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.
Whitehead AE, Whitty J, Scott M, Léguillette R.A gelding was diagnosed with dysphagia and left guttural pouch mycosis. Treatments included topical antifungal drugs, systemic voriconazole, and balloon occlusion of the internal carotid artery. Ongoing dysphagia of neurological origin necessitated extra-oral feeding through an esophagostomy tube. Complementary case management included acupuncture. Clinical remission occurred over 10 weeks. Dysphagie réversible secondaire à une mycose de la poche gutturale chez un hongre traité médicalement avec du voriconazole et chirurgicalement par l’occlusion de la carotide et l’œsophagostomie. Un...
Oliver-Espinosa O.Diarrhea is one of the most important diseases in young foals and may occur in more than half of foals until weaning age. Several infectious and noninfectious underlying causes have been implicated but scientific evidence of pathogenesis is evolving. It is important to investigate all known potential causes and identify infectious agents to avoid outbreaks, evaluate the level of systemic compromise, and establish adequate therapy. It is crucial to differentiate foals that can be managed in field conditions from those that should be sent to a referral center. This article reviews these aspects ...
Walther B, Klein KS, Barton AK, Semmler T, Huber C, Wolf SA, Tedin K, Merle R, Mitrach F, Guenther S, Lübke-Becker A, Gehlen H.Pathogens frequently associated with multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from horses admitted to horse clinics, pose a risk for animal patients and personnel in horse clinics. To estimate current rates of colonization, a total of 341 equine patients were screened for carriage of zoonotic indicator pathogens at hospital admission. Horses showing clinical signs associated with colic (n = 233) or open wounds (n = 108) were selected for microbiological examination of nost...
Tscheschlok L, Venner M, Steward K, Böse R, Riihimäki M, Pringle J.Streptococcus equi ssp. equi causes characteristic clinical signs that are most severe in young horses, including fever, purulent nasal discharge, and lymph node abscessation in the head region. Objective: Clinical, serologic, and microbiologic factors related to unexpectedly mild disease severity in a natural outbreak of strangles in immunologically naïve weanlings were investigated. Methods: One-hundred and twelve warmblood weanlings. Methods: Prospective longitudinal observational study of a natural outbreak of strangles. The entire cohort was examined at the peak of the outbreak by deep n...
Molena RA, Peachey LE, Di Cesare A, Traversa D, Cantacessi C.In spite of the emergence of populations of drug-resistant cyathostomines worldwide, little is known of parasite species responsible for 'early egg shedding' in cohorts of horses subjected to treatment with widely used anthelmintics, e.g. ivermectin (IVM). In this study, we determined the cyathostomine egg reappearance period (ERP) after IVM treatment in a cohort of yearlings from a large Thoroughbred (TB) stud farm in the United Kingdom, and identified species of cyathostomines with reduced ERP using a combination of fundamental parasitology techniques coupled with advanced molecular tools. ...
Soundararajan C, Nagarajan K, Muthukrishnan S, Arul Prakash M.The prevalence of tick infestation and their predilection sites on sheep, goat, horse and wild hare were studied at various places of Tamil Nadu, India. The prevalence of tick infestation in Madras red sheep, Tellicherry goat and horse was 77.11, 78.21 and 13.33%, respectively. Sheep were heavily infested with followed by , and . . The ticks from goats were identified as . , . , . and . . Horses were infested with and . . The ticks on wild hare () were identified as . and . . Wild hare acts as a source of infestation to the sheep and goats since these animals shared the same field.
Jelocnik M, Jenkins C, O'Rourke B, Barnwell J, Polkinghorne A.Chlamydia psittaci is an important avian pathogen with spillover from infected wild and domesticated birds also posing a risk to human health. We recently reported a case of C. psittaci equine placentitis associated with further spillover to humans. Molecular typing of this case revealed it belonged to the 6BC clade of C. psittaci, a globally distributed highly virulent set of strains, typically linked to infection spillover from parrots. Equine chlamydiosis associated with C. psittaci infection has previously been reported elsewhere in countries where parrots are not endemic, however, rais...
