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.
Hannant D.This study investigates severe equine asthma (sEA), a significant health risk in horses similar to human asthma, identifying latex found in riding arenas and racetracks as a potential risk factor. […]
Volokhov DV, Gao Y, Davidson MK, Chizhikov VE.We describe two novel species of Acholeplasma sp. strain N93 and Mycoplasma sp. strain LR5794 which were isolated from the nasopharynx of a horse from the United Kingdom and from the oral cavity of a North American raccoon from Canada, respectively. These strains were phenotypically and genetically characterized and compared to other established Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species. Both strains are facultative anaerobes, resistant to penicillin, and produce acid from glucose but do not hydrolyze arginine and urea. Both strains grew well in microaerophilic and anaerobic atmospheric conditions a...
Farahi S, Shishehbor P, Nemati A, Witaliński W.A new mite species, Trachygamasus karuni sp. nov. is described from buffalo, sheep and horse manure at several locations north of Ahvaz city, Khuzestan, Iran. A key to 14 world species of Trachygamasus with described adults is also provided.
Allano M, Grimes C, Boivin R, Smith G, Dumaresq J, Leclere M.A gelding from eastern Canada was presented for cough and exercise intolerance 14 months after it had travelled on Vancouver Island. Cryptococcus gattii pneumonia was diagnosed based on cytology, antigen titers, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The horse was treated with fluconazole for 10 months. Delayed C. gattii infection can occur after travel in an endemic area. Pneumonie à Cryptococcus gattii chez un cheval adulte ayant voyagé dans une région endémique. Un cheval hongre de l’est canadien fut présenté pour de la toux et de l’intolérance à l’exercice 14 mois après avoir ...
Pronost S, Fortier C, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Tapprest J, Foursin M, Saunier B, Pitel PH, Paillot R, Hue ES.(1) Background: Equine hepacivirus (EqHV), also referred to as non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), infects horses-and dogs in some instances-and is closely related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) that has infected up to 3% of the world's human population, causing an epidemic of liver cirrhosis and cancer. EqHV also chronically infects the liver of horses, but does not appear to cause serious liver damages. Previous studies have been looking to identify route(s) of EqHV transmission to and between horses. (2) Methods: In this retrospective study, we sought to evaluate the prevalence of vertical transmis...
Rui P, Zhao F, Yan S, Wang C, Fu Q, Hao J, Zhou X, Zhong H, Tang M, Hui W, Li W, Shi D, Ma Z, Song T.Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the causative agent of acute self-limiting hepatitis in humans in developing countries. Hepatitis E virus RNA was first detected in donkeys in Spain, but little is known about the possible presence of HEV in donkeys in China. Objective: To investigate the prevalence of HEV in donkeys in northern China. Methods: Investigation of the prevalence of HEV in donkeys using serological, molecular and phylogenetic approaches. Methods: A total of 401 donkey serum specimens were tested for serological and molecular detection of HEV via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quan...
Oladunni FS, Horohov DW, Chambers TM.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of the most important and prevalent viral pathogens of horses and a major threat to the equine industry throughout most of the world. EHV-1 primarily causes respiratory disease but viral spread to distant organs enables the development of more severe sequelae; abortion and neurologic disease. The virus can also undergo latency during which viral genes are minimally expressed, and reactivate to produce lytic infection at any time. Recently, there has been a trend of increasing numbers of outbreaks of a devastating form of EHV-1, equine herpesviral myeloenceph...
Xie J, Tong P, Zhang A, Yan Y, Zhang L, Song X, Chen J, Zhai S, Shaya N, Wang D, Su Z, Kuang L.In May 2018, a 8 year old thoroughbred mare died at an equestrian club in Changji, Xinjiang, China. The horse had been imported from the United States in 2013. She became pregnant in December 2016 but, after foaling, gradually lost weight and died in May 2018. This study aim to identify the pathogen, who cause of horse death, using virome. Results: We have identified an Equ1-like virus from the fecal virome of a dead thoroughbred mare in China. Full genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the virus, tentatively named "kirkovirus Cj-7-7", showed that it was closely related to kirkovirus...
