Necropsy, also known as an autopsy, is a systematic examination of a horse's body after death to determine the cause of death and evaluate any disease or injury. This procedure involves a thorough assessment of the horse's organs and tissues, often including histopathological analysis to identify abnormalities at the microscopic level. Necropsy can provide valuable insights into equine health issues, contributing to a better understanding of disease processes, management practices, and potential preventive measures. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, findings, and implications of necropsy in equine veterinary science.
Wanstrath MA, Bauck AG, Smith AD, Freeman DE.To assess the safety and efficacy of a method for digitally enlarging the caudal aspect of the epiploic foramen (EF). Methods: Healthy horses and clinical cases of EF entrapment (EFE). Methods: Fourteen healthy horses and three clinical cases. Methods: Through a ventral midline celiotomy under general anesthesia, the EF was enlarged by digital separation of the caudal attachments of the caudate lobe of the liver from right dorsal colon, right kidney, gastropancreatic fold, and pancreas. Healthy horses were euthanized under anesthesia, and the enlarged EF was measured at necropsy. Results: The ...
Pillai VV, Mudd LJ, Sola MF.A 19-y-old American Saddlebred gelding was evaluated for epiphora of the right eye and generalized cachexia. Initial examination revealed anterior uveitis without ulceration, for which treatment was initiated. Despite the initial response to treatment, the signs progressively worsened to blindness. Histologic examination of the enucleated eye revealed granulomatous panuveitis and optic neuritis with intralesional nematode larvae identified as . Over time and despite anthelmintic treatment, blindness developed in the left eye along with neurologic signs, and the horse was euthanized. Disseminat...
Palmisano M, Bender S, Johnson AL.We describe the unique clinical presentation of a central nervous system neoplasm in a 6-month-old draft horse cross gelding. Based on the neurologic examination at admission, neurolocalization was most consistent with a mildly asymmetric cervical, multifocal, or diffuse myelopathy. Mild vestibular involvement also was considered, but no cranial nerve deficits were observed. The gelding was negative for Sarcocystis neurona or Neospora hughesi based on paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples analyzed, with no evidence of cervical compression based on contrast myelography. The horse w...
Bass LG, Peña-Álvarez P, Hidalgo-Dittel JD, Robles-Herrera FD, Cappella-Flores PM, Zúñiga-Cortés DS, Olivares RWI.Sarcina spp. is a Gram-positive, coccoid microorganism that forms tetrads or octets, and is observed with a characteristic "bundle" arrangement. The most recognized species are Sarcina ventriculi and Sarcina maxima. It has been described as part of the normal microbiota in horses and cats, but it has also been linked to abomasal bloat in goats, lambs, and calves, although its causality has not been proven yet. This work presents the case of a 3-months-old female horse that died of generalized tympanism. Macroscopic findings showed mild cyanosis and abundant gas in the lumen of the stomach, and...
Nakayama H, Shiga T, Uchida K, Chambers JK, Morino T, Sasaki N.There is no nationwide necropsy database of animals in Japan, and most of the records are available from the postwar period. To clarify the chronological transition of animal necropsy cases in Tokyo, Japan, the records accumulated in The University of Tokyo from 1902 were investigated. Of necropsy records on paper or electronic from 1902 to 2021 kept at the Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, The University of Tokyo, totally 3,137 cases including 572 in 1903-1914 (the Meiji-Taisho period), 1,258 in 1956-1969 (the Showa period) and 1,307 in 2006-2020 (the Heisei-Reiwa period), respectively, wer...
Jager MC, Tomlinson JE, Henry CE, Fahey MJ, Van de Walle GR.Theiler's disease, a.k.a. equine serum hepatitis, is a devastating, highly fatal disease of horses. Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) has been identified as the likely cause of this disease. While the incidence of Theiler's disease is low, the prevalence of EqPV-H DNA in horses is high, with up to 37% in some regions, suggesting that subclinical or persistent infection is common. To determine the prevalence and pathogenicity of EqPV-H infection at New York racetracks, DNA was extracted from archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded liver tissues from racehorses submitted for necropsy to th...
