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.
Equine rabies is a sporadic but highly fatal zoonotic disease. The disease persists in wildlife populations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and other parts of the world. It remains a threat to all domestic species, including the horse. This article reports recent advances in the molecular virology of the rabies virus and its pathogenesis, and it also reviews the history, clinical signs, diagnostic tests, vaccination protocols, and postexposure management recommendations for the equine species.
Balantidium coli is a ciliated protozoan that inhabits the large intestine of swine, man, rodents, and nonhuman primates. Frequently this organism is associated with enteric diseases in man and nonhuman primates, with rare manifestations of disease in swine and other mammalian species. This report describes a case of B. coli-induced enteric disease in a 15-yr-old, mare, Finnish Horse after an acute onset of colic. Severe hemorrhagic and eosinophilic colitis with intense infiltration of intralesional B. coli-like ciliated protozoan were found histologically.
Vesicular stomatitis is an infrequent yet important vesicular disease of cattle, horses, and swine. Periodic outbreaks of this disease in the United States have caused economic losses in cattle herds because of decreased production, movement restrictions, and trade embargoes. Vesicular stomatitis causes clinical signs indistinguishable from those of foot-and-mouth disease. It is of utmost importance that appropriate samples are collected from clinical cases of vesicular disease in cattle and swine so a rapid laboratory diagnosis can be made.
The goal of this work was the development of suitable (real-time) RT-PCR techniques for fast and sensitive diagnosis of EAV and for molecular-epidemiological characterisation of viral strains, as an alternative to virus isolation. To this purpose two conventional RT-PCR methods and one real-time RT-PCR were adapted to detect the broadest possible spectrum of viral strains. Several dilutions with Bucyrus strain showed a 100-fold higher sensitivity of real-time RT-PCR and heminested RT-PCR compared to simple RT-PCR. Making use of 11 cell culture supernatants of different EAV isolates and 7 semen...
Anoplocephala sp. parasites are among the most frequent tapeworms in equines and are associated with intestinal infections. This survey had the objective to verify Anoplocephala sp. prevalence at Sociedade Hípica Paranaense (SHPr). The animals were treated with ivermectin, which does not have efficacy against Anoplocephala sp.. To determine whether eggs of Anoplocephala sp. were present, a modified centrifugal flotation technique was used and also eggs per gram of faeces (EPG). None of the samples showed Anoplocephala sp. eggs and only 11% of the animals had positive values for EPG. The resul...
The results of integrated human and veterinary surveillance for West Nile virus (WNV) infections in Austria during the transmission seasons 2015 and 2016 are shown. Altogether WNV nucleic acid was detected in 21 humans, horses, wild birds and mosquito pools. In detail: in four human clinical cases [two cases of West Nile fever (WNF) and two cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND)]; eight blood donors [among 145,541 tested donations], of which three remained asymptomatic and five subsequently developed mild WNF; two horses with WNND, of which one recovered and one had to be euthanized; ...
There is a paucity of information regarding the association between common disorders and outcome over time in a large population of ill equine neonates. Objective: To describe the relative frequency of neonatal disorders in a large population of foals admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, to determine the disorders and factors associated with nonsurvival and determine if the outcome of ill neonatal foals has improved over time. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Cases were selected from equine neonatal (≤14 days of age) admissions between 1982 and 2008. Multivariable logistic regre...
Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory and reproductive disease of equids. There has been significant recent progress in understanding the molecular biology of EAV and the pathogenesis of its infection in horses. In particular, the use of contemporary genomic techniques, along with the development and reverse genetic manipulation of infectious cDNA clones of several strains of EAV, has generated significant novel information regarding the basic molecular biology of the virus. Therefore, the objective of this review is to summarize cur...
To determine risk factors for Clostridium piliforme infection in neonatal foals on a Thoroughbred breeding farm in California. Methods: Case-control and retrospective cohort studies. Methods: 322 neonatal Thoroughbred foals either born on the study farm or born elsewhere but traveled to the farm with their dam during the 1998, 1999, and 2000 breeding seasons. Methods: Mare and foal records from 1998, 1999, and 2000 were examined, using case-control design methods to determine variables associated with increased risk of C. piliforme infection in foals. Important risk factors identified in the c...
A clinical evaluation of a new, purified, heat-treated equine rabies immunoglobulin (PHT-Erig), F(ab')2 preparation, was carried out in Thailand and in the Philippines-two countries where rabies is endemic. An initial prospective, randomised, controlled trial (Study 1), compared the safety and pharmacokinetics (serum concentrations of rabies antibodies) after administration either of PHT-Erig or of a commercially-available, equine rabies immune globulin (Erig PMC). A second trial (Study 2) simulated post-exposure rabies prophylaxis by using a reference cell culture vaccine, the purified Vero-c...
Chatanga E, Ahedor B, Atabek B, Kainga H, Kapalamula T, Razemba T, Nakao R, Nonaka N, Sivakumar T, Yokoyama N.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi, and Babesia caballi in equids, such as horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of T. equi and B. caballi is vital for EP management. The present study surveyed T. equi and B. caballi infections in donkeys and horses in Malawi. Blood samples were collected from 185 equines, including 178 donkeys in Lilongwe (n = 136) and Dedza (n = 42) districts, and seven horses in Lilongwe district. The blood samples were used to measure hematocrit values and prepare ...