Rutkowska DA, Mokoena NB, Tsekoa TL, Dibakwane VS, O'Kennedy MM.African horse sickness (AHS) is a severe arthropod-borne viral disease of equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in susceptible naïve horses. Due to safety concerns with the current live, attenuated AHS vaccine, alternate safe and effective vaccination strategies such as virus-like particles (VLPs) are being investigated. Transient plant-based expression systems are a rapid and highly scalable means of producing such African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VLPs for vaccine purposes. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that transient co-expression of the four AHSV capsid proteins in agroin...
This research article provides an update on equine disease surveillance in the UK, collated from various diagnostic laboratories and veterinary practices, and highlights potential biases in the data due to […]
Rossi TM, Moore A, O'Sullivan TL, Greer AL.Infectious respiratory disease is common in young horses and can impact athletic performance and long-term health. Significant variation in the duration of clinical disease has been observed, even in the absence of secondary complications. The determination of factors associated with disease chronicity may facilitate clinical decision-making and the development of improved biosecurity protocols. Objective: To investigate contact network characteristics, and demographic variables associated with time to clinical recovery from Equine Rhinitis A virus respiratory disease. Methods: Prospective coh...
Imam M, Alrashid B, Patel F, Dowah ASA, Brown N, Millard A, Clokie MRJ, Galyov EE.Phages are the most abundant biological entity on Earth. There are many variants in phage virion sizes, morphology, and genome sizes. Large virion sized phages, with genome sizes greater than 200 kbp have been identified and termed as Jumbo phages. These phages exhibit certain characteristics that have not been reported in phages with smaller genomes. In this work, a jumbo phage named MIJ3 (vB_PaeM_MIJ3) that infects PAO1 was isolated from an equine livery yard in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The genome and biological characteristics of this phage have been investigated. MIJ3 is a Myovirus...
Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Uchida-Fujii E, Nukada T.Here, we describe the complete genome assembly of subsp. strain JP-H-1, collected from an equine abortion case in Japan. JP-H-1 has a 5,491,452-bp circular chromosome and 3 plasmids.
Pringle J, Storm E, Waller A, Riihimäki M.Antibiotic treatment of horses with strangles is reported to impair the development of immunity to subsequent exposure to Streptococcus equi ssp equi (S. equi). However, apart from a single clinical report, evidence-based studies for this hypothesis are lacking. Objective: To determine whether penicillin treatment during clinical strangles influences the development or persistence of seropositivity to S. equi-specific antibodies. Methods: A natural outbreak of strangles with 100% morbidity in 41 unvaccinated mature Icelandic horses. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study of acute clinical s...
Hensel M, Meason-Smith C, Plumlee QD, Myers AN, Coleman MC, Lawhon S, Rodrigues Hoffmann A, Rech RR.Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enterocolitis is an uncommon diagnosis in equine medicine, but is thought to result from mucosal compromise and translocation of enteric fungi. The aetiological agent associated with translocation is often identified based on fungal culture or hyphal features in histological sections. In order to understand better the aetiological agents involved, six horses diagnosed with Salmonella enteritis and concurrent pulmonary mycosis were identified retrospectively through a database search of veterinary teaching hospital records. Samples from these cases were subjected ...
Couso-Pérez S, de Limia FB, Ares-Mazás E, Gómez-Couso H.Studies on the prevalence and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. affecting feral horses are scarce. The highland areas of the northern Iberian Peninsula are home to a large population of wild ponies which generally roam free in the ancient natural range and are subjected to a traditional exploitation regime. In the present study, a total of 79 non-diarrhoeal faecal samples from the wild ponies were collected from the ground immediately after defecation. Cryptosporidium was detected in 10 of the samples (12.6%) by a direct immunofluorescence antibody test and DNA amplification a...
Ikhuoso OA, Monroy JC, Rivas-Caceres RR, Cipriano-Salazar M, Barbabosa Pliego A.Although the strangles disease of Streptococcus equi was discovered many decades ago in 1,251 by Jordanus Ruffus, it has still remained a major frequently diagnosed infection in horses all over the world. The S. equi subspecies pathogen is known to be often resistant to antibiotic treatment, and it makes the antibiotics inefficient; hence, this review was conducted to study how the disease can be managed. The age-long sign of this infection is the oozing of pus through the mucous and skin membranes. Affected horses lose appetite, develop fever, and become depressed, which result in them losin...
