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Topic:Infectious Disease
Infectious diseases in horses encompass a range of illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. These diseases can affect various systems within the equine body, leading to symptoms that range from mild discomfort to severe systemic illness. Common infectious diseases in horses include equine influenza, strangles, equine herpesvirus, and West Nile virus. These diseases can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals, contaminated surfaces, or vectors such as insects. Understanding the mechanisms of transmission, pathogenesis, and immune response is essential for effective prevention and control. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and management of infectious diseases in horses.
New assays to measure equine influenza virus-specific Type 1 immunity in horses. Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a leading cause of respiratory disease in horses. Equine influenza infection induces a long-term immunity to re-infection. Recent strategies of vaccination aim to mimic this immunity by stimulating both antibody and cellular immune responses. Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) to influenza is well defined in man, but little has been done to characterise the responses in the horse. Additionally, the development of reliable assays for the measurement of equine CMI has lagged behind serological methods and vaccine development. In this study, two methods of measuring EIV-...
Gag genetic heterogeneity of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) in naturally infected horses in Canada. Gag genetic heterogeneity of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) variants in naturally infected horses in Canada was studied since very limited information is available on the variability of EIAV Gag sequences in public database. A phylogenetic analysis based on 414nts of Gag gene sequences amplified by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed the distinct divergence of these variants compared to other published strains in a corresponding region. Significant predicted amino acid sequence variations were also identified in an immunorelevant region within this fragment which correspon...
Acute in vivo interactions of Helicobacter equorum with its equine host. A novel urease-negative Helicobacter species has been isolated from faecal samples of clinically healthy horses, but no information is available about the main sites of colonisation in the equine gastrointestinal tract nor is the pathogenic potential of this microorganism known. An experimental infection in horses was therefore carried out. Methods: Four horses were infected with H. equorum strain CCUG 52199T and subjected to euthanasia at 10 (n = 2) and 30 days (n = 2) post inoculation. A fifth animal was inoculated with phosphate buffered saline and used as control. Gastrointestinal samples ...
Phylogeny of trichostome ciliates (Ciliophora, Litostomatea) endosymbiotic in the Yakut horse (Equus caballus). Ciliates of the subclass Trichostomatia inhabit the fermentative regions of the digestive tract of herbivores. Most available small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSrRNA) gene sequences of trichostomes are from species isolated from the rumen of cattle or sheep and from marsupials. No ciliate species endosymbiotic in horses has yet been analyzed. We have sequenced the SSrRNA genes of five ciliate species, isolated from the cecum and colon of four Yakut horses: Cycloposthium edentatum, Cycloposthium ishikawai, Tripalmaria dogieli, Cochliatoxum periachtum, and Paraisotricha colpoidea. Based on their mor...
Humoral immune responses in the horse after intrathecal challenge with ovalbumin. Diagnosis of neuro-inflammatory conditions in the horse can be challenging. Current methods include evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for inflammation and determination of specific antibody status. The antibody index (AI) and Goldman-Witmer coefficient (C-value) can be used to aid in the interpretation. Objective: The null hypothesis to be tested was that the Al and C-values do not change in horses with neuroinflammation. Methods: Twelve horses of various ages (3-17 years) and breeds (Thoroughbred, Thoroughbred cross, draft, and Arabian) were included in the study. Methods: The study was...
Systematic epitope analysis of the p26 EIAV core protein. The major core protein of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), p26, is one of the primary immunogenic structural proteins during a persistent infection of horses and is highly conserved among antigenically variants of viral isolates. In order to investigate its immune profile in more detail for a better diagnostic, an epitope mapping was carried out by means of two libraries of overlapping peptide fragments prepared by simultaneous and parallel SPPS on derivatized cellulose membranes (SPOT synthesis). Polyclonal equine sera from infected horses were used for the biological assay. Particularl...
Accuracy of an indirect fluorescent-antibody test and of a complement-fixation test for the diagnosis of Babesia caballi in field samples from horses. We evaluated the indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) test and complement-fixation (CF) test for diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis in the absence of a gold standard. Using Evan's blue, we estimated the specificity of the IFA test on a parasite-free, field horse population to be 98% (95% confidence interval=97, 99). We observed an excellent test agreement (kappa=0.83) between two collaborating laboratories when the IFA test was performed on identical samples from an endemic area. Using Bayesian analysis with informative prior probability distributions, we estimated the sensitivity of the IFA tes...