Ganbaatar O, Batbaatar V, Kimura T, Ganzorig S, Tseren-Ochir EO, Suzuki Y, Takai S.ELISA antibody titers against Rhodococcus equi strain ATCC 6939 were measured in serum samples collected from 644 horses aged 1-21 years at 13 provinces and the capital of Mongolia, of which 631 (98%) samples showed values of approximately zero. The mean antibody titers in the 14 areas ranged from -0.08 to -0.01. Nine samples (1.4%) exhibited titers of 0.1-0.2, and surprisingly, four horses (0.6%) each aged 2, 5, 8, and 9 years demonstrated positive values in the range of 0.3-0.8. Considering the age resistance characteristic of this disease, the positive horses were hypothesized to exhibit no...
Johnson A, Karam B, Schroeder O, McKaig L, Loesch K.A 12-month-old miniature horse filly was presented because of laminitis, suspected lymphangitis, and pyrexia. Although the filly's initial physical examination and diagnostic tests suggested an infectious etiology, ultrasonographic findings were suspicious for generalized steatitis. This was confirmed histopathology. The filly experienced full recovery with continued resolution of clinical signs at 18 mo after presentation. This case included aspects similar to those of previously reported clinical presentations, as well as long-term follow-up in a breed that is not overrepresented, providing...
Cooper CJ, Arroyo LG, Hammermueller JD, Botts MM, Pearl DL, Wootton SK, Lillie BN.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is ubiquitous in the horse population, but prevalence estimates have ranged from 3 to 88% depending on the population and method of sampling. No prevalence studies have been carried out in Ontario, Canada. The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of EHV-1 shedding in healthy broodmares in Ontario. A total of 381 mares from 42 farms in Ontario were sampled, including pregnant and barren broodmares. Samples were collected from the nose, vagina, and blood of each mare up to 6 times from December 2016 through October 2017 using a cross-sectional study ...
Sjolin E, Espinosa D, Arroyo L, Kenney D, Lack A, Baird J.Listeriosis is caused by , a Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, intracellular rod bacterium that can infect a wide variety of species. Listeriosis occurs in a diverse range of domestic and wild animals but is most commonly a disease of ruminants. Clinical signs include meningoencephalitis, typhlocolitis, septic arthritis, and abortions. Listeriosis in horses has been reported in several countries but is an uncommon diagnosis. This report describes clinical, bacteriological, histopathological, and immunohistochemical findings in 6 foals with neonatal septicemia from which was isolated. Key ...
Planes P, Arsenault J, Allano M, Sauvé F.Biosecurity measures are recommended in stables housing meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-positive horses, but their feasibility and acceptability, as well as their implementation barriers, remain unclear. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among clients of a veterinary teaching hospital using an online questionnaire. Information on horse activities, stable characteristics and perceptions (feasibility and acceptability scores) of recommended biosecurity measures for MRSA-positive horses was collected. Results: Fifty-seven horse and/or stable owners completed the que...
Almaqhawi AA, El-Jalii IM, Al-Sabi MNS, Al-Ali A, Khalid AM, Abduljawad M, Shawaf T.Equine babesiosis is a widespread protozoan disease in Saudi Arabia. The most common finding of clinical babesiosis is splenomegaly, which can be detected using non-invasive splenic ultrasonography. Unassigned: This study aimed to investigate changes in the spleen size in horses infected with babesiosis using ultrasonography before and after treatment. Unassigned: This study employed 15 male and female Arabian horses. Each animal was examined clinically for clinical signs, and blood samples were collected in plain tubes to detect antibodies against . The spleens of healthy and affected horses ...
Motta D, Aymée L, Roussouliéres I, Di Azevedo MIN, Jacob JCF, Lilenbaum W.Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Equine genital leptospirosis (EGL) has been described as a chronic and silent syndrome, presenting reproductive alterations such as abortion, stillbirth, placentitis, embryonic loss, repeat breeding syndrome, and subfertility. This study aimed to investigate the genital Leptospira infection in naturally infected mares with poor reproductive performance, as well as to genetically characterize the agents. A total of 41 mares with a history of poor reproductive performance were selected. Sera were collected for ser...
Healy SR, Yaffy D, Miller HG.Setaria equina is a species of filarial nematode parasite transmitted by mosquitoes, which infects horses and other equids. Adult worms reside in the abdominal cavity with apparently little pathogenic significance, but larvae can migrate to other regions of the body with resulting clinical disease. Cases in the UK are rare, with the last published report in 2001. A recent case of S. equina infection was detected in a 13-year-old, UK-resident mare during postmortem examination in Hertfordshire, UK. Adult worms were collected from the abdominal cavity, their DNA extracted and subjected to PCR an...
Cardoso TL, Wozeak DR, Pereira IL, da Silva Ribeiro LD, Rodrigues RO, Hartwig DD.Leptospirosis is a globally distributed zoonosis that affects both humans and animals, with being the main causative agent. In horses, the disease is associated with considerable economic losses. The Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) is the reference test for diagnosis but has limitations, emphasizing the need for effective diagnostic alternatives. In this study, was evaluated the use of a recombinant chimera, composed of ErpY-like and LemA proteins, as an antigen for ELISA-based detection of equine leptospirosis. The chimera was successfully expressed, purified and tested on 915 horse ser...