Lupo A, Saras E, Madec JY, Haenni M.In Asian countries, blaCTX-M-55 is the second most common ESBL-encoding gene. blaCTX-M-55 frequently co-localizes with fosA and rmtB genes on epidemic plasmids, which remain sporadic outside Asia. During 2010-13, we investigated CTX-M-55-producing Escherichia coli isolates and their co-resistance to fosfomycin, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones and colistin as part of a global survey of ESBLs in animals in France. blaCTX-M-55, fosA, rmtB and plasmidic quinolone and colistin resistance genes were characterized by PCR, sequencing and hybridization experiments. Plasmids were classified according ...
Anderson SL, Singh B.Horses are susceptible to a multitude of inflammatory conditions that are characterized by a strong neutrophilic response. Here, we review basic equine neutrophil biology and explore the role of neutrophils in inflammatory conditions with emphasis on intestinal ischemia and reperfusion injury and lung inflammation. In addition, unique aspects of equine neutrophil biology have been highlighted. Neutrophils comprise the highest proportion of circulating white blood cells in equine blood. The concentration of circulating equine neutrophils is a primary indicator of systemic inflammation. Addition...
Aromaa M, Hautala K, Oksanen A, Sukura A, Näreaho A.One-hundred-and-thirty-nine fecal samples were examined to assess the prevalence of Parascaris spp. and strongyle infections in two-year-old or younger horses in Finland. The owners of the horses were asked to answer an online questionnaire about the horses' environment and the management practices of the stable. The results of fecal examination and the survey were analyzed to evaluate the effect of different risk factors as ascertained by the survey on parasite prevalence. The prevalence of Parascaris spp. infections at 11.5% was lower than expected based on previous research and the strongyl...
Dahiya R, Salar RK, Mandal KD, Kumar R, Tripathi BN, Pal Y, Kumar S.Equine piroplasmosis is a haemoprtozoan disease of equines and enzootic in tropical and subtropical countries. A cross-sectional study on sero-prevalence of Theileria equi, the causative agent of EP, was performed in semi-arid and sub-humid ecological endemic zones of India including Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat states, in order to evaluate the enzootic status/level of exposure to equine population due to this infection and addressed associated risk factors. Serum samples were collected from a total of 1021 equids that comprised of 792 horses, 168 donkeys and 61 mules and evaluated for T. eq...
Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Abortusequi is frequently reported as a cause of abortion in mares and neonatal septicemia and polyarthritis in Asian and African countries, but only sporadically in Europe and the United States. We report an outbreak of S. Abortusequi in foals in Italy, characterized by high mortality. In a herd of Murgese horses, 10 of 34 newborns died at birth and a further 7 died, after developing severe clinical signs, during the first 10 d of life. Tissue specimens from different organs of 2 dead foals, synovial fluids from 4 sick foals, and vaginal and rectal ...
Engell-Sørensen K, Pall A, Damgaard C, Holmstrup M.We investigated the prevalence of equine tapeworms, Anoplocephala spp., in Danish horses during a seven-year period assessed by coprological analysis. The data material included >11,000 observations distributed over the period 2009-2015, and four major geographic regions in Denmark representing sandy soils and clayey moraine soils, respectively. This allowed us to test for possible differences between regions (or soil types) and seasons. For a sub-set of the data (about 1200 observations) age of horses was also known, and it was shown that prevalence was highest in the age group 1-5years and t...