Pan X, Wu Y, Wang W, Zhang L, Xiao G.Argentine haemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a rodent-borne disease with a lethality as high as ~30%, which is caused by the New World arenavirus, Junín virus (JUNV). It was once a major epidemic in South America and puts millions of people in Argentina at risk. Here, we aimed to develop horse antibodies or antibody fragments against JUNV. Before preparing the horse antibodies, a strategy to efficiently generate horse antisera was established based on comparisons among immunogens and immunization methods in both mice and horses. Antisera against JUNV were finally obtained by vaccinating horses with ...
Li J, Li Y, Moumouni PFA, Lee SH, Galon EM, Tumwebaze MA, Yang H, Huercha , Liu M, Guo H, Gao Y, Benedicto B, Zhang W, Fan X, Chahan B, Xuan X.Q fever, spotted fever rickettsioses and equine piroplasmosis, are some of the most serious equine tick-borne diseases caused by Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp., Babesia caballi and/or Theileria equi. This study surveyed and molecularly characterized these pathogens infecting horses in ten ranches from XUAR, China using molecular technology. Among 200 horse blood samples, 163 (81.5%) were infected with at least one of the pathogens. Rickettsia spp. was the most prevalent pathogen (n = 114, 57.0%), followed by C. burnetii (n = 79, 39.5%), T. equi (n = 79, 39.5%) and B. caballi (n = 4...
Smith RM, Kotzé A, Grobler JP, Dalton DL.Toll-like receptors (TLR) are a family of proteins that signal activation of the innate immune response through the recognition of a variety of pathogen molecular compounds. Here, we characterized the complete TLR9 gene in Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) from three populations in South Africa and compared sequences to a variety of horse and donkey breeds. Overall, we identified six single nucleotide polymorpHisms (SNPs). A single SNP (G586S) was non-synonymous, whereas the remaining SNPs were synonymous. The G586S alteration was detected in Cape mountain zebra populations with varying ...
Cook SJ, Li G, Zheng Y, Willand ZA, Issel CJ, Cook RF.Although the equine lentivirus (equine infectious anemia virus [EIAV]) poses a major threat to equid populations throughout most regions of the world, detailed knowledge concerning its molecular epidemiology is still in its infancy. Such information is important because the few studies conducted to date suggest there is extensive genetic variation between viral isolates that if confirmed has significant implications for future vaccine design and development of newer diagnostic procedures. Here, we avoid potential assembly artifacts inherent in composite sequencing techniques by using long-rang...
Oladunni FS, Sarkar S, Reedy S, Balasuriya UBR, Horohov DW, Chambers TM.Equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a viral pathogen of horse populations worldwide spread by the respiratory route and is known for causing outbreaks of neurologic syndromes and abortion storms. Previously, we demonstrated that an EHV-1 strain of the neuropathogenic genotype, T953, downregulates the beta interferon (IFN-β) response in equine endothelial cells (EECs) at 12 h postinfection (hpi). In the present study, we explored the molecular correlates of this inhibition as clues toward an understanding of the mechanism. Data from our study revealed that EHV-1 infection of EECs significantly red...
Asif M, Parveen A, Ashraf S, Hussain M, Aktas M, Ozubek S, Shaikh RS, Iqbal F.The present study was designed to check the molecular detection of Anaplasma marginale and Theileria annulata in blood samples of horses and donkeys collected from Dera Ghazi Khan District in Punjab and to document their phylogenetic origin and their association with studied epidemiological factors (sex and age) and complete blood count parameters, if any. Results: A total of 195 blood samples were collected from apparently healthy horses (N = 141) and donkeys (N = 54). A. marginale DNA was detected by PCR in 4.9% (7/141) horse and in 9.2% (5/54) of donkey blood samples. Prevalence of ...
