI: 28, 37) sera samples had anti-Neospora-IgG at a cutoff titer of 1:50. Increased Neospora-IgG seropositivity w...
Tenzin T, Lhamo K, Rai PB, Tshering D, Jamtsho P, Namgyal J, Wangdi T, Letho S, Rai T, Jamtsho S, Dorji C, Rinchen S, Lungten L, Wangmo K, Lungten L....Rabies kills approximately 59,000 people each year worldwide. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of rabies is important for instituting rapid containment measures and for advising the exposed people for postexposure treatment. The application of a rapid diagnostic tests in the field can greatly enhance disease surveillance and diagnostic activities, especially in resource poor settings. In this study, a total of 179 brain tissue samples collected from different rabies suspect animal species (113 dogs, 50 cattle, 10 cats, 3 goats, 2 horses, and 1 bear) were selected and tested using both rapid immuno...
Henker LC, Lorenzett MP, Keller A, Siqueira FM, Driemeier D, Pavarini SP.Pantoea agglomerans, family Enterobacteriaceae, is a Gram-negative bacterium that may be isolated from soil and from plants. This bacterium has been associated with disease in plants, humans, and rarely in domestic animal species. We describe here a case of fibrinonecrotic placentitis and equine abortion associated with P. agglomerans infection in southern Brazil. A fetus with 10 months of gestation and its placenta were evaluated. Gross lesions were observed in the cervical star extending to the body of the chorioallantois and consisted of a focally extensive, transmural, severely thickened...
Wang Y, Zhang LP, Li J, Li DD, Zhang Q, Li C.The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in horses imported into Shanghai port. Between 2018 and 2019, 344 horse sera samples were collected and tested for B. caballi and T. equi, using commercially available kits. Only one B. caballi seropositive sample was detected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a B. caballi seropositive in imported horses at Shanghai port, which reflects the importance of monitoring piroplasmosis seroprevalence in imported horses.
Pusterla N, Barnum S, Hall JA, Marshall-Lund L, Gebhart C.The objective of this study was to determine if serum amyloid A (SAA), a major acute-phase protein, could help support the diagnosis of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) caused by Lawsonia intracellularis infection in foals. Archived serum samples from 101 foals with enteric signs and hypoproteinemia were available for SAA testing. Based on immunodiagnostics for L. intracellularis, the foals were divided into EPE-suspect (67) and non-EPE-suspect cases (34). Serum amyloid A values ranged from 0 to 2,761 μg/mL (median 466 μg/mL) and from 0 to 2,555 μg/mL (median 192 μg/mL) for the ...
Limone LE, Baratt RM.An 8-year-old, 125 kg (275 lb) female miniature horse was evaluated for a persistently thickened left mandible and cutaneous fistula. Pulp horn defects were identified in pulp horns 1 and 3 of tooth 309 and occlusal pulp exposure was detected with a dental explorer. Radiography of the left mandibular dental quadrant revealed changes consistent with apical infection of tooth 309. Following the failure of oral extraction, a standing surgical approach was taken for transcutaneous lateral alveolar ostectomy and extraction. Roots were sectioned at the level of the furcation and elevated from the su...
Studzińska MB, Sallé G, Roczeń-Karczmarz M, Szczepaniak K, Demkowska-Kutrzepa M, Tomczuk K.Parascaris spp. are major gastro-intestinal nematodes that infect foals and can lead to respiratory symptoms, poor growth, and in some cases obstruction of the small intestine and death. Ivermectin resistance has been reported for Parascaris spp. in many countries. In Poland, the knowledge of the level of resistance against ivermectin in Parascaris spp. is limited. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of ivermectin against Parascaris spp. in foals from south-eastern Poland. Foals (n = 225 = reared in 7 stud farms) were treated orally with ivermectin paste. Faecal samples w...
Porcellato I, Modesto P, Cappelli K, Varello K, Peletto S, Brachelente C, Martini I, Mechelli L, Ferrari A, Ghelardi A, Razzuoli E.In horses, squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the most common malignant tumors developing on non-pigmented skin, muco-cutaneous areas, like external genitalia, and, less frequently, in the stomach. Growing evidence suggests Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) as causative agent of genital SCCs. Our case report describes a 20-year-old, female, mixed-breed pony with co-occurring vulvar papilloma and in situ carcinoma and gastric SCC. Both lesions were positive for the same EcPV2, as confirmed by DNA sequencing. E6 mRNA expression was observed both in vulvar lesions and gastric SCC, whi...