Freitas MS, Pereira AHB, Pereira GO, Menezes IS, Lucena AR, Almeida CRF, Pereira EG, Santos LA, Tozin LRS, Alves FM, Macedo AL, Silva DB, Ubiali DG.Poisoning by avocado (Persea americana) has been confirmed in sheep, goats, dogs, rabbits and ostriches. The clinical signs and lesions are attributed to the acetogenin, persin. Little is known regarding the epidemiology, clinical signs, lesions and therapy caused by acetogenin-induced heart damage. During the two-year study, we investigated a horse farm with six horses that often fed themselves with P. americana leaves or mature fruit pulp and skin on the ground. Two horses died, and one underwent necropsy, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry using the anti-cardiac troponin C (cTnC). Gro...
McGovern KF, Gough RL.An 18 hours old foal presented with a suspected meconium impaction. There was no response to treatment and a tentative diagnosis of atresia coli (AC) was made. Surgical intervention was declined and the foal was euthanized 12 hours after admission. Type 3 AC was confirmed on post-mortem examination, with the colon ending at the left ventral colon. A 1,080 large colon volvulus (LCV) at the sternal flexure was present. It is speculated that AC could predispose the foal to LCV. Histopathology was not performed but would be useful in further cases of AC.
Ciaputa R, Gach J, Baranowski K, Dzimira S, Janus I, Kandefer-Gola M, Żebrowski K, Nowak M.An analysis of samples originating from domestic and exotic animals from Lower Silesia but also from other parts of Poland was carried out based on research conducted in 2014-2017. Unassigned: The materials used for the study were 11,338 tumour samples taken in vivo during surgery and as biopsies and posthumously during necropsies. They were sent to the Department of Pathology at Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences for histopathological diagnosis. Unassigned: The largest group were canine tumours, of which there were 9,745 (85.95%), followed by feline tumours, totalling 1,39...
Romero BF, Iglesis García M, Gil Molino M, Gómez L, Galapero J, Parejo C, Martín Cuervo M.Equine uveitis is a common eye disease that affect horses from different breeds, ages, and genders. Uveitis has been described as inflammation of the uvea secondary immunomediated processes or eye trauma. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common tumor that can affect the equine kidneys. The present case describe a horse that was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Extremadura with bilateral uveitis. The horse was treated for the primary complain but the horse collapse and die during hospitalization. At necropsy, a tumoral mass in kidney with extensive in othe...
Beatriz FR, Marta VG, María MC, Joaquín JF, Esther DF, Luis-Javier EC, Gabriel MD, Manuel IG.An 8-year-old mare mule was presented with a facial mass and history of anorexia, unilateral epistaxis and purulent nasal discharge. The facial mass was encountered from the ventral to the lateral right canthus of the eye up to the facial crest. Thoracic ultrasonography showed five rounded masses. A standing CT under sedation was performed revealing a huge extension and infiltration on surrounding tissues. Due to the extension, type of lesions, outcome and suspicion of metastasis, the owner chose to euthanize the patient. Necropsy confirmed the presence of tumoral lesions spread into the lungs...
Smith MA, Carpenter AB, Nielsen MK.Essentially all grazing horses are infected with cyathostomin parasites. Adult cyathostomins reside in the large intestine of the horse and larval stages encyst within intestinal mucosa. Manual worm collection from aliquots of intestinal content is the current gold standard for retrieval and enumeration of luminal parasites, however, no research has been conducted to standardize specific parameters for processing and storage of samples. The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the precision of current standard operating procedures for enumeration of luminal adult cyathostomin populations, (...
Straticò P, Razzuoli E, Hattab J, Guerri G, Celani G, Palozzo A, Bonanni D, Fruscione F, Varasano V, Petrizzi L, Marruchella G.A 7-year-old Friesian stallion with a history of oesophageal stenosis, weight loss, inappetence, and recurrent hyperthermia was referred for gastroscopy. The stomach mucosa surrounding the oesophageal opening showed a large, necrotic, and ulcerated mass. On post-mortem examination, a very large, cauliflower-like neoplasm was seen, affecting non-glandular gastric mucosa. Nodular lesions were observed, scattered on the omentum, the spleen, and the liver. Microscopic findings allowed the diagnosis of gastric squamous cell carcinoma with abdominal metastasis. Biomolecular investigations demonstrat...