Pusterla N, Hatch K, Crossley B, Wademan C, Barnum S, Flynn K.The objective of this study was to determine if the genotype of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) impacted clinical disease and outcome of horses with laboratory confirmed equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Medical records from 65 horses diagnosed with EHM from 2011 to 2019 were reviewed for signalment, presence and severity of clinical signs (lethargy, fever, ataxia, urinary incontinence) and outcome. Horses were further grouped based on the EHV-1 genotype into neuropathic (D) or non-neuropathic (N) EHV-1 infection. Between the two EHV-1 genotype groups, age and sex distributions were s...
Kumar R, Yadav SC, Kumar S, Dilbaghi N.A rapid flow-through immunoassay using protein A labeled gold nanoparticles (GNPs) for the qualitative detection of trypanosomosis in equine serum samples was developed. The flow-through device consisted of antigen-coated nitrocellulose membrane fixed on absorbent pads. The GNPs based detection probe was used as the colored marker. The assay can be employed for the detection of specific antibodies at 14 days post-infection in the infected pooled serum samples of equines. The assay can be conducted in < 5 min. The results of the flow-through assay were comparable with the methods like E...
Zimmerli U, Thür B.Equine infectious anaemia (EIA) is a sporadic viral disease in many countries. Every single case has, however, a dramatic impact: infected animals have to be put down, and quarantine restrictions on horse movements lasting three months lead to substantial economic losses. In Switzerland, the mandatory notification was introduced in 1994 in order to facilitate international traffic. A year later, the "new" Ordinance on epizootics of 1995 classified EIA as a "disease to be eradicated". An infected polo horse in the canton of Argovia in summer 2017 thus represented Switzerland's first official ca...
Sekizuka T, Niwa H, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Inamine Y, Hashino M, Kuroda M.MRSA is a known pathogen that affects horses. We investigated an equine MRSA isolate for potential antimicrobial resistance genes, classified the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) and identified the strain-specific dissemination in the horse community based on WGS. WGS, using short-read sequencing, and subsequent long-read sequencing by hybrid assembly, was conducted to obtain a complete genome sequence. Pairwise sequence alignment of relative SCCmec sequences and core-genome phylogenetic analysis were performed to highlight transmission routes of the SCCmec and MRSA strain-speci...
Howell PG, Groenewald D, Visage CW, Bosman AM, Coetzer JA, Guthrie AJ.Selected isolates of equine encephalosis virus were shown to have comparable viral protein profiles and to represent seven distinct serotypes, based on cross-neutralization tests. Serotype-specific virus-neutralizing antibody in serum samples from horses confirmed the widespread occurrence of infection. The distribution and prevalence of individual serotypes however, varied considerably. Localised foci with an increased seasonal seroconversion in groups of horses to a specific serotype and the detection of an ongoing low level of infection from other serotypes within the population, confirmed ...
Birtles RJ, Laycock G, Kenny MJ, Shaw SE, Day MJ.Between October 1999 and February 2000, 691 blood samples examined routinely for either haematological or virological assessment were screened by culture for the presence of Bartonella species. They came from 615 animals: 360 cats, 211 dogs, 27 horses, 16 cattle and a gorilla. The samples were incubated for long periods on 10 per cent horse blood agar at 37 degrees C in an atmosphere containing 5 per cent carbon dioxide. Isolates were obtained from 35 samples from 34 (9.4 per cent) of the cats, but not from any of the other animals. Comparison of citrate synthase gene sequences from the isolat...
Schemann K, Firestone SM, Taylor MR, Toribio JA, Ward MP, Dhand NK.Following the first ever equine influenza outbreak in Australia in 2007, a study was conducted involving 200 horse owners and managers to determine their perceptions about effectiveness of biosecurity measures and the factors associated with these perceptions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with horse owners/managers to obtain information about their perceptions of the effectiveness of biosecurity practices, their sources of information about infection control during the outbreak and their horse industry involvement. Two outcome variables were created from horse owners' responses to a ...
Sule WF, Oluwayelu DO, Adedokun RA, Rufai N, McCracken F, Mansfield KL, Johnson N.To investigate exposure of Nigerian horses to West Nile virus (WNV), we determined the seroprevalence rate of anti-WNV antibody in a cohort of 145 horses. Serum samples were collected from three locations in southwestern Nigeria between October, 2011, and July, 2012. The horses were asymptomatic and unvaccinated against WNV at the time of sampling. All sera were tested using a competition enzyme-linked immmunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by an immunoglobulin M (IgM)-specific ELISA. High rates of anti-WNV antibody prevalence were observed in all locations with a mean level of 90.3% (95% confidence...