Rothers KL, Hackett ES, Mason GL, Nelson BB.A 17-year-old Quarter Horse mare was evaluated for colic of 24-hour duration. Clinical signs and diagnostic evaluation were consistent with duodenitis-proximal jejunitis. The horse's clinical condition deteriorated despite medical treatment and was euthanized. Aerobic culture collected from small intestinal ingesta was positive for subsp. serovar Hadar. sp. is commonly implicated in nosocomial infections in equine veterinary hospitals usually through feces containing the organism. Considering sp. was cultured from the jejunal luminal contents and the large volume of nasogastric reflux that...
Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are widely recognized as causative agents of equine pirolasmosis (EP), an acute, sub-acute, and chronic disease of equines, with relevant economic impact on horse trade worldwide. Although several studies on EP prevalence from central Italy have been published, data on ticks responsible for its transmission are still lacking. In this study, we identified a potential competent vector, investigating main features of its ecology together with EP infection rates. A two-year sampling of questing ticks was carried out for the first time in Italy in an area known fo...
Karasek I, Butler C, Baynes R, Werners A.Ectoparasites infestations are a growing concern to horse owners and equine veterinarians alike. Ectoparasites cause significant health and welfare issues and can potentially can serve as vectors for a variety of pathogens. The prevalence of ectoparasites increases around the world, and especially in horses information on the successful prevention and treatment of ectoparasite infestations in scarce and in many instances anecdotal. This poses a challenge to the equine veterinarian and off-label use of drugs can lead to detrimental effects in horses. In this review we describe the current avail...
Cakir-Koc R, Budama-Kilinc Y, Ustun E, Babur C.Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that causes severe health problems in the world. Toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by T. gondii, leads to high risk of mortality in patients with immunodeficiency, transplantation, and cancer. Besides that, it causes miscarriages in pregnancy, various abnormalities such as hydrocephalus in infants and congenital diseases. Because the clinical indication of the disease is not specific, it is confused with many diseases, and this leads to the necessity of directly detecting the presence of the toxoplasmosis. Therefore, various diagnostic assays are needed for th...
Solís-Hernández D, Saucedo-Gutiérrez KL, Meza-Lucas A, Gómez-de-Anda FR, Medina-Lerena MS, García-Rodea R, Corona-Souza MT, Pérez-Ramírez MÁ....This work aimed to investigate the prevalence of Trichinella infection in horses (Equus ferus caballus) handled by rural slaughterhouses across five distinctive socioeconomic regions in Mexico. Serum samples were obtained by non-probabilistic convenience sampling in the Eastern, Southern Central and Western regions (100 samples of each). Additionally, muscle tissue samples were collected from the East (n=45), Southeastern (n=88), Southern Central (n=39) and Southwestern (n=11) regions. Antibodies were determined by Western blot and the muscle tissue was examined by artificial digestion. A glob...
Camino E, Schmid S, Weber F, Pozo P, de Juan L, König M, Cruz-Lopez F.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has ...
Boorman S, Boone L, Weatherall K, Caldwell F.A 7-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was referred to the JT Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital at Auburn University, College of Veterinary Medicine, for an investigation of a recurrent swelling of the nasofrontal region. Computed tomography examination of the skull was most consistent with a sequestrum of the left nasofrontal suture with associated focal osteomyelitis and left conchofrontal sinusitis. Surgery to remove the sequestrum, debride the devitalized bone, and flush the left conchofrontal sinus was performed. A microbial culture was obtained at the time of surgery, which yie...
Ahmadpour S, Esmaeilnejad B, Dalir-Naghadeh B, Asri-Rezaei S.Equine theileriosis due to Theileria equi is probably the most widespread and pathogenic disease of equines, which comes with major cardiac and renal complications. This study was undertaken to investigate the biomarkers of cardiac and renal functions in horses infected with T. equi and determine the association between these parameters and the level of parasitemia. Giemsa-stained blood smears from 300 horses with ages of 3-4 years old were examined for detection of T. equi on erythrocytes. Moreover, multiplex PCR was employed for confirmation of the diagnosis in the 28 positive cases. Based o...