Sreenivasan CC, Jandhyala SS, Luo S, Hause BM, Thomas M, Knudsen DEB, Leslie-Steen P, Clement T, Reedy SE, Chambers TM, Christopher-Hennings J....Equine influenza, caused by the H3N8 subtype, is a highly contagious respiratory disease affecting equid populations worldwide and has led to serious epidemics and transboundary pandemics. This study describes the phylogenetic characterization and replication kinetics of recently-isolated H3N8 virus from a nasal swab obtained from a sporadic case of natural infection in an unvaccinated horse from Montana, USA. The nasal swab tested positive for equine influenza by Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Further, the whole genome sequencing of the virus ...
Scarabelli S, Timofte D, Malalana F, Bardell D.To evaluate the incidence of corneal abrasions/ulceration and microbial contamination in horses undergoing general anaesthesia. Methods: Prospective, observational, clinical study. Methods: A total of 40 client-owned healthy horses scheduled for elective non-ophthalmic procedures. Methods: Conjunctival sac swabs were taken, fluorescein dye applied and digital images recorded from both eyes of the horses after preanaesthetic medication and 24 hours after recovery from general anaesthesia. A paraffin-based bland ophthalmic ointment was applied on the ocular surface intraoperatively following col...
Tonpitak W, Pathomsakulwong W, Sornklien C, Krajaejun T, Wutthiwithayaphong S.Pythiosis is caused by , a fungus-like organism in the class . It can infect humans and a variety of animal species in tropical, subtropical and some temperate regions. Cases of animal pythiosis have occurred predominantly in horses in the skin and subcutaneous tissue at the limbs and in the ventral portion of thoracoabdominal wall - lesions in the nasal region are rarely reported. Moreover, although many human pythiosis cases have been reported in Thailand, no cases of animal pythiosis in Thailand have been reported. Methods: We report a case of pythiosis in a horse infected at the nasal cavi...
Berlin S, Wallstabe S, Scheuch E, Oswald S, Hasan M, Wegner D, Grube M, Venner M, Ullrich A, Siegmund W.Standard treatment of foals with severe abscessing lung infection caused by Rhodococcus equi using rifampicin and a macrolide antibiotic can be compromised by extensive inhibition and/or induction of drug metabolising enzymes (e.g. CYP3A4) and transport proteins (e.g. P-glycoprotein), as has been shown for rifampicin and clarithromycin. The combination of rifampicin with the new, poorly metabolised gamithromycin, a long-acting analogue of azithromycin and tulathromycin with lower pharmacokinetic interaction potential, might be a suitable alternative. Objective: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic ...
Liuti T, Smith S, Dixon PM.Equine cheek teeth disorders, especially pulpar/apical infections, can have very serious consequences due to the frequent extension of infection to the supporting bones and/or adjacent paranasal sinuses. Limited studies have assessed the accuracy of computed tomographic (CT) imaging in the diagnosis of these disorders, and no study has directly compared imaging and pathological findings of the alveoli of diseased equine cheek teeth. Objective: To validate the accuracy of CT and radiographic imaging of cheek teeth disorders by comparing CT and radiographic imaging, gross and histological findin...
Bosco A, Maurelli MP, Ianniello D, Morgoglione ME, Amadesi A, Coles GC, Cringoli G, Rinaldi L.Nematode infections in horses are widespread across the world. Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance, reported worldwide in equine parasites, have led to the creation of programs for the control of nematodes based on faecal egg counts (FEC). To improve nematode egg counting in equine faecal samples and establish whether the matrix of equine faeces or the eggs affect the counts, the analytical sensitivity, accuracy and precision of Mini-FLOTAC (combined with Fill-FLOTAC), McMaster and Cornell-Wisconsin techniques were compared. Known numbers of eggs extracted from equine or ovine faeces ...
Herrera M, Herrera JM, Cantatore S, Aguilar J, Felipe A, Fumuso E.Uterine acute post-breeding inflammation is a physiological tissue response to the entry of exogenous elements, with persistent endometritis being the main pathology responsible for subfertility in the mare (Equus ferus caballus; Linnaeus, 1758). Mares can be classified as susceptible or resistant to endometritis according to their ability to remove intrauterine fluid within 48 hr after experimental inoculation. Endometrial biopsy is a technique that is commonly used to establish the degree of lesions that can affect the fertility of the mare. Endometrial histomorphometry is an objective and ...
