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.
To investigate predictors of survival and athletic function in adult horses with infection of a synovial structure. Objective: Increasing duration from contamination to referral, bone or tendon involvement and positive microbial culture decreases short-term survival. Synovitis and/or sepsis at 5 days post-admission and involvement of Staphylococcus spp. decreases long-term athletic function. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Records over 4 years of adult horses with synovial sepsis were reviewed. A two-tailed Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test or t-test was used to examine whether v...
The primer set for 16S rDNA amplified an amplicon of about 1500 bp in length for three strains of Taylorella equigenitalis (NCTC11184(T), Kentucky188 and EQ59). Sequence differences of the 16S rDNA among the six sequences, including three reference sequences, occurred at only a few nucleotide positions and thus, an extremely high sequence similarity of the 16S rDNA was first demonstrated among the six sequences. In addition, the primer set for 16S-23S rDNA internal spacer region (ISR) amplified two amplicons about 1300 bp and 1200 bp in length for the three strains. The ISRs were estimated to ...
A 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was examined because of clinical signs of pneumonia and shock. Mucous membrane petechiation and ventral edema were observed and considered to be a result of vasculitis. Epidermal necrosis developed on the distal portions of the limbs. The horse had a persistent high fever that was unresponsive to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory treatment, and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from a nasal swab specimen and 2 transtracheal wash fluid samples. Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and supportive treatment resulted in clinical improvement. However, resolution of the ...
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...
Uprety T, Soni S, Sreenivasan C, Hause BM, Naveed A, Ni S, Graves AJ, Morrow JK, Meade N, Mellits KH, Adam E, Kennedy MA, Wang D, Li F.Equine rotavirus species A (ERVA) G3P[12] and G14P[12] are two dominant genotypes that cause foal diarrhoea with a significant economic impact on the global equine industry. ERVA can also serve as a source of novel (equine-like) rotavirus species A (RVA) reassortants with zoonotic potential as those identified previously in 2013-2019 when equine G3-like RVA was responsible for worldwide outbreaks of severe gastroenteritis and hospitalizations in children. One hurdle to ERVA research is that the standard cell culture system optimized for human rotavirus replication is not efficient for isolatin...
Arroyo LG, Gomez DE, Moore A, Papapetrou M, Lillie BN.Our objective was to determine whether equine herpesviruses 1 (EHV-1) viral nucleic acids could be detected immediately after foaling from nasal and vaginal swabs, whole blood, and placental tissue of healthy mares. Unassigned: Nasal and vaginal swabs, EDTA blood, and placental tissue (296 samples) were collected from 74 clinically healthy postpartum broodmares within 24 h after giving birth to live, clinically healthy foals. All samples were tested (PCR) for nucleic acids of neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic strains of EHV-1, and all were negative. Unassigned: As EHV-1 was not detected ...
Olguin-Perglione C, Politzki R, Alvarez I, Ruiz V.The novel Equine Parvovirus-Hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first identified in the serum and liver of a horse that died of equine serum hepatitis, also known as Theiler's disease. Several reports in recent years strongly suggest that EqPV-H is the etiologic agent of Theiler's disease. Brazil is the only South American country where infection with this virus has been reported. This study investigated the presence of EqPV-H DNA in horse serum pools (n=51), commercial horse serum batches (n=5) and individual serum samples from donor horses (n=175) from Argentina. All serum samples were analyzed by quanti...
Lale D, Dirks EE, Preining I, Lyrakis M, Gömer A, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JV, Ramsauer AS.Equine parvovirus hepatitis (EqPV-H) can cause Theiler's disease and subclinical hepatitis in horses. Objective: Assess the frequency of subclinical EqPV-H infection in hospitalized horses and to study viral transmission by investigating potential shedding routes. Methods: One hundred sixteen equids, that presented to the University Equine Hospital of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna between February 2021 and March 2022, for causes other than hepatopathy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, samples (serum, feces, nasal, and buccal swabs) of hospitalized horses were collected. S...
Ding J, Wang Y, Liang J, He Z, Zhai C, He Y, Xu J, Lei L, Mu J, Zheng M, Liu B, Shi M.Equine influenza (EI) is a severe infectious disease that causes huge economic losses to the horse industry. Spatial epidemiology technology can explore the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and occurrence risks of infectious diseases, it has played an important role in the prevention and control of major infectious diseases in humans and animals. For the first time, this study conducted a systematic analysis of the spatiotemporal distribution of EI using SaTScan software and investigated the important environmental variables and suitable areas for EI occurrence using the Maxent mode...
Getahun YA, Tsalke BS, Buzuneh AW, Mejo MM, Habtewold WT.Equines are indispensable in reducing the huge burden on children and women and income generation. On the other hand, minimal attention is given to improving their health and welfare. Objective: This study examined the prevalence and associated risk factors of helminth parasites of equine in the Gamo Gofa Zone. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed from June 2019 to March 2020. The study districts and were selected purposively based on agroecology whereas selection of study households and animals were performed based on simple random sampling techniques. Identification of nematode, tr...
Soliman R, Yousef M, Gelil SA, Aboul-Ella H.Strangles is a highly contagious disease of the equine upper respiratory tract caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies. Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) was isolated, as local, hot, and field strains, from horses clinically suffering from respiratory distress. The isolated Streptococci were identified using bacteriological and molecular techniques. Four formulations of inactivated S. equi vaccines were developed and evaluated. The first formulation was prepared using the S. equi isolates, adjuvanted with MONTANIDE GEL adjuv...