Ruby RE, Janes JG.The variety of neurologic diseases which affect horses makes pathologic examination of the nervous system a complex and lengthy process. An understanding of the common causes of neurologic disease, antemortem neurolocalization, and supplementation of the necropsy examination with ancillary testing will help to diagnose a large number of causes of neurologic disease. A general understanding of neuropathology and collaborative relationship with your local pathologists will aid in the definitive diagnosis of neurologic diseases.
Ricard RM, St-Jean G, Duizer G, Atwal H, Wobeser BK.The purpose of this study was to identify the most common causes of equine abortion in Canada, and to compare findings to similar reports from other countries. Equine. Necropsy reports from 901 equine abortion cases were acquired from provincial veterinary diagnostic laboratories across Canada. The final diagnosis was classified into basic abortion causes (infectious, non-infectious, unknown) and into primary and secondary categories for analysis. Non-infectious causes of abortion were the most frequently identified in Canada, with fetoplacental causes, including umbilical cord torsion or plac...
Rahman A, Uzal FA, Hassebroek AM, Carvallo FR.Pneumonia is a significant disease of horses. Although pneumonia has traditionally been studied in racehorses, little information is available for non-racing horses. Non-racing horses that died with pulmonary lesions ( = 156) were available from cases submitted for autopsy from January 2015 to June 2020. Bronchopneumonia (35%), interstitial pneumonia (29%), embolic pneumonia (21%), granulomatous pneumonia (13%), and pleuritis (2%) were observed in the examined horses. Seventy-four horses died or were euthanized because of pulmonary diseases, and 82 horses died or were euthanized because of...
Hoey S, Stokes D, McAllister H, Puggioni A, Skelly C.Osteochondrosis is commonly encountered in young horses, with welfare, performance, and economic effects. Consequently, pre-purchase radiographic screening for osteochondrosis is routinely performed. Ultrasonographic examination of articular cartilage and osteochondrosis lesions are described in the literature with many case series or single case reports published. This systematic review was undertaken to examine the evidence for using ultrasonography in comparison to traditional radiography, arthroscopy or necropsy findings in the detection of osteochondrosis. The systematic review identified...
Azizi S, Masoudi H.Colic is a clinical syndrome and has been defined as a visceral abdominal pain and/or acute abdominal disease. It is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in horses. The most common forms of colics are related to gastrointestinal tract in nature and most often linked to colonic disturbances. However, colics are not well understood in donkeys compared to those of in horses and the literature is poor regarding bowel strangulating obstruction in donkeys. This report described the clinical signs and post-mortem necropsy findings of an abdominal colic due to the left colon volvulus following a ...
Hobbs KJ, Porter E, Wait C, Dark M, MacKay RJ.Magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly available for evaluation of horses with suspected pituitary adenomas; however, published studies describing the MRI features of normal equine pituitary glands are currently lacking. This retrospective, descriptive, anatomic study describes the MRI appearance and size of presumed normal equine pituitary glands and assesses potential correlations between pituitary size, brain size, and patient weight. These findings serve as a reference for MRI evaluation of the equine pituitary gland. Inclusion criteria consisted of adult horses (2-15 years old), over ...
Gish A, Robveille C, Gicquel T, Allorge D, Gault G, Gaulier JM.Analytical detection of Oenanthe crocata toxins in biological samples is challenging because of their instability, the lack of commercially available standards and the exceptionally low detection of these molecules using mass spectrometry. This work aims to report the used analytical methods that allowed identification of the main plant toxins in biological samples from an equid (an Arabian horse) fatality related to hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata Linnaeus) intake. Using both LC-DAD and LC-HRMS methods allowed identification (i) of oenanthotoxin in roots found on the site, root fragm...
Falcão MVD, Laroucau K, Vorimore F, Deshayes T, Santana VLA, Silva KPC, do Nascimento SA, de Castro RS, Araújo FR, Mota RA.Glanders is an infectious zoonosis caused by Burkholderia (B.) mallei that mainly affects equids. The objective of this work was to provide additional knowledge on the diversity of the strains circulating in Brazil. Six Burkholderia mallei isolates obtained during necropsies of glanderous horses between 2014 and 2017 in two different states (Pernambuco and Alagoas) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-high-resolution melting (PCR-HRM). While four strains (9902 RSC, BM_campo 1, BM_campo 3 and UFAL2) clustered in the L3B2 branch, which already includes the Brazilian 16-2438_BM#8 strain, tw...