Gimenez F, Hines SA, Evanoff R, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC, Maly DJ, Vidadala RSR, Mealey RH.Theileria equi, an etiologic agent of equine piroplasmosis, is a tick-transmitted hemoprotozoan of the phylum Apicomplexa. Recent outbreaks of piroplasmosis in the United States have renewed interest in safe and effective treatment options. Although imidocarb dipropionate (IMD) is the drug of choice for clearance of T. equi, adverse reactions and recently documented resistance support the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. The recently described bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are a new class of compounds that could potentially be used as safe and effective alternatives to IMD. In an...
Shin J, Ahn KS, Suh GH, Kim HJ, Jeong HS, Kim BS, Choi E, Shin SS.Ocular setariases of cattle were reported but those of equine hosts have never been reported in the Republic of Korea (Korea). We found motile worms in the aqueous humor of 15 horses (Equus spp.) from 12 localities in southern parts of Korea between January 2004 and November 2017. After the affected animals were properly restrained under sedation and local anesthesia, 10 ml disposable syringe with a 16-gauge needle was inserted into the anterior chamber of the affected eye to successfully remove the parasites. The male worm that was found in 7 of the cases showed a pair of lateral appendages n...
Okada A, Suganuma S, Badr Y, Omatsu T, Mizutani T, Ohya K, Fukushi H.VP22 is a major tegument protein of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). In the present study, we examined functions of VP22 in EHV-1 replication by viral protein expression analyses in cells infected with the VP22-deficient virus. The expressions of several viral proteins in the cells infected with the VP22-deficient virus were lower than those in the cells infected with the parent virus. One of the weakly expressed proteins was identified as ICP4, which is a major regulatory protein encoded by an immediate early gene of EHV-1. A real-time PCR analysis showed that the mRNA expression of ICP4 wa...
Deng L, Li W, Zhong Z, Liu X, Chai Y, Luo X, Song Y, Wang W, Gong C, Huang X, Hu Y, Fu H, He M, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wu K, Cao S, Peng G.Giardia intestinalis, a cosmopolitan zoonotic parasite, is one of the most common causes of protozoal diarrhea in both humans and animals worldwide. Although G. intestinalis has been detected in many animals, information regarding its prevalence and genotype in Chinese racehorses is scarce. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of G. intestinalis in racehorses and performed molecular characterization of the pathogen to assess its zoonotic potential. Two hundred and sixty-four racehorse fecal samples from six equestrian clubs located in different regions of the Sichuan province o...
Ramos ICDN, Ramos RADN, Lima VFS, Giannelli A, López IYT, Alves LC.The FLOTAC technique represents a highly sensitive method for the isolation of oocysts, eggs, and larvae of parasites in faeces. This assay could be used for detecting free-living stages of nematodes in the pasture but no attempt has been assessed so far. Therefore, the performance of FLOTAC technique for isolating infective larvae of nematodes in the environment was investigated and compared with the spontaneous sedimentation (SST) and centrifugal sedimentation (CST) techniques. The study was conducted in a horse farm located in northeastern Brazil, where the occurrence of strongyle larvae ha...
Nielsen MK, Branan MA, Wiedenheft AM, Digianantonio R, Garber LP, Kopral CA, Phillippi-Taylor AM, Traub-Dargatz JL.The widespread occurrence of anthelmintic resistance in equine parasites across the world has led to recommendations of fecal egg count-based parasite programs to reduce treatment intensity and thereby delay further development of resistance as much as possible. The most recent study describing equine parasite control in the United States was conducted 20 years ago, and little is known about current strategies employed. This study was part of the National Animal Health Monitoring Systems (NAHMS) Equine 2015 Study, and aimed to describe equine parasite control strategies in the U.S. and evalu...