Hassanien RT, Thieulent CJ, Carossino M, Li G, Balasuriya UBR.(1) Background: equid alphaherpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a highly contagious viral pathogen prevalent in most horse populations worldwide. Genome-editing technologies such as CRISPR/Cas9 have become powerful tools for precise RNA-guided genome modifications; (2) Methods: we designed single guide RNAs (sgRNA) to target three essential (ORF30, ORF31, and ORF7) and one non-essential (ORF74) EHV-1 genes and determine their effect on viral replication dynamics ; (3) Results: we demonstrated that sgRNAs targeting essential lytic genes reduced EHV-1 replication, whereas those targeting ORF74 had a negligi...
Cutarelli A, Buonavoglia A, Fusco G, Pellicanò R, Napoletano M, Brandt S, Roperto S.Sarcoids are benign and locally aggressive skin lesions that commonly affect horses and other equid species. Sarcoids are generally considered to be caused by bovine delta-papillomaviruses (δPVs) types 1 and 2 (BPV1 and BPV2, respectively). Moreover, while bovine δPV types 13 and 14 (BPV13 and BPV14, respectively) are also suspected to induce sarcoids, information regarding this possibility and the occurrence of multiple bovine δPV infections in sarcoids is scarce. This study aimed, for the first time, to assess BPV1, BPV2, BPV13, and BPV14 infections and co-infections in equine sarcoid sam...
Bazan L, Argibay HD, Borges-Silva W, Pita Gondim LF, Dos Santos Mattos TA, Santana JO, da Silva EM, Begon M, Khalil H, Costa F, de Oliveira Carneiro I.Toxoplasma gondii is a globally neglected zoonotic parasite, particularly prevalent in socioeconomically vulnerable areas. Various animal species serve as reservoirs for T. gondii across different regions, including domestic cats, livestock, and a variety of wild and synanthropic animals. In urban areas, especially informal settlements, the close coexistence of humans, domestic animals, and wildlife may influence local transmission dynamics. This study evaluated the seroprevalence and associated risk factors for T. gondii infection in domestic and synanthropic animals from two low-income neigh...
Hananeh W, Al Rukibat R, Hammad H, Mukbel R.Leishmaniosis is an endemic parasitic infection in Jordan and the Middle East. Despite the endemicity of leishmaniosis in Jordan and frequently reported humancases, no singleclinical case has been documented in animals throughout the country. This report documents the first two animal Leishmania cases in two different animal species with a current literature review. Cutaneous leishmaniosis was diagnosed in an adult horse that presented with multiple variably sized skin nodules, some of which ulcerated. Visceral leishmaniosis was diagnosed in a stray dog. Cytological, histopathological, and mol...
Pineda V, Calzada JE, Montilla S, Rodríguez I, Howard E, Torres AI, Vasquez V, Reina A, Saldaña A, González K. (CL) is a vector-borne zoonotic disease affecting the skin and mucous membranes of animals and humans. While CL is commonly diagnosed and studied in humans in Panama, limited information exists on its occurrence in domestic animals and their potential role as reservoirs. In this study, samples from twelve domestic animals (ten dogs and two horses) with suspected CL lesions were collected between 2021 and 2025 in endemic regions of Panama and evaluated using multiple diagnostic methods. infection was confirmed in six of them (50%): five dogs and one horse. Three dogs were infected with () , ...
Ribeiro MG, Barbosa AN, Pereira JG, Possebon FS, Pinto JPAN, Portilho FVR, Bello TS, Paz PJL, Arabe Filho MF, Panegossi LC, Reznik AU, Zeferino LO....Rhodococcus equi, a versatile and adapted opportunistic in nature bacterium, infects animals and humans. This soil-borne microorganism widely occurs in farms. Its dissemination occurs by feces from domestic animals (particularly horses, cattle, and pigs). In the last decades, bacterial virulence has been strongly attributed to plasmid-encoded virulence-associated proteins (VAPs). To date, three virulence plasmid types have been recognized: pVAPA, pVAPB, and pVAPN, which are considered host- or livestock-adapted. The pVAPA type is related to equine isolates (horse-type), the pVAPB type is assoc...
Uzal FA, Navarro MA, Asin J, Henderson E.Clostridioides difficile affects humans, and several other animal species, such as horses, pigs, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits. This microorganism has also been isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of healthy individuals of a wide variety of animal species in which its association with disease is not known. Traditionally, in most domestic animal species, C. difficile-infection disease (CDI) was antibiotic-associated, although in the past few years more cases in which no antibiotic association was known have been described. In addition, no antibiotic association has been descr...
Karaushi H, Yoshitake A, Kanazawa Y, Watanabe N, Tokano M, Seki M, Mitsutake K.A 69-year-old woman with hypertension had undergone total arch replacement with an open stent graft 7 years prior. She was referred to our hospital for evaluation after experiencing fever (>38 °C) and cough. Chest radiography revealed a prominent aortic arch, and contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated aortic arch enlargement and peri-graft fluid collection containing air. These findings indicated graft infection and prompted immediate intervention. Blood cultures grew Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus, a zoonotic pathogen associated with horses. Notably, the patient wor...
Basso RM, Cerri FM, Braga PRC, Silva ROS, de Araújo Júnior JP, Oliveira-Filho JP, Pantoja JCF, Ribeiro MG, Arroyo LG, Borges AS.Diarrhea is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in foals. Our hypothesis is that foals with diarrhea have a greater prevalence of ≥2 organisms causing coinfections. We investigated the major microorganisms associated with diarrhea in 200 foals up to 1-y-old (100 diarrheic and 100 non-diarrheic). Fecal samples were analyzed by real-time PCR (rtPCR) for the detection of and toxin genes and , (genotyping for toxin-encoding genes), spp., , , , , , and spp. Rotavirus A and coronavirus were detected using reverse-transcription rtPCR. Fecal bacterial culture was also performed for ...
