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.
Leptospiral antibodies in serum from cattle, swine, horses, deer, sheep, and goats: 1973 and 1974. During 2 years (fiscal years 1973 and 1974), microscopic agglutination tests were performed on 12,565 serums from cattle, swine, horses, deer, sheep, and goats for the detection of leptospiral antibodies. The most frequent presumptive infecting serogroups were Hebdomadis, Pomona, Autumnalis, Ballum, Australis, and Canicola.
Laboratory studies of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus in equines, Texas, 1971. During the summer and fall of 1971, epizootic and epidemic Venezuelan equine encephalitis was detected in Texas. Isolates of epizootic (IB) and vaccine (TC-83) strains were distinguished by virulence of the former for guinea pigs. Vaccine virus was isolated from 1 to 14 days after vaccination and neutralization tests demonstrated the appearance of antibody about a week after vaccination. Viremia titers of subtype IB in horses ranged from 2.2 to 8.3 log10 suckling mouse intracranial 50% lethal doses per ml. Of 101 equines from which Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (IB or TC-83) strains wer...
Studies in atypical Streptococcus equi. An atypical variety of Streptococcus equi is described. It was shown to be deficient in capsular material, to be very virulent for mice and to possess a cell-wall protein similar to the M-like protein of classical Str equi. Antiserum prepared against classical Str equi effectively opsonised the atypical strains, and induced the formation of long chains by these atypical strains. It is possible that this variant of Str equi can be used to overcome many of the current problems associated with the manufacture and use of strangles vaccines.
Investigation of equine infectious anaemia in Queensland using gel diffusion. An antigen for the gel diffusion test for equine infectious anaemia (EIA) was prepared from the spleen of a horse experimentally infected with the CQ strain of the virus. The antigen produced a single, distinct line of precipitation when tested against a range of known positive serums, and did not react with pre-inoculation and known negative serums. Extracts prepared from uninfected spleens displayed no reaction when similarly tested. Serum from 34 of 451 Queensland horses contained detectable levels of antibody to EIA virus. The positive serums were from horses in widely separated areas of t...
Studies on the epidemiology of Strongylus vulgaris infection of the horse. Studies on the epidemiology of Strongylus vulgaris infection of the
horse. International Journalfor Parasitology 5: 423426. Observations are reported on the size and age
structure of Stronglyus vulguris populations recovered from the anterior mesenteric artery and its
main branches of horses slaughtered at regular intervals throughout a year. Marked seasonal variations were found in the mean monthly numbers of worms present. During spring/early summer the
numbers were relatively low and a large proportion of the arteries had no worms in them at all.
Thereafter, the arterial worm burdens q...
[Dry erythrocytic diagnostic agent for the determination of antiglobulins]. Dry erythrocytic diagnostic agents were obtained under experimental conditions for determination of antiglobulins forming in the organism of man and animals under the effect of serum preparations from the blood of horses and homologoum immunoglobulins. A study was made of the sera of 100 patients with tick-borne encephalitis treated with heterologous and homologous immunoglobulins of directed action; in response to the administration of horse gamma-globulin antiglobulins (in titres below 1 : 10000) appeared in the serum; they circulated in the blood for long periods and inhibited the accumulat...
Isolation of equine herpesvirus type 1 from a horse with an acute paralytic disease. A Standardbred mare became paralyzed shortly after showing signs of an upper respiratory infection. The mare was euthanized and equine herpesvirus type 1 was isolated from the brain and spinal cord.
Adenoviral pneumonia in a foal. A three-week-old Arabian filly was admitted to the Large Animal Hospital with a respiratory disorder and died despite symptomatic treatment. The necropsy lesions were suggestive of viral pneumonia. An equine adenovirus were isolated from nasal and pharyngeal swabs and from several tissues after death. Typical adenovirus virions were demonstrated by electron microscopy.
Some serological reactions to “brucella” antigen in the horse. Seventy-three samples of serum, from 69 horses and one zebra, were subjected to the Rose Bengal Plate, serum tube agglutination, complement fixation, and anti-equine globulin (Coombs') tests for brucellosis. Fifty-one of the samples, from 48 horses, were submitted by practising veterinary surgeons; of these, 22 samples were associated with clinical conditions which might have been due to brucellosis. Fourteen samples were from healthy horses known to have been in contact with infected cattle, and six were from horses which were known not to have been exposed to brucellosis. More reactions at a...
Onchocerca cervicalis infection in horses from the western United States. In a study of Onchocerca cervicalis infection in a sample of 100 horses from the western United States, 48 were infected. Infection was more common in older horses and occurred in both sexes equally. Data about the distribution and the concentration of microfilariae within the skin are presented. The only cutaneous pathologic change that could be attributed to microfilariae was minimal perivascular inflammatory cell infiltrate. Invasion of the eye with microfilariae occurred in 60 percent of the infected horses. An attempt was not made to relate microfilarial invasion of the eye with ocular pa...
Sequelae of Venezuelan equine encephalitis in humans: a four year follow-up. The purpose of this study was the identification of possible sequelae of the infection of human individuals with Virus of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE). Special emphasis was laid on exploring neurological, psychological and behavioural aspects and particularly on the search for a possible association of the disease with epileptic phenomena, brain damage and/or mental deficiency. A four-year period of observation was conducted on a sample of children from El Carmelo (Colombia) where an epidemic of VEE took place in 1967. A group of seven children who presented the encephalitic type of th...