Hann M, Timofte D, Isgren CM, Archer DC.Surgical site infection (SSI) is a leading cause of morbidity in horses undergoing emergency exploratory laparotomy for the treatment of acute colic. The exact mechanism by which SSI develops in these cases is unclear. This prospective observational study investigated whether bacterial translocation occurs in horses with acute colic and if there is an association between bacterial translocation and development of SSI. Peripheral venous blood (PVB) and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples were collected on admission and PF samples were collected at the end of surgery from horses presenting for investi...
Oliveira PR, Borges LM, Leite RC, Freitas CM.The population dynamics of all stages of the Cayenne tick, Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius) (Acari: Ixodidae) on horses was evaluated over a period of 2 years in the district of Pedro Leopoldo, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Every 14 days, the left side of 20 horses was brushed for collection of immature stages; counts of adults were also undertaken. Infestation by larvae was detected from April to August, whereas nymphs were observed from June to October. Infestation by adults was detected throughout the year, and the highest population density occurred from September to March. The number of ...
Hoane JS, Yeargan MR, Stamper S, Saville WJ, Morrow JK, Lindsay DS, Howe DK.Neospora hughesi is a recently identified cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. However, the significance of this parasite is poorly understood. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a recombinant form of the N. hughesi 29-kDa surface antigen (rNhSAG1) was developed for serodiagnosis of equine N. hughesi infections. Parallel ELISA analysis showed that animals immunized or infected with N. hughesi exhibited greater antibody reactivity with rNhSAG1 than with the Neospora caninum homolog, rNcSAG1. The rNhSAG1 ELISA showed 94.4% sensitivity and 95.0% specificity when compared wi...
RANDALL CC, LAWSON LA.The research article discusses the successful adaptation of the Equine Abortion Virus (EAV) to L-M 929 cells, the impact on infected cultures, and possible reasons for earlier unsuccessful attempts. It […]
Pusterla N, Chae JS, Kimsey RB, Berger Pusterla J, DeRock E, Dumler JS, Madigan JE.Most human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) studies carried out in horses use needle inoculation of infected leucocytes or cell cultures. This route of inoculation does not accurately reflect natural infection of the tick-borne agent. To investigate whether tick transmission influences the course of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in the horse model, experimental transmission through infected laboratory-reared Ixodes scapularis ticks was attempted into two healthy horses. One additional horse served as negative control and was exposed to uninfected ticks. Eleven days after exposure to nymphal or adul...
Costa LR, Spier SJ, Hirsh DC.Ribotyping and susceptibility to 17 antimicrobial agents were used to compare 37 isolates of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (28 from horses, 1 from cattle, 3 from sheep and 5 from goats) derived from various types of lesions, and different geographic locations. According to the presence of nitrate reductase, all but one isolate from horses reduced nitrate (nitrate-positive), whereas all isolates from sheep and goats were unable to reduce nitrate (nitrate-negative). The ribotype of the nitrate-negative isolate from a horse with ulcerative lymphangitis was identical to all the other isolates...
Schmidt NJ, Melnick JL, Wenner HA, Ho HH, Burkhardt MA.Immune horse sera to 42 enterovirus immunotypes were pooled according to the Lim Benyesh-Melnick and the "intersecting serum" schemes. Each serum was diluted in the pools to contain 50 antibody units. After it was established that the pools correctly neutralized prototype virus strains, they were evaluated in tests against 273 enterovirus field strains representing most of the viral types included in the pools. With test virus doses of 10-100 TCD(50), most of the poliovirus and coxsackievirus field strains were correctly identified in both schemes, but a number of the echoviruses were neutrali...
Jinks MR, Miller EJ, Diaz-Campos D, Mollenkopf DF, Newbold G, Gemensky-Metzler A, Chandler HL.To identify the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) distribution for commonly used topical antibiotics from isolates of dogs and horses with ulcerative bacterial keratitis, and to investigate changes in MIC values over time and following treatment with topical fluoroquinolones. Methods: One hundred thirty-four client-owned dogs and 20 client-owned horses with bacterial ulcerative keratitis. Methods: Minimum inhibitory concentration values for 14 topical antibiotics were reported for canine and equine cases of bacterial ulcerative keratitis between 2013 and 2018. Changes in MIC values over t...
Moore BD, Balasuriya UB, Watson JL, Bosio CM, MacKay RJ, MacLachlan NJ.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) infects endothelial cells (ECs) and macrophages in horses, and many of the clinical manifestations of equine viral arteritis (EVA) reflect vascular injury. To further evaluate the potential role of EAV-induced, macrophage-derived cytokines in the pathogenesis of EVA, we infected cultured equine alveolar macrophages (AMphi), blood monocyte-derived macrophages (BMphi), and pulmonary artery ECs with either a virulent (KY84) or an avirulent (CA95) strain of EAV. EAV infection of equine AMphi, BMphi, and ECs resulted in their activation with increased transcription of g...