Caldwell M, Hathcock T, Brock KV.In this study, equine source polyclonal anti-Bacillus anthracis immunoglobulins were generated and utilized to demonstrate passive protection of mice in a lethal challenge assay. Four horses were hyper-immunized with B. anthracis Sterne strain for approximately one year. The geometric mean anti-PA titer in the horses at maximal response following immunization was 1:77,936 (Log2 mean titer 16.25, SEM ± 0.25 95% CI [15.5 -17.0]). The geometric mean neutralizing titer at maximal response was 1:128 (Log2 mean titer 7, SEM ± 0.0, 95% CI 7). Treatment with hyper-immune plasma or purified immun...
Fortin JS, Royal AB, Kuroki K.A 21-year-old American Saddlebred mare died with a history of weight loss and breathing difficulties of 1 month duration. Post-mortem examination revealed a copious pleural effusion with multifocal to coalescing numerous white to grey nodular masses on the serosal surface of the pericardium, lungs and thoracic cavity. In addition, the left thyroid gland was markedly enlarged. A thoracic mesothelioma and C-cell adenoma with amyloid deposits of the left thyroid gland were diagnosed by histopathology and confirmed by immunohistochemistry employing antibodies against cytokeratin (CK), vimentin an...
Johnson R, Ramos-Vara J, Vemulapalli R.This report describes the characterization of a Bartonella henselae abortion in an equine fetus by gross, histologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular methods. Bartonella henselae can cause cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, bacillary peliosis, and endocarditis in humans and other animals. The bacterium has been isolated from several mammalian species but only recently from equids; however, it has not been linked to abortion in equids. An aborted equine fetus exhibited necrosis and vasculitis in multiple tissues, with intralesional Gram-negative short-to-spirillar ...
Deng L, Li W, Zhong Z, Liu X, Chai Y, Luo X, Song Y, Wang W, Gong C, Huang X, Hu Y, Fu H, He M, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wu K, Cao S, Peng G.Giardia intestinalis, a cosmopolitan zoonotic parasite, is one of the most common causes of protozoal diarrhea in both humans and animals worldwide. Although G. intestinalis has been detected in many animals, information regarding its prevalence and genotype in Chinese racehorses is scarce. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of G. intestinalis in racehorses and performed molecular characterization of the pathogen to assess its zoonotic potential. Two hundred and sixty-four racehorse fecal samples from six equestrian clubs located in different regions of the Sichuan province o...
Dickie CW, Klinkerman DL, Petrie RJ.Two Quarter Horse foals from different premises died from enterotoxemia. Clostridium perfringens toxins alpha and beta were demonstrated in the foal's intestines by mouse protection tests. Clostridium perfringens type C was isolated from the intestines of each foal. Histologic examination revealed hemorrhage, necrosis, and massive numbers of C perfringens.
Erdman MM, Creekmore LH, Fox PE, Pelzel AM, Porter-Spalding BA, Aalsburg AM, Cox LK, Morningstar-Shaw BR, Crom RL.Contagious equine metritis (CEM) is a highly contagious venereal disease of horses caused by Taylorella equigenitalis. During testing for semen export purposes, a stallion in Kentucky was found to be T. equigenitalis culture positive in December of 2008. This finding triggered an extensive regulatory investigation to search for additional positive horses, determine the extent of the outbreak, identify the potential source of the outbreak, and ultimately return the United States to CEM-free status. The investigation included over 1000 horses located in 48 states. Diagnostic testing found a tota...
Baserisalehi M, Bahador N, Kapadnis BP.A total of 455 domestic animals (cow, horse and camel) and poultry from south of Iran were surveyed for fecal carriage of Campylobacter spp. Out of all collected fecal samples, the highest isolation rate of Campylobacter was recorded among poultry (35%), followed by horse (27%) and cow (21%) while, lowest isolation rate was recorded among camel. Of the 85 Campylobacter strains isolated, 76 were classified as catalase positive Campylobacter. Out of them, high frequency of occurrence was belonged to Campy. jejuni. Furthermore, catalase positive Campylobacter spp. were isolated from all the sourc...