Sequence analysis of the equid herpesvirus 2 chemokine receptor homologues E1, ORF74 and E6 demonstrates high sequence divergence between field isolates. Equid herpesvirus 2 (EHV-2), in common with other members of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae, encodes homologues of cellular seven-transmembrane receptors (7TMR), namely open reading frames (ORFs) E1, 74 and E6, which each show some similarity to cellular chemokine receptors. Whereas ORF74 and E6 are members of gammaherpesvirus-conserved 7TMR gene families, E1 is currently unique to EHV-2. To investigate their genetic variability, EHV-2 7TMRs from a panel of equine gammaherpesvirus isolates were sequenced. A region of gB was sequenced to provide comparative sequence data. Phylogenetic analysi...
The diversity of coliphages and coliforms in horse feces reveals a complex pattern of ecological interactions. The diversity of coliphages and indigenous coliform strains (ICSs) simultaneously present in horse feces was investigated by culture-based and molecular methods. The richness of coliforms (as estimated by the Chao1 method) is about 1,000 individual ICSs distinguishable by genomic fingerprinting present in a single sample of feces. This unexpectedly high value indicates that some factor limits the competition of coliform bacteria in the horse gut microbial system. In contrast, the diversity of phages active against any selected ICS is generally limited to one to three viral genotypes present in...
Pro-inflammatory and antiviral cytokine expression in vaccinated and unvaccinated horses exposed to equine influenza virus. Most studies of the cytokine response to influenza virus infection have been carried out in human, porcine and murine models, however the data available on equine cytokines is limited. An experimental challenge study was undertaken in unvaccinated naïve horses and horses vaccinated with a commercial inactivated influenza vaccine. The humoral antibody response to vaccination and virus challenge was measured by single radial haemolysis (SRH) assay and clinical signs of influenza and viral shedding were monitored post-challenge. Levels of three equine pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-...
Experimental Rhodococcus equi and equine infectious anemia virus DNA vaccination in adult and neonatal horses: effect of IL-12, dose, and route. Improving the ability of DNA-based vaccines to induce potent Type1/Th1 responses against intracellular pathogens in large outbred species is essential. Rhodoccocus equi and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) are two naturally occurring equine pathogens that also serve as important large animal models of neonatal immunity and lentiviral immune control. Neonates present a unique challenge for immunization due to their diminished immunologic capabilities and apparent Th2 bias. In an effort to augment R. equi- and EIAV-specific Th1 responses induced by DNA vaccination, we hypothesized that a du...
Detection and semi-quantification of Strongylus vulgaris DNA in equine faeces by real-time quantitative PCR. Strongylus vulgaris is an important strongyle nematode with high pathogenic potential infecting horses world-wide. Several decades of intensive anthelmintic use has virtually eliminated clinical disease caused by S. vulgaris, but has also caused high levels of anthelmintic resistance in equine small strongyle (cyathostomin) nematodes. Recommendations aimed at limiting the development of anthelmintic resistance by reducing treatment intensity raises a simultaneous demand for reliable and accurate diagnostic tools for detecting important parasitic pathogens. Presently, the only means available t...
Delivery of health and husbandry improvements to working animals in Africa. Problems have been identified in the delivery of extension messages about the maintenance of healthy and well-fed working animals. The different factors that need to be considered in developing effective disease control and prevention programmes for working oxen and equids including vector-borne diseases, helminth disease, and vaccination programmes have been reported and discussed and experiences in improving husbandry including footcare, harness, and worm management reported. Most draught animals are owned by people who lack the financial means to pay for or to access the information needed ...
Lentzea kentuckyensis sp. nov., of equine origin. A novel actinomycete, designated strain LDDC 2876-05(T), was isolated from an equine placenta during the course of routine diagnostic tests for nocardioform placentitis. In a preliminary study, the strain was observed to be phylogenetically distinct from the genera Crossiella and Amycolatopsis and probably a member of the genus Lentzea. A polyphasic study of strain LDDC 2876-05(T) confirmed its identification as a member of Lentzea on the basis of its chemotaxonomic and morphological similarity to all of the known species of the genus. Moreover, the strain could be distinguished from other spe...