Traversa D, Fichi G, Campigli M, Rondolotti A, Iorio R, Proudman CJ, Pellegrini D, Perrucci S.Anoplocephala perfoliata (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea), the commonest intestinal tapeworm of horses, can cause colic, intussusceptions, ileal impactions and intestinal perforations. Common diagnostic techniques for A. perfoliata infection, i.e. coprology and serology, show inherent limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity and new approaches are thus required. Hence, the present study compared the reliability of coprological, serological (i.e. ELISA) and molecular (i.e. nested PCR) methods in detecting A. perfoliata infection in naturally infected horses and in horses treated with a comb...
Anderson ME, Lefebvre SL, Rankin SC, Aceto H, Morley PS, Caron JP, Welsh RD, Holbrook TC, Moore B, Taylor DR, Weese JS.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging veterinary and zoonotic pathogen, associated with increasing reports of disease in horses. Objective: To provide an overview of the characteristics of clinical MRSA infections in horses. Methods: A retrospective case study was performed on 115 horses admitted to 6 participating veterinary teaching hospitals in Canada and the United States between 2000 and 2006, and diagnosed with clinical MRSA infection. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariable analyses for community- (CA) vs. hospital-associated (HA) MRSA infections...
Nápravníková J, Petrtýl M, Stupka R, Vadlejch J.The detection and quantification of nematode eggs using fecal egg count techniques have an irreplaceable role in equine parasitic control. The reliability, particularly precision and accuracy, of individual techniques have been described only for strongylid infections. The aim of this study was to compare three fecal egg count techniques used for the detection of the two most common equine nematode infections: strongylid and ascarid. The Simple McMaster, Concentration McMaster and Mini-FLOTAC techniques were tested on spiked fecal samples with various levels of egg concentration (50, 100, 200,...
Traub-Dargatz JL, Salman MD, Jones RL.A study was designed to identify epidemiologic factors associated with the development and spread of salmonellae in horses in a veterinary teaching hospital, through a case-control study and a longitudinal follow-up prospective study. In the case-control study, 44 horses shedding salmonellae in feces were compared with 99 control horses not shedding salmonellae in feces; regarding breed, sex, age and initial diagnosis, none of the odds ratios for study factors was significant. The factors found to be associated with fecal shedding of salmonellae in the prospective study included diarrhea at th...
Bosler EM, Cohen DP, Schulze TL, Olsen C, Bernard W, Lissman B.By using paired sera the IgM and IgG host responses were analyzed in dogs with ELISA and Western blot techniques. Antibodies in clinical seropositive dogs bound to 4-25 IgM and up to 40 or more IgG antigenic determinants. Early IgM response to the 41-kDa flagellin persisted for at least 9 months and involved as many as seven other peptides. IgG response expanded later in the disease and involved more immunogens than are currently recognized in late human disease. A percentage of asymptomatic dogs that later developed clinical symptoms were seropositive. Immunoblot studies suggested that B. bur...
Larson KR, Heil GL, Chambers TM, Capuano A, White SK, Gray GC.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is considered enzootic in North America and experimental studies have documented human EIV infections. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 94 horse-exposed and 34 non-exposed controls for serological evidence of EIV infection. Sera were evaluated for antibodies against three EIV and two human H3N2 viruses using microneutralization (MN), neuraminidase inhibition (NI), enzyme-linked lectin (ELLA), and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) serological assays. Risk factor analyses were conducted using logistic regression and proportional odds modeling. Results: The...
Fontenot RL, Sink CA, Werre SR, Weinstein NM, Dahlgren LA.This study evaluated the quality and bacteriologic safety of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) produced by 3 simple, inexpensive tube centrifugation methods and a commercial system. Citrated equine blood collected from 26 normal horses was processed by 4 methods: blood collection tubes centrifuged at 1200 and 2000 × g, 50-mL conical tube, and a commercial system. White blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), and platelet counts and mean platelet volume (MPV) were determined for whole blood and PRP, and aerobic and anaerobic cultures were performed. Mean platelet concentrations ranged from 1.55- to 2...
