The impact of pandemics on horses encompasses the study of infectious diseases that can spread rapidly among equine populations, affecting their health and management. These events can lead to significant challenges in controlling disease transmission, ensuring biosecurity, and maintaining equine welfare. Research in this area often focuses on the epidemiology of equine infectious diseases, the development and efficacy of vaccines, and strategies for disease prevention and control. Additionally, the implications of zoonotic diseases, which can be transmitted between animals and humans, are considered. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the effects of pandemics on horses, including disease dynamics, management practices, and the broader implications for equine industries.
Olsen M, Demaneuf T, Singh G, Goldsworthy A, Jones P, Morgan M, Nassar R, Senok A, Ghemrawi R, Almheiri R, Marzooqi HA, Almansoori S, Albastaki A....Mobile phones, used in billions throughout the world, are high-touch devices subject to a dynamic contamination of microorganisms and rarely considered as an important fomite to sanitise systematically. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, arguably the most impactful pandemic of the 21st century with millions of deaths and disruption of all facets of modern life globally. Objective: To perform a systematic review of the literature exploring SARS-CoV-2 presence as a contaminant on mobile phones. Methods: A systematic search (PubMed and Google Scholar) of literature was...
Thompson JM, Kibler ML, Ivey JLZ.The novel COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic disrupting lives, industries, and economies. The result was an impact on prices due to challenges with production and supply chain distribution. This study investigates the financial strain COVID-19 had on equine owners and leasers, what the market for equine care would bear if costs for care increased, and what factors contribute to their willingness to pay (WTP) for increasing cost of equine care. An online survey was distributed for 4 weeks to adult U.S. residents. Respondents reported their involvement in the equine industry, financial resp...
Felici M, Cogger N, Riley CB, Padalino B.There is a lack of information on the number of horses shipped globally by air annually, the purpose of air travel and the routes of their journeys. This pilot study aimed to collect retrospective data on the international movements of horses by air from 2018 to 2021, describe their routes, and identify the possible effects of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Equine transport data was gathered from 7 of 15 international shipping companies (ISCs) and 5 of 8 airlines contacted by email. The seven ISCs performed a median of 10,401 horse movements annually, ranging from a few hundre...
Hadian SA, Rezayatmand R.The economic impact of acute respiratory disease pandemics has yet to be specifically systematically reviewed. The aim of this scoping review is to identify and classify the economic impacts and its values and ranges. Unassigned: We conducted a literature search across three key databases using an extensive list of keywords. Then, we included studies which explored direct and indirect costs as well as broader economic impact associated with different nine acute respiratory diseases, i.e., pandemic and seasonal influenza, avian influenza, equine influenza, swine influenza, severe acute respirat...
Martos Martinez-Caja A, De Herdt V, Enders-Slegers MJ, Moons CPH.The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic changes to our lifestyle, particularly affecting our ability to interact "in person" with our social network. These changes have had a detrimental effect on the mental welfare of the global population. The international questionnaire "Pets in Lockdown" was designed to investigate whether feelings of loneliness were affecting the mood of people during the COVID-19 lockdown and whether pet ownership may have had a positive influence on both loneliness and general mood. As expected, higher loneliness scores were associated with higher nega...
Walker N, Huseman C, Cater M, McCorkle DA, Hanselka D, Zoller J.The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the availability of virtual horse showing opportunities. The objectives of this study were to describe survey participants' personal characteristics and participation in virtual and in-person horse shows, level of satisfaction, attitude toward technology and motivation to participate, and internal and external factors influencing the decision to participate in virtual horse shows. A survey was distributed to a target audience of adult horse show participants and/or adults supporting youth horse show participants via Qualtrics (n = 251). A majority of respo...
Lupala CS, Kumar V, Su XD, Wu C, Liu H.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the host cell receptor that binds to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-COV-2 spike protein and mediates cell entry. Because the ACE2 proteins are widely available in mammals, it is important to investigate the interactions between the RBD and the ACE2 of other mammals. Here we analyzed the sequences of ACE2 proteins from 16 mammals, predicted the structures of ACE2-RBD complexes by homology modeling, and refi...