Uzal FA, Navarro MA, Asin J, Henderson EE.The clostridial diseases of horses can be divided into three major groups: enteric/enterotoxic, histotoxic, and neurotoxic. The main enteric/enterotoxic diseases include those produced by Clostridium perfringens type C and Clostridioides difficile, both of which are characterized by enterocolitis. The main histotoxic diseases are gas gangrene, Tyzzer disease, and infectious necrotic hepatitis. Gas gangrene is produced by one or more of the following microorganisms: C. perfringens type A, Clostridium septicum, Paeniclostridium sordellii, and Clostridium novyi type A, and it is characterized by ...
Nielsen MK, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Kuzmina TA, van Doorn DCK, Meana A, Rehbein S, Elliott T, Reinemeyer CR.This guideline have been developed to assist in the design, execution, and interpretation of studies to assess the efficacy of anthelmintic drugs against internal parasites of equines, including nematodes, cestodes, and larval instars of Gasterophilus spp. The design and execution of critical and controlled studies are outlined, and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Unique considerations for specific target parasites are included. Information is also provided on selection of animals, procedures for randomization, housing, feeding, dosage titration, dosage confirmation and field...
Engiles JB, Uzal FA, Navarro MA, Reef VB, Bender SJ.Phlegmonous gastritis was diagnosed in 2 yearling fillies that were presented with a 1-wk history of fever, lethargy, and hypoproteinemia, associated with a previous diagnosis of equine proliferative enteropathy based on clinical signs and PCR assay detection of Lawsonia intracellularis in fecal samples. Abdominal ultrasound revealed enlargement of the stomach and expansion of its submucosal layer with hypoechoic fluid, as well as thickened hypomotile small intestinal segments. Given the poor prognosis and poor response to treatment, both horses were euthanized, one on the day of presentation ...
Pye J, Spriet M, Dow P, Katzman S, Murphy BG.To describe clinical, imaging, gross, and histopathological abnormalities associated with osteochondral necrosis of the femoral condyles in foals and identify features suggestive of a common pathogenesis. 8 Thoroughbred foals euthanized with a presumptive diagnosis of necrosis of the femoral condyles. Postmortem CT was performed on all distal femoral epiphyseal samples. The articular epiphyseal cartilage complex (AECC) of affected distal femurs was examined grossly and histologically, focusing on lesions of interest identified on CT images. 7 foals were between 9 and 23 days old at the time of...
Loynachan AT.Pulmonary malformations are rare equine congenital anomalies. Over a 3-year timeframe, three cases of left sided pulmonary agenesis were diagnosed in perinatal foals. All three cases were associated with concurrent ipsilateral diaphragmatic herniation and hypoplasia of the right lung lobe. All three foals died immediately following parturition due to perinatal asphyxia associated with the congenital malformations. To the author's knowledge, this is the first report of pulmonary agenesis in the horse.
Sakurai M, Isshiki S, Sasaki N, Sakai Y, Yamada Y, Morimoto M.A 7-year-old male Thoroughbred horse exhibited recurrent falls followed by convulsive seizures. The horse was clinically diagnosed with epilepsy and phenobarbital treatment was initiated. However, as seizure control was unsuccessful, the animal was euthanized. At necropsy, yellow-brown linear lesions were found extensively at the U-fibres and cingulate gyrus within the cerebral white matter. Histopathologically, linear demyelination and occasional cavitation were observed. Glial cells with yellow-brown pigment granules, which were autofluorescent, positive to the periodic acid-Schiff reaction ...
Agerholm JS, Klas EM, Damborg P, Borel N, Pedersen HG, Christoffersen M. Loss of pregnancy in mares can have many different causes, including both infectious and non-infectious conditions. Extrapolation of findings from other studies is often uncertain as the significance of each cause varies across regions. Causes of pregnancy loss in mares have never been thoroughly studied in Denmark, so a prospective cross-sectional cohort study targeting the entire Danish population of pregnant mares was performed over a period of 13 months to obtain knowledge of the significance of individual causes. Fifty aborted or prematurely delivered stillborn fetuses were submitted for...