Miller RI, Campbell RS.One in vivo and 2 in vitro tests were developed to study immunological aspects of phycomycosis in clinically infected, recovered and normal in-contact horses. Serum from all infected horses gave positive readings in an agar-gel double diffusion test; serum from normal and recovered horses did not react. A complement fixation test detected antibody against Hyphomyces destruens in 82% clinical cases at an average titre of 20. Serum from recovered and in-contact horses reacted sporadically at positive titre. An intradermal hypersensitivity test (Heaf test) was used to detect evidence of cellular ...
Takai S, Anzai T, Fujita Y, Akita O, Shoda M, Tsubaki S, Wada R.Rhodococcus equi strains of intermediate virulence (IMV) for mice possess a 20kDa protein designated Virulence Associated Protein B (VapB) and a virulence plasmid of 79-100kb, and can be recovered from the submaxillary lymph nodes of pigs. The pathogenicity of such R. equi strains for foals is unknown. In this study, two foals, 42 and 43 days of age, were infected intratracheally with 10(6) and 10(9) cells of R. equi IMV strain A5, respectively. The foal infected with 10(9) cells of strain A5 became clinically ill, with the onset of illness (pyrexia and depression) occurring 21 days after inoc...
Guérin F, Fines-Guyon M, Meignen P, Delente G, Fondrinier C, Bourdon N, Cattoir V, Léon A.The epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in horse infections is not well documented, especially in France. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of MRSA isolates in horse infections from 2007 to 2013 in France and to characterize phenotypically and genotypically this collection. Out of 1393 S. aureus horse isolates, 85 (6.1%) were confirmed to be MRSA. Interestingly, the prevalence of MRSA significantly increased from 2007-2009 to 2010-2013 (0.7 vs. 9.5%, P <0.0001). Resistance to methicillin was due to the presence of the mecA gene in 84 st...
Coignoul FL, Cheville NF.Six pregnant mares were given equine viral arteritis virus intravenously. Tissues from genital tracts, placentae, and fetuses were examined by light and electron microscopy to study the mechanism of abortion. Four mares which died with acute disease had diffuse vacuolation of endometrial epithelium and systemic necrotizing vasculitis. Two of these mares had dead fetuses and two had live fetuses; virus was isolated from tissues of one live fetus. Placentae of mares dying from acute disease did not have lesions attributable to infection; virus was isolated from two of these placentae. One of the...
Quinlivan M, Cullinane A, Nelly M, Van Maanen K, Heldens J, Arkins S.Four seronegative foals aged 6 to 7 months were exposed to an aerosol of influenza strain A/Equi/2/Kildare/89 at 10(6) 50% egg infective doses (EID(50))/ml. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for 10 consecutive days after challenge. Virus isolation was performed in embryonated eggs, and the EID(50) was determined for all positive samples. The 50% tissue culture infective dose was determined using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Samples were also tested by an in vitro enzyme immunoassay test, Directigen Flu A, and by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) using nested primers from the nucl...
Studdert MJ.DNA was prepared from 43 equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV 1) isolates, 11 of which were from horses with respiratory disease, 22 from aborted equine foetuses, and 10 from foals that died perinatally. The restriction endonuclease DNA fingerprints of 10 of the 11 respiratory isolates, known with certainty to have been recovered from horses with respiratory disease, were entirely different from all but 3 of the 32 foetal or perinatal foal isolates. The exceptional respiratory isolate, EHV 1 Army 183, had a foetal (F) strain fingerprint but this virus cannot be said with certainty to have been isola...
Weber R, Hospes R, Wehrend A.The aim of this study was to summarize the current status of the possible causes, clinical symptoms and pathogenesis of abortion in the mare and to evaluate the frequency of varying causes of abortion in German thoroughbred breeding. An analysis of the literature using electronic libraries, journals and textbooks was performed. In addition, the results of examinations of 123 abortions of thoroughbred breeding in central Germany were evaluated. In the literature, bacterial infections are the most frequently described cause of abortion. Other important causes are infections with equine herpesvir...
Slater JD, Gibson JS, Field HJ.Both intranasal (i.n.) and intracerebral (i.c.) inoculation of mice with wild-type equine herpesvirus type 1 (wt EHV-1) caused clinical signs and mortality. Virus could be recovered from target organs (turbinates, lungs and blood) for several days. By contrast, the thymidine kinase (TK)-deficient deletion mutant PR1 produced markedly less clinical disease following both i.n. and i.c. inoculation, and, in particular, no mortality occurred. PR1 did, however, establish productive infections following either route of inoculation. High titres of virus were recovered from target organs although viru...