Pakdemirli A, Çalışkan E, Hacıoğlu S, Danyer E, Kardoğan Ö, Kurt ZE, Yıldırım Ö, Taşkaya H, Ündar B, Sezgin Y, Ergin G, Ekici H....SARS-CoV-2 disease was announced as a pandemic by The World Health Organization in early 2020. It is still threatening the world population. Here, we aimed to produce hyperimmune sera that contain immunoglobulin G and F(ab')2 fragments sourced from horse antibodies as an urgent response to the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 was produced and inactivated with three different methods [formaldehyde (FA), formaldehyde, and binary ethylene amine (FA + BEI), and heat treatment]. After in vitro inactivation control, immunogens were mixed with Freund’s adjuvant, thereafter horses (n: 2 for FA, 4 for FA + BEI, ...
Ward A, Stephen K, Argo C, Watson C, Harris P, Neacsu M, Russell W, Grove-White D, Morrison P.During the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, equestrian stakeholders faced a dilemma whereby they were required to balance caring for the welfare of horses with adapting to the restrictions imposed to protect public health. The present study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of a sample of industry stakeholders, including horse owners, equine veterinarians, farriers and welfare centre managers ( = 26) using a qualitative methodology. Findings from the interviews indicated that the mental health and wellbeing of veterinarians and horse owners was negatively affecte...
Davies E, McConn-Palfreyman W, Williams JM, Lovell GP.Due to COVID-19, horseracing was required to cease all activity in March 2020; however, little is known about the pandemic's impact on staff working practices. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on staff working practices during the initial lockdown phases. An online survey about working conditions during lockdown was answered by 287 participants. Chi-squared tests for independence and binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis was undertaken. A total of 53.7% (n = 154) of staff were working during lockdown. Pandemic-specific workplace changes were reported as effective by 87.8% (n ...
Williams JM, Randle H, Marlin D.COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020; the United Kingdom (UK) implemented quarantine measures shortly afterward, resulting in rapid changes in how owners managed and interacted with their horses. This study provides a rapid analysis of the initial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the management of UK leisure and competition horses. A 17 question online survey was distributed via equestrian social media sites to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on horse and yard management and on human-horse interactions. Frequency analysis combined with Chi-squared and thematic analyses i...
Alymova IV, York IA, McCullers JA.PB1-F2 protein, expressed from an alternative reading frame of most influenza A virus (IAV) PB1 segments, may possess specific residues associated with enhanced inflammation (L62, R75, R79, and L82) and cytotoxicity (I68, L69, and V70). These residues were shown to increase the pathogenicity of primary viral and secondary bacterial infections in a mouse model. In contrast to human seasonal influenza strains, virulence-associated residues are present in PB1-F2 proteins from pandemic H1N1 1918, H2N2 1957, and H3N2 1968, and highly pathogenic H5N1 strains, suggesting their contribution to viruses...
Morens DM, Taubenberger JK.Influenza A viruses are globally enzootic in swine populations. Swine influenza has been recognised only since 1918, but an anecdotal report suggests that a swine-influenza epizootic might have occurred in England in 1892, at the same time as an explosive epidemic (or pandemic recurrence) of human influenza. This outbreak suggests that the ecobiological association between human and swine influenza could extend to before 1918. By contrast with the recent documentation of swine influenza, influenza in horses has been well documented for hundreds of years, and was often linked temporally and geo...
Morens DM, Taubenberger JK.To understand human influenza in a historical context of viral circulation in avian species, mammals, and in the environment. Methods: Historical review. Methods: Global events in a variety of circumstances over more than 3,000 years time. Methods: Comprehensive review of the historical literature including all major publications on pandemic and panzootic influenza. Methods: Influenza pandemics, panzootics, major epidemics and epizootics, and instances of interspecies transmission of influenza A. Results: Extensive documentation of human and animal influenza over many centuries suggests that i...
Reperant LA, Rimmelzwaan GF, Kuiken T.Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of subtype H5N1 are remarkable because of their expanding non-avian host range and wide tissue tropism. They have caused severe or fatal respiratory and extra-respiratory disease in seven naturally infected species of carnivore. However, they are not unique in their ability to cross the species barrier, to cause clinical disease and mortality, or to replicate in extra-respiratory organs. Low pathogenic avian influenza viruses have crossed from birds to swine, horses, harbour seals, whales and mink; have resulted in severe respiratory disease and mortal...
Beveridge WI.For 20 years after the influenza A virus was discovered in the early 1930s, it was believed to be almost exclusively a human virus. But in the 1950s closely related viruses were discovered in diseases of horses, pigs and birds. Subsequently influenza A viruses were found to occur frequently in many species of birds, particularly ducks, usually without causing disease. Researchers showed that human and animal strains can hybridise thus producing new strains. Such hybrids may be the cause of pandemics in man. Most pandemics have started in China or eastern Russia where many people are in intimat...