Marois P, Boudreault A, DiFranco E, Pavilanis V.Rhesus monkeys and ferrets were exposed to intranasal inoculation of several strains of egg-adapted avian, equine and human influenza viruses and to strains of mouse-adapted equine influenza viruses. Local replication of virus and seroconversion were observed in the majority of these animals. However, clinical infection was observed only in ferrets.
Lei R, Wang X, Zhang D, Liu Y, Chen Q, Jiang N.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a severe disease of horses caused by the tick-borne protozoa Theileria equi (T. equi) and Babesia caballi (B. caballi). Infectious carriers are not always symptomatic, meaning there is a risk to non-enzootic areas. Regulatory tests for EP include sero-epidemiological methods for equine babesiosis, but these lack specificity due to cross-reactivity with other Babesia species. In this study, we present a real-time quantitative recombinase polymerase amplification (qRPA) method for fast simultaneous detection of both T. equi and B. caballi. In this method, primers and...
Muscatello G, Gerbaud S, Kennedy C, Gilkerson JR, Buckley T, Klay M, Leadon DP, Browning GF.Rhodococcoccus equi is a significant cause of bronchopneumonia in foals worldwide. Infection of the lungs is believed to result from inhalation of virulent R. equi in dust from contaminated environments. A measure of infectious risk in an environment is the level of airborne contamination. Objective: To assess and compare the level of airborne virulent R. equi in paddocks and stables. Methods: Air samples were collected sequentially over the 2003 foaling season from the paddocks and stables on 3 Irish horse breeding farms affected by R. equi pneumonia. Colony blotting and DNA hybridisation tec...
Nemoto M, Kanno T, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kokado H.A vaccine for equine coronavirus (ECoV) is so far unavailable. Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) is antigenically related to ECoV; it is therefore possible that BCoV vaccine will induce antibodies against ECoV in horses. This study investigated antibody response to ECoV in horses inoculated with BCoV vaccine. Virus neutralization tests showed that antibody titers against ECoV increased in all six horses tested at 14 days post inoculation, although the antibody titers were lower against ECoV than against BCoV. This study showed that BCoV vaccine provides horses with antibodies against ECoV to some exte...
Aguilar CM, Fernández E, de Fernández R, Deane LM.During an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a locality (Las Rosas, Cojedes State, Venezuela) previously non-endemic, 12.9% of humans, 7% of dogs and 21.4% of donkeys (Equus asinus) had lesions with parasites. The agent in the three hosts was identified as Leishmania braziliensis, subspecies braziliensis at least in man and donkey. The probable vector was Lutzomyia panamensis. No infection was found in a small sample of wild mammals examined. The outbreak was apparently linked with the importation of donkeys with ulcers, from endemic areas. The authors call attention to the fact that not o...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Escribano D, Martín-Cuervo M, Tecles F, Cerón JJ.The aim of this study was to evaluate salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), considered a non-invasive biomarker for sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, and salivary cortisol as possible pain-induced stress biomarker, in horses with acute abdominal disease. Therefore, a prospective observational study was performed in which both biomarkers were analyzed in a group of horses with acute abdomen syndrome, and compared with a group of healthy control horses by an unpaired Student's t-test. In addition, the possible relationship between both biomarkers, the score in Equine Acute Abdominal Pain scal...
Hornstra H, Pearson T, Georgia S, Liguori A, Dale J, Price E, O'Neill M, Deshazer D, Muhammad G, Saqib M, Naureen A, Keim P.We collected epidemiologic and molecular data from Burkholderia mallei isolates from equines in Punjab, Pakistan from 1999 through 2007. We show that recent outbreaks are genetically distinct from available whole genome sequences and that these genotypes are persistent and ubiquitous in Punjab, probably due to human-mediated movement of equines.