Ambawat HK, Malhotra DV, Kumar S, Dhar S.Equine babesiosis, caused by Babesia equi and transmitted by ticks is of major economic importance in India. The adverse effects which B. equi organism and its metabolites inflict on red blood cells have not been reported. Erythrocytes were analysed for red cell membrane phospholipids, proteins and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and plasma for malondialdehyde (MDA) in B. equi carrier donkeys before splenectomy (50% parasitaemia. Before splenectomy the mean values of membrane protein, phospholipids, plasma MDA and Hb were found to be 1.63 +/- 0.12 mg/ml PCV, 2.28 +/- 0.9 mg/ml PCV, 3.63 +/- 0.3...
Fukuyo M, Battsetseg G, Byambaa B.Sarcocystis infection was detected in 93% of horses in Mongolia. Using the compress method, sarcocysts were found in the muscles of the diaphragm, heart and tongue in 40 of the 43 horses that were slaughtered at the Makh Impex Meat Company in Ulaan Baatar in July 1998. The muscle of the tongue showed the highest rate (97.5%) of infection. The distribution of sarcocysts in the muscles was positively correlated with horse age; the rate of detection was significantly lower (p=0.01) in the under 10 year old group than the older group. All horses were apparently healthy and were slaughtered for hum...
Ul Hasan M, Muhammad G, Gutierrez C, Iqbal Z, Shakoor A, Jabbar A.A cross-sectional study has been carried out in order to determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma evansi infection in susceptible hosts in the Punjab region (Pakistan). A total of 170 equines and 150 dromedary camels were examined. Five (3.3%) and 6 (4%) camels were positive at parasitological and serological examination, respectively. None of the equines tested positive at any method. These results seem to indicate that T. evansi infection has a relatively low prevalence in the Punjab region. However, efforts must be done in order to establish control measures in affected herds and avoid disse...
Collas C, Sallé G, Dumont B, Cabaret J, Cortet J, Martin-Rosset W, Wimel L, Fleurance G.The spread of anthelmintic resistance in equine strongyle nematodes has become a major problem, advocating for the development of alternative control for strongyles. Our study consisted of both in vivo and in vitro experiments. We investigate for the first time the efficacy of a short-term consumption of tannin-rich sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) or extra proteins in naturally infected horses. We used 30 horses allocated into three groups of 10 individuals that received for 18 days either (i) a tannin-rich diet with 70% DM sainfoin pellets (Sd), (ii) a protein-rich diet with 52% DM Italian r...
Suzuki T, Ueda S, Samejima T.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was elaborated for the detection of specific antibody to equine infectious anemia (EIA) antigen. Sera from horses experimentally infected with EIA virus were assayed by ELISA, complement fixation (CF) and immunodiffusion (ID) tests for antibody to EIA antigen. The ELISA technique was found to be much more sensitive than CF and ID tests. In addition, EIA specific antibody could be detected by ELISA at an earlier stage of infection than by CF or ID techniques. The applicability of the technique to diagnosis of EIA is discussed.
Montgomery PC, Dorrington KJ, Rockey JH.Three independent methods have been used
to determine the molecular weights of the heavyand light-polypeptide chain subunits of equine yGab-,
yGc-, and yT-immunoglobulins. Extensively reduced
and alkylated proteins were filtered through standard
columns of Sephadex G-100 or G-200 in 8 M urea405
M propionic acid. Subunit molecular weights were obtained from the linear elution volume, V,, us. logarithm
molecular weight relationship defined for each column
with rabbit yG-globulin heavy and light chains and
horse heart cytochrome c. Molecular weights also were
determined by equilibrium se...