Reperant LA, Rimmelzwaan GF, Kuiken T.Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of subtype H5N1 are remarkable because of their expanding non-avian host range and wide tissue tropism. They have caused severe or fatal respiratory and extra-respiratory disease in seven naturally infected species of carnivore. However, they are not unique in their ability to cross the species barrier, to cause clinical disease and mortality, or to replicate in extra-respiratory organs. Low pathogenic avian influenza viruses have crossed from birds to swine, horses, harbour seals, whales and mink; have resulted in severe respiratory disease and mortal...
Morens DM, Taubenberger JK.To understand human influenza in a historical context of viral circulation in avian species, mammals, and in the environment. Methods: Historical review. Methods: Global events in a variety of circumstances over more than 3,000 years time. Methods: Comprehensive review of the historical literature including all major publications on pandemic and panzootic influenza. Methods: Influenza pandemics, panzootics, major epidemics and epizootics, and instances of interspecies transmission of influenza A. Results: Extensive documentation of human and animal influenza over many centuries suggests that i...
Lupala CS, Kumar V, Su XD, Wu C, Liu H.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the host cell receptor that binds to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-COV-2 spike protein and mediates cell entry. Because the ACE2 proteins are widely available in mammals, it is important to investigate the interactions between the RBD and the ACE2 of other mammals. Here we analyzed the sequences of ACE2 proteins from 16 mammals, predicted the structures of ACE2-RBD complexes by homology modeling, and refi...
Alymova IV, York IA, McCullers JA.PB1-F2 protein, expressed from an alternative reading frame of most influenza A virus (IAV) PB1 segments, may possess specific residues associated with enhanced inflammation (L62, R75, R79, and L82) and cytotoxicity (I68, L69, and V70). These residues were shown to increase the pathogenicity of primary viral and secondary bacterial infections in a mouse model. In contrast to human seasonal influenza strains, virulence-associated residues are present in PB1-F2 proteins from pandemic H1N1 1918, H2N2 1957, and H3N2 1968, and highly pathogenic H5N1 strains, suggesting their contribution to viruses...
Davies E, McConn-Palfreyman W, Williams JM, Lovell GP.Due to COVID-19, horseracing was required to cease all activity in March 2020; however, little is known about the pandemic's impact on staff working practices. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on staff working practices during the initial lockdown phases. An online survey about working conditions during lockdown was answered by 287 participants. Chi-squared tests for independence and binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis was undertaken. A total of 53.7% (n = 154) of staff were working during lockdown. Pandemic-specific workplace changes were reported as effective by 87.8% (n ...
Morens DM, Taubenberger JK.Influenza A viruses are globally enzootic in swine populations. Swine influenza has been recognised only since 1918, but an anecdotal report suggests that a swine-influenza epizootic might have occurred in England in 1892, at the same time as an explosive epidemic (or pandemic recurrence) of human influenza. This outbreak suggests that the ecobiological association between human and swine influenza could extend to before 1918. By contrast with the recent documentation of swine influenza, influenza in horses has been well documented for hundreds of years, and was often linked temporally and geo...
Pakdemirli A, Çalışkan E, Hacıoğlu S, Danyer E, Kardoğan Ö, Kurt ZE, Yıldırım Ö, Taşkaya H, Ündar B, Sezgin Y, Ergin G, Ekici H....SARS-CoV-2 disease was announced as a pandemic by The World Health Organization in early 2020. It is still threatening the world population. Here, we aimed to produce hyperimmune sera that contain immunoglobulin G and F(ab')2 fragments sourced from horse antibodies as an urgent response to the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 was produced and inactivated with three different methods [formaldehyde (FA), formaldehyde, and binary ethylene amine (FA + BEI), and heat treatment]. After in vitro inactivation control, immunogens were mixed with Freund’s adjuvant, thereafter horses (n: 2 for FA, 4 for FA + BEI, ...
Ward A, Stephen K, Argo C, Watson C, Harris P, Neacsu M, Russell W, Grove-White D, Morrison P.During the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, equestrian stakeholders faced a dilemma whereby they were required to balance caring for the welfare of horses with adapting to the restrictions imposed to protect public health. The present study investigated the impact of the pandemic on the wellbeing of a sample of industry stakeholders, including horse owners, equine veterinarians, farriers and welfare centre managers ( = 26) using a qualitative methodology. Findings from the interviews indicated that the mental health and wellbeing of veterinarians and horse owners was negatively affecte...