Pagamjav O, Sakata T, Matsumura T, Yamaguchi T, Fukushi H.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) is a pathogen causing rhinopneumonia in young horses, abortion in mares, and myeloencephalitis in adult horses. Two types, EHV-1 P and EHV-1 B, have recently been dominant among 16 electropherotypes. EHV-1 P and EHV-1 B viruses were compared by long and accurate polymerase chain reaction (LA-PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Differences in restriction sites were found to be focused in ORF64, which encodes the infected cell protein 4 (ICP4), and downstream of the ICP4 gene. The 3 ' -end and downstream of ICP4 gene of EHV-1 B were fou...
Dunowska M.Equid herpesvirus (EHV) type 1 is a common pathogen of horses with worldwide distribution. Although severe tracheobronchitis has been described in some field outbreaks of EHV-1 respiratory disease, many EHV-1 infections occur asymptomatically or are accompanied only by signs of mild respiratory disease. However, EHV-1 infection can also result in outcomes other than respiratory disease such as abortion, neonatal death or neurological disease. This review provides an overview of the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis for EHV-1-associated diseases, with an emphasis on neurological presentations ...
Arnold-Lehna D, Venner M, Berghaus LJ, Berghaus R, Giguère S.There is a lack of data on the efficacy of treatment of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in association with an optimised selection of foals. Objective: To evaluate whether targeted treatment protocols resulting in decreased antimicrobial use impact foal mortality rates. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Three hundred and thirty foals with pneumonia per year were randomly selected from 2008 to 2016. All foals were examined once weekly from birth until weaning. A physical examination of the respiratory tract, body temperature, haematology and an ultrasonographic examination of the lungs was incl...
Miller RI.Treatment of equine phycomycosis with a vaccine derived from ultrasonicated hyphae of Hyphomyces destruens was attempted in 30 cases of clinical hyphomycosis, 10 cases of hyphomycosis following unsuccessful surgery and 5 cases of basidiobolomycosis. Approximately 53% of animals with clinical hyphomycosis were cured after vaccination, while a further 33% clinically improved. All horses with hyphomycosis treated within 2 weeks of unsuccessful surgery were cured. There was no response to vaccination with a Hyphomyces preparation in horses with basidiobolomyucosis, while surgery alone resulted in ...
Tillotson K, Savage CJ, Salman MD, Gentry-Weeks CR, Rice D, Fedorka-Cray PJ, Hendrickson DA, Jones RL, Nelson W, Traub-Dargatz JL.During the past 11 years, there have been numerous reports of outbreaks of salmonellosis involving horses in veterinary teaching hospitals. Some of these outbreaks have been associated with Salmonella serotypes not commonly associated with infection of horses. Salmonella infantis is among the more common Salmonella serotypes isolated from human beings, and is an important pathogen in the broiler chicken industry. However, it was not commonly isolated from horses or cattle on a national basis between 1993 and 1995. In this report, we describe an outbreak of S infantis infection among large anim...
Kaufman L, Mendoza L, Standard PG.Culture filtrate antigens of Basidiobolus ranarum and Conidiobolus coronatus were analyzed by immunodiffusion (ID) with homologous rabbit antisera. B. ranarum and C. coronatus were each found to have five specific antigens. Results of tests with heterologous antisera indicated that all of the species shared at least one antigen. ID tests incorporating the specific precipitin bands as references were developed for detection of basidiobolomycosis and conidiobolomycosis. These tests were performed with sera from humans and horses with proven basidiobolomycosis and conidiobolomycosis as well as wi...
Greenway JA, Puls R.Clinical sickness was observed in domestic ducks, geese, horses and swine during October 1973. All species showed upper alimentary distress with mortalities occurring in the geese. Barley derived from a common source had been fed. Examination of the barley revealed invasion by Fusarium spp and detection of a high level of dermatitic fusariotoxins.
Kim SK, Buczynski KA, Caughman GB, O'Callaghan DJ.The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) immediate-early (IE) phosphoprotein is essential for the activation of transcription from viral early and late promoters and regulates transcription from its own promoter. The IE protein of 1487 amino acids contains a serine-rich tract (SRT) between residues 181 and 220. Deletion of the SRT decreased transactivation activity of the IE protein. Previous results from investigation of the ICP4 protein, the IE homolog of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), revealed that a domain containing a serine-rich tract interacts with EAP (Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small nuclear...