Smith DJ, Hamblin AS, Edington N.Evidence is presented to show that activation of endothelial and leucoyte adhesion molecules is a key step in transferring virus from infected leucocytes; and determines the restricted tissue tropism. A range of tissues from 2 experimentally infected mares in late pregnancy at 4 and 8 days after infection with EHV-1 were compared with those from normal pregnant and nonpregnant mares. Rabbit antisera to equine activated endothelial cell molecules were used to identify which tissues expressed these molecules in normal nongravid and gravid mares, and to investigate whether the range of tissues wa...
Schulman ML, May CE, Keys B, Guthrie AJ.Recent CEM outbreak reports reflect a novel epidemiologic manifestation with a markedly different risk association for transmission via artificial reproduction and subsequent to inadvertent importation of unapparent carrier stallions. Artificial breeding has an increased association with horizontal or fomite-associated transmission. Reported risk factors include inadequate biosecurity protocols at centralised breeding facilities associated with stallion management and methods of semen collection, processing and transport. Detection of carriers is based on traditional bacteriology from genital ...
Smith KC, Whitwell KE, Mumford JA, Gower SM, Hannant D, Tearle JP.Twelve Welsh Mountain pony mares in late gestation were infected intranasally with EHV-1 (AB4 isolate) at dose rates from 10(3) to 10(7.3) TCID50. This resulted in 3 cases of paresis, at Days 9, 10 and 12 after inoculation, and 5 abortions, at Days 6, 9, 18, 19 and 20. Euthanasia was performed between Days 6 and 21, with collection of uterine specimens for histopathology, virus isolation and immunoperoxidase staining from the pregnant horn, non-pregnant horn and body. EHV-1 replication in endometrial vessels was detected as early as Day 6 and was maximal at Days 9-11, when widespread thrombois...
Baumann RP, Staczek J, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus type one (EHV-1) defective interfering (DI) particle DNA fragments were inserted into the XbaI site of the plasmid vector pACYC184. Five DI XbaI fragments, which ranged in molecular weight from 4.5 to 6.7 MDa, were selected for detailed analysis. Each DI DNA clone was labeled with 32P-deoxynucleotides by nick translation and hybridized to genomic digests of EHV-1 standard (STD) DNA bound to nitrocellulose. All five clones were shown to hybridize to DNA sequences derived from the left terminus (0.0-0.04 map units) of the long (L) region and from the short (S) region inverted ...
Dubey JP, Bauer C.There is considerable confusion concerning validity of Eimeria species in equids, and endogenous developmental stages and pathogenicity of equid Eimeria. This paper summarizes worldwide information on history, structure, life cycle, pathogenicity, prevalence, epidemiology, and diagnosis of Eimeria infections in equids. The following conclusions were drawn. Although three species of Eimeria; E. solipedum, E. uninugulata, and E. leuckarti were named from horses, only E. leuckarti is a valid species infecting equids, including horses, donkeys and zebra. We consider E. solipedum, E. uninugulata an...
Christoffersen M, Brandis L, Samuelsson J, Bojesen AM, Troedsson MH, Petersen MR.Endometritis constitutes a major problem in the management of broodmares; hence, diagnostic tests with a high sensitivity and specificity are highly appreciated. The aim of this study was to compare the results from endometrial, cytologic, and bacteriologic examinations obtained by a newly developed, double-guarded, flushing technique versus standard diagnostic tests, the double-guarded swab and biopsy. The described double-guarded flush technique requires the use of a disposable uterine flushing tube, a sanitary sleeve, a sterile steel speculum, and a 250 mL fluid bag. Endometrial biopsies, s...
Haghi MM, Etemadifar F, Fakhar M, Teshnizi SH, Soosaraei M, Shokri A, Hajihasani A, Mashhadi H.Babesiosis is a protozoal disease caused by Babesia spp. in mammals and humans worldwide. It is one of the most important tick-borne diseases, which affects livestock productions, reproductions, and accordingly failing economy. In this, systematic review and meta-analysis, study, the prevalence of babesiosis among domestic herbivores in Iran, between 1998 and 2015, was methodically reviewed. Nine databases including five English and four Persian databases were explored. A total of 49 articles, as regards the examination of 13,547 sheep, 1920 goats, 7167 cattle, and 940 horses, corresponding to...