Beveridge WI.For 20 years after the influenza A virus was discovered in the early 1930s, it was believed to be almost exclusively a human virus. But in the 1950s closely related viruses were discovered in diseases of horses, pigs and birds. Subsequently influenza A viruses were found to occur frequently in many species of birds, particularly ducks, usually without causing disease. Researchers showed that human and animal strains can hybridise thus producing new strains. Such hybrids may be the cause of pandemics in man. Most pandemics have started in China or eastern Russia where many people are in intimat...
Martos Martinez-Caja A, De Herdt V, Enders-Slegers MJ, Moons CPH.The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic changes to our lifestyle, particularly affecting our ability to interact "in person" with our social network. These changes have had a detrimental effect on the mental welfare of the global population. The international questionnaire "Pets in Lockdown" was designed to investigate whether feelings of loneliness were affecting the mood of people during the COVID-19 lockdown and whether pet ownership may have had a positive influence on both loneliness and general mood. As expected, higher loneliness scores were associated with higher nega...
Thompson JM, Kibler ML, Ivey JLZ.The novel COVID-19 virus caused a global pandemic disrupting lives, industries, and economies. The result was an impact on prices due to challenges with production and supply chain distribution. This study investigates the financial strain COVID-19 had on equine owners and leasers, what the market for equine care would bear if costs for care increased, and what factors contribute to their willingness to pay (WTP) for increasing cost of equine care. An online survey was distributed for 4 weeks to adult U.S. residents. Respondents reported their involvement in the equine industry, financial resp...
Williams JM, Randle H, Marlin D.COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020; the United Kingdom (UK) implemented quarantine measures shortly afterward, resulting in rapid changes in how owners managed and interacted with their horses. This study provides a rapid analysis of the initial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the management of UK leisure and competition horses. A 17 question online survey was distributed via equestrian social media sites to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on horse and yard management and on human-horse interactions. Frequency analysis combined with Chi-squared and thematic analyses i...
Felici M, Cogger N, Riley CB, Padalino B.There is a lack of information on the number of horses shipped globally by air annually, the purpose of air travel and the routes of their journeys. This pilot study aimed to collect retrospective data on the international movements of horses by air from 2018 to 2021, describe their routes, and identify the possible effects of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Equine transport data was gathered from 7 of 15 international shipping companies (ISCs) and 5 of 8 airlines contacted by email. The seven ISCs performed a median of 10,401 horse movements annually, ranging from a few hundre...
Walker N, Huseman C, Cater M, McCorkle DA, Hanselka D, Zoller J.The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the availability of virtual horse showing opportunities. The objectives of this study were to describe survey participants' personal characteristics and participation in virtual and in-person horse shows, level of satisfaction, attitude toward technology and motivation to participate, and internal and external factors influencing the decision to participate in virtual horse shows. A survey was distributed to a target audience of adult horse show participants and/or adults supporting youth horse show participants via Qualtrics (n = 251). A majority of respo...
Hadian SA, Rezayatmand R.The economic impact of acute respiratory disease pandemics has yet to be specifically systematically reviewed. The aim of this scoping review is to identify and classify the economic impacts and its values and ranges. Unassigned: We conducted a literature search across three key databases using an extensive list of keywords. Then, we included studies which explored direct and indirect costs as well as broader economic impact associated with different nine acute respiratory diseases, i.e., pandemic and seasonal influenza, avian influenza, equine influenza, swine influenza, severe acute respirat...
Olsen M, Demaneuf T, Singh G, Goldsworthy A, Jones P, Morgan M, Nassar R, Senok A, Ghemrawi R, Almheiri R, Marzooqi HA, Almansoori S, Albastaki A....Mobile phones, used in billions throughout the world, are high-touch devices subject to a dynamic contamination of microorganisms and rarely considered as an important fomite to sanitise systematically. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 resulted in the COVID-19 pandemic, arguably the most impactful pandemic of the 21st century with millions of deaths and disruption of all facets of modern life globally. Objective: To perform a systematic review of the literature exploring SARS-CoV-2 presence as a contaminant on mobile phones. Methods: A systematic search (PubMed and Google Scholar) of literature was...