Whitwell KE, Blunden AS.In 1988 an outbreak of the paralytic form of Equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection occurred on a stud farm and several animals died. This provided an opportunity to perform detailed pathological investigations to gain insights into the pathogenesis of this spontaneous disease. Two paretic mares, three foals, an aborted foetus and its non-paretic dam were examined. The endotheliotropism of the virus was clearly demonstrated by the use of an indirect immunoperoxidase (IP) stain. At autopsy, evidence of viral infection was widespread in the foetus and foals, but limited or absent in the mare...
Wilson WD, Madigan JE.Diagnosis of bacterial septicemia was confirmed by results of bacteriologic culture of antemortem blood samples and/or necropsy specimens obtained from 47 foals up to 8 days old. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated from all 47 foals, and mixed infections with more than one organism were involved in 26 (55%). Escherichia coli, Actinobacillus spp, and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most frequent isolates, infecting 55, 34, and 23% of foals, respectively. Gram-positive bacteria and anaerobic bacteria were isolated only from foals with mixed infections with gram-negative organisms. Clostridium pe...
Sanz M, Loynachan A, Sun L, Oliveira A, Breheny P, Horohov DW.While Rhodococcus equi remains the most common cause of subacute or chronic granulomatous bronchopneumonia in foals, development of a relevant model to study R. equi infection has proven difficult. The objective of this study was to identify a challenge dose of R. equi that resulted in slow progressive disease, spontaneous regression of lung lesions and age-dependent susceptibility. Foals less than one-week of age were challenged intratracheally using either 10(6), 10(5), 10(4), 10(3) or 10(2) cfu of R. equi. Two doses (10(3) cfu and 10(5) cfu) were used to challenge 2 and 3-week-old, and 3 an...
Hanada M, Maeda Y, Oikawa MA.Uteri from 50 necropsied nonpregnant Japanese Thoroughbred brood mares (1-30 years of age) were investigated to clarify the histopathological characteristics of endometrosis in Japanese Thoroughbred mares and the distribution pattern of endometrosis lesions in the uterus as a whole. Endometrosis was observed in all animals over 6 years of age and in all of the 21 mares aged over 12 years of age. The affected mares showed elastofibrosis of arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels in the uterine wall, atrophy of the uterine smooth muscle layers and hyperplasia of collagen fibers among the smooth mu...
Sandin A, Skidell J, Häggström J, Nilsson G.The present study was performed to estimate retrospectively the prevalence of gastric ulceration in necropsied Swedish horses and to evaluate some potential risk factors. Horses (n = 3715) older than age one year and necropsied 1924-1996 were included. Information about breed, gender, age, season of death, clinical signs of colic, Gasterophilus larvae and documentation of diseases in different organs was recorded. Data on size, number and anatomical distribution of gastric ulcers were also obtained. The cold-blooded horses and the Standardbreds were the 2 most dominating breeds in our material...
Lyons ET, Swerczek TW, Tolliver SC, Bair HD, Drudge JH, Ennis LE.A survey to determine current prevalence of several species of endoparasites in equids (n=350) at necropsy was conducted at the Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center in central Kentucky (1995-1999). Thelazia lacrymalis were found in 42% of the 1- to 4-year olds (n=132), which was the only age group examined for these parasites. Five- to 30-year olds (n=157), examined for Onchocerca spp. worms/lesions, had a prevalence of 24%. In > or =1-year olds (n=324), the infection rate for Gasterophilus intestinalis was 12% for second instars and 14% for third instars and for Gasterophilus nasalis was 2%...
Zink MC, Yager JA, Smart NL.Of 131 cases of Corynebacterium equi infection in horses submitted for necropsy to the Ontario Veterinary College or Veterinary Laboratory Services, OMAF, Guelph, Ontario from 1958 to 1984, 115 were diagnosed as suppurative pneumonia, and of these 55 had associated ulcerative enterocolitis. Only five animals had intestinal involvement without pulmonary lesions. The remaining 11 cases included arthritis/cellulitis, skin abscesses and submandibular lymphadenitis. While the lung, intestine and associated lymph nodes yielded C. equi most frequently, in 21% of cases C. equi was also cultured from p...