Jonsdottir S, Stefansdottir SB, Kristinarson SB, Svansson V, Bjornsson JM, Runarsdottir A, Wagner B, Marti E, Torsteinsdottir S.Insect bite hypersensitivity is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by bites of Culicoides midges. Sufficient amount of pure, endotoxin-free allergens is a prerequisite for development and monitoring of preventive and therapeutic allergen immunotherapy. Aims of the study were to compare the Culicoides nubeculosus (Cul n) allergens Cul n 3 and Cul n 4, produced in transgenic barley grains with the corresponding E. coli or insect cells expressed proteins for measuring antibody and cytokine responses. Allergen-specific IgG responses were measured by ELISA in sera from twelve horses not expose...
Stack JD, Cousty M, Steele E, Handel I, Lechartier A, Vinardell T, David F.Synovial fluid analysis is utilized to diagnose septic synovitis. However, not all cases are clearly and rapidly discernible with the diagnostic tools available in the laboratory. Serum amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein, has been shown to be elevated in synovial fluid from inflamed synovial structures. The goal of this study is to describe the correlation between two diagnostic tests measuring equine SAA levels in septic and non-septic synovial structures and to understand the correlation between an elevated SAA result and synovial sepsis. Prospective estimation of sensitivity (Se) and s...
Wagner GE, Berner A, Lipp M, Kohler C, Assig K, Lichtenegger S, Saqib M, Müller E, Trinh TT, Gad AM, Söffing HH, Ehricht R, Laroucau K, Steinmetz I.Burkholderia mallei, the causative agent of glanders, is a clonal descendant of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, which has lost its environmental reservoir and has a restricted host range. Despite limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity, complement fixation is still the official diagnostic test for glanders. Therefore, new tools are needed for diagnostics and to study the B. mallei epidemiology. We recently developed a highly sensitive serodiagnostic microarray test for human melioidosis based on the multiplex detection of B. pseudomallei proteins. In ...
Masri MD, Merritt AM, Gronwall R, Burrows CF.Developmental changes of the gastrointestinal tract were probably responsible for the changes in faecal composition during the first week of the foals' life, which resembled small intestinal ingesta of adult horses, suggesting a minimal colonic modification. Faecal composition at the time of foal heat diarrhoea was suggestive of a secretory-type diarrhoea, in that the electrolyte concentration accounted for most of faecal osmolality and the faecal pH was alkaline. After foal heat diarrhoea faecal composition slowly approached that of adult horses. These data suggest that foal heat diarrhoea is...
Step DL, Blue JT, Dill SG.Acute, severe hemolytic anemia occurred in a horse being treated for tetanus with intravenous penicillin and tetanus antitoxin. During treatment, the horse developed a positive direct antiglobulin test and a high titer (maximum 1:1024) of IgG anti-penicillin antibody. The horse recovered from the tetanus and penicillin induced hemolytic anemia, but later developed acute hepatic failure, probably resulting from the administration of equine origin tetanus antitoxin.
Kheyar A, Martin S, St-Laurent G, Timoney PJ, McCollum WH, Archambault D.To provide a convenient and sensitive method for the detection of equine arteritis virus (EAV)-specific serum antibodies, we developed an immunoblot assay employing the EAV nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) proteins expressed in a procaryotic expression vector (pMAL-c2) for the production of recombinant maltose-binding (MBP) fusion proteins (MBP-N and MBP-M). The antigenic reactivity of the recombinant fusion proteins and their Xa factor cleavage EAV products was confirmed by immunoblot using horse antisera to EAV. Some horse sera, however, showed immune reactivity to the MBP fusion partner pr...