Del Piero F.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) can cause prominent economic losses for the equine industry. The purpose of this review is to provide the pathologist some familiarity with the clinical history, lesions, pathogenesis, and diagnosis of EVA. EVA is caused by an arterivirus (equine arteritis virus, EAV), and the vascular system is the principal but not unique viral target. EVA has variable presentations, including interstitial pneumonia, panvasculitis with edema, thrombosis and hemorrhage, lymphoid necrosis, renal tubular necrosis, abortion, and inflammation of male accessory genital glands. EAV anti...
Kung N, McLaughlin A, Taylor M, Moloney B, Wright T, Field H.Hendra virus is a highly pathogenic novel paramyxovirus causing sporadic fatal infection in horses and humans in Australia. Species of fruit-bats (genus Pteropus), commonly known as flying-foxes, are the natural host of the virus. We undertook a survey of horse owners in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia to assess the level of adoption of recommended risk management strategies and to identify impediments to adoption. Survey questionnaires were completed by 1431 respondents from the target states, and from a spectrum of industry sectors. Hendra virus knowledge varied with ...
Davis J, Garner MG, East IJ.In 2007, an incursion of equine influenza (EI) occurred in Australia. Accurate maps of property boundaries were used to examine the pattern and mechanism of local spread of EI. This study focussed on a cluster of infected premises (IPs) at Park Ridge, a peri-urban suburb 26 km south of Brisbane, Queensland. The cluster recorded 437 IPs and 81% of these were not contiguous to a previously IP. The mean distance from each new IP to the closest previous IP was 0.85 +/- 1.50 km with a range of 0.01-12.94 km. Eighty-two percent of new IPs were within 1 km of a previous IP. The spatial mean for each ...
Madigan JE, Rikihisa Y, Palmer JE, DeRock E, Mott J.The original objective was to determine seroprevalence of Ehrlichia risticii antibody among horses in California. On the basis of the unexpected results of the survey, an investigation into the accuracy and reproducibility of results of the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test for E risticii was carried out. Methods: Prospective, seroprevalence study. Methods: Healthy horses (n = 655) and horses with clinical signs of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis (EME; n = 514) from various regions of California. Methods: The IFA test was performed. Results were compared with results of an ELISA and with ...
Magdesian KG, Hirsh DC, Jang SS, Hansen LM, Madigan JE.To determine molecular characteristics of Clostridium difficile isolates from foals with diarrhea and identify clinical abnormalities in affected foals. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 28 foals with C difficile-associated diarrhea. Methods: Toxigenicity, molecular fingerprinting, and antibiotic susceptibility patterns were determined. Information on signalment, clinical findings, results of clinicopathologic testing, whether antimicrobials had been administered prior to development of diarrhea, and outcome was obtained from the medical records. Results: Twenty-three (82%) foals survived...
Sloboda M, Jirků M, Lukešová D, Qablan M, Batsukh Z, Fiala I, Hořín P, Modrý D, Lukeš J.Equine piroplasmosis caused by Babesia caballi and Theileria equi is widespread in Asia. The presence of these haemozoans in Mongolia was previously confirmed in domestic as well as in reintroduced Przewalski horses in which they cause significant pathology. The data on occurrence of piroplasms from Bactrian camels in Asia is lacking. A total of 192 horses, 70 Bactrian camels, and additional 16 shepherd dogs from the Hentiy province were included in our study. No clinical signs typical for piroplasmid infection were observed during the field survey. Microscopic examination revealed the presenc...
Venter GJ, Koekemoer JJ, Paweska JT.Confirmed outbreaks of African horse sickness (AHS) occurred in the surveillance zone of the Western Cape in 1999 and 2004, both of which led to a two-year suspension on the export of horses. Light trap surveys in the outbreak areas showed that known vector competent Culicoides species, notably C. imicola, were abundant and present in numbers equal to those in the traditional AHS endemic areas. Isolations of AHS virus serotypes 1 and 7, equine encephalosis virus, and bluetongue virus from field-collected C. imicola in the surveillance zone demonstrated that this species was highly competent an...