Huang H, Zhang B, Chu H, Zhang D, Li K.We investigated infections with Gasterophilus spp. in three equids within the Kalamaili Nature Reserve (northern China). We conducted necropsies on 6 Przewalski's horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) and 6 Mongolian wild asses (Equus hemionus) and administered ivermectin to 10 overwintering domestic horses to expel parasites during winter periods. All 22 equids studied (100%) were infested with Gasterophilus spp. and a total of 17,225 larvae were collected. These included six species: G. haemorrhoidalis, G. inermis, G. intestinalis, G. nasalis, G. nigricornis, and G. pecorum. The mean intensity of...
Patterson-Kane JC, Carrick JB, Axon JE, Wilkie I, Begg AP.The first outbreak of equine influenza virus (EIV) infection was confirmed in Australia in 2007. Some EIV-positive young foals died with bronchointerstitial pneumonia, an rare disease process in this age group that is often postulated to be caused by viral infection. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe post mortem lesions in EIV-infected foals. Methods: Post mortem examinations were conducted on 11 young foals (age 2-12 days) submitted to the Scone Veterinary Hospital, NSW over a 2-month period in 2007. The foals had presented with or developed fatal pneumonia, and were known or s...
Pilo C, Altea A, Pirino S, Nicolussi P, Varcasia A, Genchi M, Scala A.A post-mortem survey was carried out on 46 Sardinian horses to evaluate the presence of Strongylus vulgaris and associated pathology. Horses were from local farms and had been treated with broad-spectrum anthelmintics at least 3 times a year. Examination of the cranial mesenteric arterial system (CMAS) showed parasite-induced lesions in all horses. S. vulgaris larvae were found in 39% of examined arteries, while their detection rate in coprocultures was 4%. Histology, carried out on 26 horses, showed mainly chronic and chronic-active lesions. Histometry showed a significant increase in thickne...
Berlin D, Loeb E, Baneth G.Trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma evansi ("Surra") is mainly a wasting disease affecting equids, camels and cattle as well as other domestic and wild animal species. In horses, infection may cause severe neurological abnormalities; however, the clinical progression, pathogenesis and molecular ante-mortem detection of this form of the disease have not been described in detail. A mare with progressive ataxia, head tilt, nystagmus and cranial nerve deficits submitted to treatment was diagnosed with central nervous system trypanosomiasis following the detection of a Trypanosoma tryposmastigote...
Wright JD, Kelly WR, Waddell AH, Hamilton J.Verminous encephalomyelitis due to Angiostrongylus cantonensis larvae was diagnosed in 2 foals at necropsy. The principal clinical feature was tetraparesis, although history and neurological examination revealed progressive and multifocal neurological disease. At presentation, a tentative diagnosis of parasitic larval migration involving the central nervous system (CNS), presumably due to Strongylus vulgaris, was proposed. Dissection of the spinal cord in one case resulted in recovery of intact larvae of both sexes of A. cantonensis. In both foals, histopathology of the brain and spinal cord r...
Monahan CM, Chapman MR, Taylor HW, French DD, Klei TR.Two dosages of moxidectin oral gel were evaluated and compared to a therapeutic dose of ivermectin oral paste in the control of a spectrum of gastrointestinal parasites of ponies naturally infected in southern Louisiana or Mississippi. Thirty-two mixed-breed ponies ranging in age from one to 21 years were used in this controlled test. Eight weeks prior to the experiment, ponies grazing on contaminated pasture were moved to a paddock and fed a pelleted ration, thus reducing or eliminating the potential for additional infection and ensuring the existence of a population of encysted larvae. Ponie...
Howerth EW, Mead DG, Mueller PO, Duncan L, Murphy MD, Stallknecht DE.Horses were inoculated with Vesicular stomatitis New Jersey and Indiana viruses by routes simulating contact and vector transmission. Clinical signs, lesions, antibody development, viral shedding and persistence, and viremia were monitored. Horses were infected with both viruses by all routes as confirmed by seroconversion. Salivation, primary lesions at inoculation sites, and secondary oral lesions were the most common clinical findings. Viral shedding was most often from the oral cavity, followed by the nasal cavity; titers were highest from oral cavity samples. Virus was rarely isolated fro...