Tyler CM, Davis RE, Begg AP, Hutchins DR, Hodgson DR.Case records of 450 horses with signs of neurological disease are reviewed. One hundred and nineteen horses with neurological disease due to trauma were examined, of which 60 were due to spinal cord trauma, 47 to brain or cranial nerve trauma and 12 to peripheral nerve trauma. Cervical vertebral fractures/trauma were the most common injury. Basisphenoid/basioccipital bone fractures were the most common form of cranial trauma and facial nerve paralysis the most common cranial nerve injury. Eighty-nine horses with neurological disease due to malformation were examined. Cervical vertebral malform...
Williamson RM, Gasser RB, Middleton D, Beveridge I.The intestinal tracts of 130 horses were examined for infection with Anoplocephala perfoliata at necropsy. Fifty horses (38.5%) harboured the tapeworm, and the site of attachment of each worm was recorded using predetermined anatomical landmarks. The worms were attached in four regions of the gastrointestinal tract: 17% of the worms were found at the ileocaecal junction, 81% on the caecal wall, 1.7% in the terminal ileum and 0.2% in the ventral colon. The severity of lesions produced at the sites of attachment was related to the number of worms attached. Due to the small area of the ileocaecal...
Overbeck W, Jäger K, Schoon HA, Witte TS.Endometritis constitutes a major problem in managing broodmares. The histological occurrence of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in the stratum compactum of the endometrium is accepted as the reference standard to diagnose endometritis in mares. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of PMNs within different sampling locations of the uterus by cytological examinations and to compare it with PMN numbers in endometrial biopsies of the corresponding location. Cytological and endometrial samples were obtained from 37 uteri within 2 ± 1 hours after slaughter through smal...
Miller RI, Campbell RS.Pythiosis (204 cases, 77%), basidiobolomycosis (48 cases, 18%), and conidiobolomycosis (14 cases, 5%) were diagnosed morphologically from 266 horses with phycomycosis. All lesions were cutaneous ulcerative granulomas and three horses with pythiosis had metastatic lesions in regional lymph nodes. Lesions of pythiosis contained characteristic yellow, coral-like coagula and had a fibrotic surface containing sinus tract openings. Basidiobolomycosis was characterized by infrequent small yellow coagula and a yellow line of fungal invasion beneath an edematous surface. Lesions of conidiobolomycosis h...
Szeredi L, Tenk M, Jánosi S, Pálfi V, Hotzel H, Sachse K, Pospischil A, Bozsó M, Glávits R, Molnár T.Cases of equine abortion and perinatal foal losses were investigated in Hungary during a three-year period (1998-2000). Samples from aborted equine fetuses and newborn foals (total n = 96) were examined using bacteriological, virological, pathological, immunohistochemical (IHC), molecular biological and serological methods. The cause of abortion and perinatal foal loss was identified in 67/96 cases (70%); viral infection was found in 22 (23%), viral and bacterial coinfection in 1 (1%), bacterial infection in 23 (24%), protozoan infection in 1 (1%) and fungal infection in 2 cases (2%). Morpholo...
Allen PZ, Glode M, Schneerson R, Robbins JB.Hyperimmune horse serum from a single animal (horse 46) immunized with group B (strain B-11) meningococcal vaccine provides a standardized, readily available diagnostic reagent used in primary isolation medium and for serogrouping of meningococci. Identification of the heavy-chain isotypes of specific anticapsular polysaccharide and anti-lipopolysaccharide isolated from horse 46 serum revealed a differential distribution in the occurrence of immunoglobulin classes. Meningococcal anticapsular antibodies of horse 46 serum were restricted predominately to the immunoglobulin M (IgM) class, with on...
Ehrich M, Perry BD, Troutt HF, Dellers RW, Magnusson RA.Fecal specimens from horses in Montgomery County, Md, and in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, Va, were examined for Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin and for C difficile cytotoxin (92 and 108 specimens, respectively). The toxins were found in feces from horses that had experienced an acute diarrhea syndrome and from clinically normal horses. The toxins did not appear to be primary determinants of the diarrhea syndrome, although they may have contributed to the spectrum of clinical entities observed.