Comparative efficacies of three commercially available vaccines against West Nile Virus (WNV) in a short-duration challenge trial involving an equine WNV encephalitis model. We used a severe challenge model that produces clinical West Nile virus (WNV) disease to test the efficacy of three commercially available equine WNV vaccines in horses. Twenty-four healthy, WNV-seronegative horses of varying ages and genders were placed, in random and blind manner, into three trial groups consisting of eight horses each; two horses in each group received (i) an inactivated WNV vaccine (K-WN), (ii) a modified-live vaccine (CP-WN) containing the WNV prM and E proteins expressed by a canarypox vector, (iii) a live-chimera vaccine (WN-FV) containing WNV prM and E proteins express...
Genetic variation and phylogenetic analysis of 22 French isolates of equine arteritis virus. Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships among 22 French isolates of equine arteritis virus (EAV) obtained over four breeding seasons (2001-2004) were determined by sequencing open reading frames (ORFs) 2a-7. The ORFs 2a-7 of 22 isolates differed from the prototype virulent Bucyrus strain of EAV by between 14 (99.5% identity) and 328 (88.7% identity) nucleotides, and differed from each other by between 0 (100% identity) and 346 (88.1% identity) nucleotides, confirming genetic diversity among EAV strains circulating in France. Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial ORF5 sequences (n...
An investigation of equine infectious anaemia infection in the central Anatolia region of Turkey. In this study, 162 horses, 80 donkeys and 51 mule serum samples were collected in Konya city. Additionally, 64 horse serum samples from Ankara and 49 samples from Kayseri city were included in the study. A total of 406 serum samples were examined by agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for antibody to equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) and no positive result was detected.
VanA-type vancomycin-resistant enterococci in equine and swine rectal swabs and in human clinical samples. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in healthy people and in food-producing animals seems to be quite common in Europe. The existence of this community reservoir of VRE has been associated with the massive use of avoparcin in animal husbandry. Eight years after the avoparcin ban in Europe, we investigated the incidence of VanA enterococci, their resistance patterns, and the mobility of their glycopeptide-resistance determinants in a sampling of animal rectal swabs and clinical specimens. A total of 259 enterococci isolated from equine, swine, and clinical samples were subcultured on KF-stre...
[Role of IgE-dependent reactions in atopic dermatitis]. Atopic dermatitis is a disease of multifactorial pathogenesis. Objective: of the study was to establish the most common allergens responsible for development of atopic symptoms in children with atopic dermatitis. Methods: the study complied 36 children aged 4 months - 3 years treated in the Department of Children Allergology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition because of atopic dermatitis. With each case the patient and family history of atopy was collected and basic laboratory tests were conducted (including total IgE and specific IgE using Polly Check system). Results: eosinophilia was found in ...
Validation of the indirect fluorescent antibody and the complement fixation tests for the diagnosis of Theileria equi. The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test for Theileria equi was evaluated to assess test's suitability for the serological diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis, to provide performance parameters for the purpose of test validation, and to compare it with the complement fixation (CF) test. Using a protocol that included Evan's blue, the specificity of the IFA test was estimated at 99.0% for T. equi by the classical method of analysis, and 96.6% by the Bayesian method. The use of Evan's blue in the test protocol increased test specificity and contributed to an excellent test agreement between tw...
Evidence-based immunization in horses. Evidence of vaccine efficacy is essential for practitioners when giving advice to clients about the relative merits of different vaccines or when trying to evaluate the economic benefits of instituting a vaccine program. In equine veterinary medicine, this sort of data, which are necessary to make informed decisions about vaccine use and effectiveness, are often not available. Veterinarians need to consider the epidemiology of the disease in question, the type of vaccine that they are administering to the animal, the immunologic constraints of the vaccine technology, and the available evidence...
Establishment of a panel of reference Trypanosoma evansi and Trypanosoma equiperdum strains for drug screening. The animal pathogenic protozoan, Trypanosoma evansi, leads to a wasting disease in equines, cattle and camels, commonly known as Surra. It is extensively distributed geographically with a wide range of mammalian hosts and causes great economical loss. Trypanosoma equiperdum causes a venereal disease called Dourine in horses and donkeys. Chemotherapy appears to be the most effective form of control for T. evansi, whereas infections caused by T. equiperdum are considered incurable. Due to emerging drug resistance, efficient control of T. evansi is severely threatened, emphasising the urgent need...