Hall TL, Magdesian KG, Kittleson MD.Literature available regarding congenital cardiac defects in foals is limited to reports of individual cases or small case series. Objective: To describe the clinical, echocardiographic, and necropsy findings and breed predilection of congenital cardiac defects in neonatal foals. Methods: Eighteen foals < 15 days of age with 1 or more congenital cardiac defects. Methods: Medical records of foals diagnosed with congenital cardiac defects at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital were reviewed. Data collected included history, signalment, clinical signs, laboratory data, d...
Forty seven working horses from Romania were post-mortem examined for small strongyles (Cyathostominae) infections. All horses were found infected. The overall cyathostomins intensity ranged from 390 to 13,010 and horses were infected by 8-24 species. The intensity was higher in ventral colon (1531) and dorsal colon (824), the lowest in the caecum (524). Twenty four species were identified. Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicocyclus insigne, and C. Nassatus had 100% of prevalence. Over 50% of horses were infected by Coronocyclus coronatus, Cylicostephanus calicatus, C. goldi, and C. longibursatus. O...
Kuzmina TA, Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Dzeverin II, Kharchenko VA.The aims of the study were to determine fecundity of several strongylid species parasitizing domestic horses and analyze possible relations between numbers of eggs in female uteri and size of both the eggs and the nematodes as well as the influence of fecundity on proportion of species in the strongylid community. Twenty-five specimens from each of 15 strongylid species (Strongylus vulgaris, Strongylus edentatus, Triodontophorus serratus, Triodontophorus brevicauda, Triodontophorus tenuicollis, Cyathostomum catinatum, Coronocyclus coronatus, Cylicocyclus nassatus, Cylicocyclus insigne, Cylicoc...
Ali AA, Refat NA, Algabri NA, Sobh MS.EHV-1 infection is responsible for huge economic losses in equines due to abortion and neonatal mortality. In this study, we describe 4 cases of abortion and neonatal deaths from pregnant mares and a she-donkey from different localities in Egypt during the period from May 2015 to October 2017. Attempts were made to isolate and identify EHV-1, in addition to compare the different pathological lesions in various tissues of the necropsied cases. EHV-1 was successfully isolated from two aborted fetuses and one dead neonatal foal from mares, beside one aborted fetus from a she-donkey. The positive ...
Broeckx SY, Spaas JH, Chiers K, Duchateau L, Van Hecke L, Van Brantegem L, Dumoulin M, Martens AM, Pille F.The safety of the intra-articular use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is scarcely reported. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate the safety of a single intra-articular injection with allogeneic chondrogenic induced MSCs combined with equine plasma (=the investigational product: IVP) compared to a saline (0.9% NaCl) placebo control (=control product: CP). Sixteen healthy experimental horses were randomly assigned to receive a single intra-articular injection with either the IVP (n=8) or the CP (n=8) in the left metacarpophalangeal joint. All horses underwent a daily clinical as...
Humber RA, Brown CC, Kornegay RW.A 15-year-old Arabian mare from southern Louisiana with a 2-month history of periodic epistaxis and severe weight loss had a large, fibrosing, granulomatous mass containing numerous nodules ("kunkers") projecting dorsally into the nasopharynx, and was euthanized at the owner's request. In addition to these kunkers, the mass contained a single trematode tentatively identified as Fasciola hepatica. Several kunkers were removed, washed thoroughly in sterile water and embedded in nutrient agars; the fungus that grew out of them was identified as Conidiobolus lamprauges Drechsler (Entomophthorales:...
Kiryu K, Machida N, Kashida Y, Yoshihara T, Amada A, Yamamoto T.Five racehorses in apparently normal condition succumbed to sudden cardiac death (SCD) during or shortly after intensive training exercise. Cardiopathologic examination was performed. In 1 of the 5 horses, the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) recording taken continuously for 440 sec enabled us to analyze some of the arrhythmias in the terminal event of SCD. The ECG tracing exhibited the R-on-T phenomenon following a pair of ventricular premature contractions (VPCs). The phenomenon rapidly degenerated into ventricular fibrillation, which led to cardiac arrest. In all 5 horses cardiopathologic ...
Leon A, Richard E, Fortier C, Laugier C, Fortier G, Pronost S.Abortion, stillbirth and neonatal death are major causes of equine mortality and cause severe economic loss to the equine industry. The present study was based on a complete necropsy protocol associated with classical microbiological examinations and molecular biology on 407 cases of abortion, stillbirths and neonate death. Based on this retrospective survey, "less common" abortive infectious agents were characterised by molecular tools in nine independent cases of abortion or neonate mortality. Among others, Chlamydophila abortus (1 case), Coxiella burnetii (6 cases) and Neospora caninum (3 c...
Haussler KK, Hill AE, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW.To establish reference mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) values of the equine thoracic limb and to assess the use of MNT values to detect pain associated with induced osteoarthritis in the middle carpal joint. Methods: 24 adult horses. Methods: MNT values were evoked by a pressure algometer at 17 sites within each thoracic limb during 2 baseline sessions conducted an average of 5 days apart. Effects of age, sex, weight, and wither height on MNT values were assessed separately for each site. Tolerance of horses to the procedure was graded subjectively and correlated with MNT values. Synovi...
Krecek RC, Reinecke RK, Horak IG.Between 1980 and 1982, the gastrointestinal tracts of 17 horses which had been grazing on mixed grassveld at Potchefstroom and bushveld at Onderstepoort in the province of Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, were examined at necropsy and processed for parasite recovery. The large strongyles and their prevalences were as follows: Strongylus vulgaris and associated lesions (88-94%), Strongylus edentatus (24%), Strongylus equinus (30%), Triodontophorus nipponicus (35%) and Craterostomum acuticaudatum (18%). The seven most prevalent and abundant cyathostomes collected were Cylicostephanus longibu...
Smith BP, Robinson RC.Five out of 6 foals between 2 and 4 months old, on a ranch in northern California, developed pneumonia within a 3 week period in June and July 1978. Corynebacterium equi was recovered from each of the 5 foals by transtracheal aspiration. Clinical signs were variable but included increased respiratory rate, fever, cough, nasal discharge, harsh airway sounds over middle sized airways and wheezing over small airways. Cyanosis was present in the most severely affected foal. Radiographic findings included diffusely increased interstitial and peribronchial densities, areas of consolidation and, in 3...
Tremaine WH, Clarke CJ, Dixon PM.Biopsies collected from 79 referred cases of equine sinonasal disease, including 27 horses with primary sinusitis, 10 with secondary dental sinusitis, 19 with sinus cysts, 11 with progressive ethmoid haematomata (PEH), 4 with false nostril epidermal inclusion cysts, 4 with sinonasal polyps, 3 with sinonasal mycosis and from 2 control animals were examined histologically. Observations were made on epithelial type and integrity, cellular inflammatory response, fibroplasia and presence of potential pathogens. Chronic inflammatory changes including mucosal thickening, ulceration and significant fi...
Johnson R, Ramos-Vara J, Vemulapalli R.This report describes the characterization of a Bartonella henselae abortion in an equine fetus by gross, histologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular methods. Bartonella henselae can cause cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, bacillary peliosis, and endocarditis in humans and other animals. The bacterium has been isolated from several mammalian species but only recently from equids; however, it has not been linked to abortion in equids. An aborted equine fetus exhibited necrosis and vasculitis in multiple tissues, with intralesional Gram-negative short-to-spirillar ...
Tyler CM, Davis RE, Begg AP, Hutchins DR, Hodgson DR.Case records of 450 horses with signs of neurological disease are reviewed. One hundred and nineteen horses with neurological disease due to trauma were examined, of which 60 were due to spinal cord trauma, 47 to brain or cranial nerve trauma and 12 to peripheral nerve trauma. Cervical vertebral fractures/trauma were the most common injury. Basisphenoid/basioccipital bone fractures were the most common form of cranial trauma and facial nerve paralysis the most common cranial nerve injury. Eighty-nine horses with neurological disease due to malformation were examined. Cervical vertebral malform...
