Parasites are organisms that live on or within a host, deriving nutrients at the host's expense. In horses, parasitic infections can affect various systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and respiratory system. Common equine parasites include strongyles, ascarids, tapeworms, and bots. These parasites can lead to a range of health issues, from mild discomfort to severe disease, depending on the type and burden of the infestation. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the biology, life cycle, and impact of parasites on equine health, as well as strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of parasitic infections in horses.
Wise LN, Pelzel-McCluskey AM, Mealey RH, Knowles DP.Equine piroplasmosis, caused by the parasites Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, is a globally important disease, affecting a large percentage of the world's horses. This article serves as a review of these divergent parasites. Discussed are the clinical presentation of disease, diagnosis, and treatment. Special attention is given to the current disease status specifically in North America.
Guidi E, Pradier S, Lebert I, Leblond A.Theileria equi (Laveran 1901) and Babesia caballi (Nuttall and Strickland 1910) are the causative agents of Equine Piroplasmosis (EP), a severe and problematic disease compromising international movement of horses. Infected horses usually become asymptomatic carriers and, for this reason, their movement across borders may become restricted. The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of EP in Southern France and to evaluate risk factors associated with these parasites. In 2002, we performed a complement fixation test (CF) with blood samples from 443 horses stabled at 95 different fa...
Piantedosi D, D'Alessio N, Di Loria A, Di Prisco F, Mariani U, Neola B, Santoro M, Montagnaro S, Capelli G, Veneziano V.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) has been frequently described in donkeys in subtropical and tropical regions, but published data reflecting large scale surveys are very limited in Europe. The seroprevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi was determined in a donkey population from Campania Region in Southern Italy using a commercial indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), and the risk factors associated with the occurrence of the infection were assessed. Of 203 samples, the overall seroprevalence for EP was 57.1% (116/203), with 35.5% (72/203) for B. caballi and 44.3% (90/203) for T. equi. ...
Al-Mokaddem AK, Ahmed KA, Doghaim RE.Donkeys (Equus africanus asinus) are important working animals, particularly in countries where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line. Gastric ulceration has been shown to be common in British donkeys but donkeys from other parts of the world have not been as extensively researched. Objective: This study was performed as a preliminary overview of the severity and distribution of gastric lesions in mature donkeys and to document which parasites were present. Methods: Descriptive study of pathological findings. Methods: Stomachs of 35 mature draught donkeys were examined gr...
Lee SH, Lee SE, Seo MG, Goo YK, Cho KH, Cho GJ, Kwon OD, Kwak D, Lee WJ.The present study investigated the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) antibodies by ELISA in horses reared in Korea. Serum samples were collected from 2009 through 2013 from 816 horses reared in Korea. Analysis was performed using a commercial toxoplasmosis ELISA kit to detect anti-T. gondii antibodies. Overall, 24 out of 816 horses (2.9%) were seropositive for T. gondii. The result was analyzed by age, gender, breed and region. Significant differences were observed according to breed and region (P<0.05). This is the first nationwide serological investigation of T. gondii in ho...
Nielsen MK, Wang J, Davis R, Bellaw JL, Lyons ET, Lear TL, Goday C.The equine ascarid parasite Parascaris equorum is well known as a ubiquitous parasite infecting foals. A sibling species, Parascaris univalens, was first described over 130 years ago, but very little attention has been given to its existence and possible implications for anthelmintic resistance, clinical disease, or host age spectrum. P. univalens only possesses one germ line chromosome pair as opposed to two for P. equorum, but the two species are otherwise considered morphologically identical. For the present study, live worms obtained from the University of Kentucky parasitology horse herd ...
Rakhshandehroo E, Sharifiyazdi H, Shayegh H, Ahmadi A.Habronema muscae is a spirurid nematode that undergoes developmental stages in the stomach of equids, causing chronic catarrhal gastritis. Despite preceding investigations have developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays for molecular diagnosis, we aimed to assess the applicability of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) sequences to identify the H. muscae infection and to assess the level of intraspecific variations in this parasite obtained from affected horses in Southern Iran. According to the morphological characterizations, two different isolates of H. muscae were identified....
Burk SV, Dangoudoubiyam S, Brewster-Barnes T, Bryant UK, Howe DK, Carter CN, Vanzant ES, Harmon RJ, Kazacos KR, Rossano MG.Currently, diagnosis of Parascaris equorum infection in equids is limited to patent infections. The goals of this study were to culture P. equorum larvae in vitro and identify excretory-secretory (ES) products for prepatent diagnostic testing. Parascaris equorum L2/L3 larvae were hatched and cultured for up to 3 weeks for ES product collection. Fifth stage (L5) P. equorum were also cultured for ES product collection. Examination of ES fractions by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and silver stain revealed L2/L3 products ranging from 12-94 kDa and L5 products...
Armstrong SK, Woodgate RG, Gough S, Heller J, Sangster NC, Hughes KJ.This study was performed to estimate the prevalence of patent Parascaris equorum infections and determine the efficacy of ivermectin, pyrantel and fenbendazole against P. equorum infection in foals on farms in southern Australia. Foals aged >3 months on five farms in the south-western slopes region of New South Wales were used. Faeces were collected from each foal and foals with a P. equorum faecal egg count (FEC) of >100 eggs per gram (EPG) were used to measure anthelmintic efficacy using the FEC reduction (FECR) test, after random allocation to a control group or an ivermectin, pyrante...
Wilson AD.Horses are affected by a wide variety of arthropod ectoparasites, ranging from lice which spend their entire life on the host, through ticks which feed over a period of days, to numerous biting insects that only transiently visit the host to feed. The presence of ectoparasites elicits a number of host responses including innate inflammatory responses, adaptive immune reactions and altered behaviour; all of which can reduce the severity of the parasite burden. All of these different responses are linked through immune mechanisms mediated by mast cells and IgE antibodies which have an important ...
Wang W, Zhang D, Hu D, Chu H, Cao J, Ente M, Jiang G, Li K.Gasterophilosis is a significant threat to equids in the desert steppe of Xinjiang, China, where Gasterophilus pecorum (Fabricius) (Diptera: Gasterophilidae) is the dominant botfly species. A population analysis was conducted on 195 individual G. pecorum larvae from three host species, Przewalski's horse, the domestic horse and the Asiatic wild ass. The distribution of haplotypes of the maternally inherited mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene was analysed to assess the population differentiation of G. pecorum. High haplotype diversity was observed among G. pecorum popul...
Tydén E, Dahlberg J, Karlberg O, Höglund J.The development of anthelmintic resistance (AR) to macrocyclic lactones in the equine roundworm Parascaris equorum has resulted in benzimidazoles now being the most widely used substance to control Parascaris infections. However, over-reliance on one drug class is a risk factor for the development of AR. Consequently, benzimidazole resistance is widespread in several veterinary parasites, where it is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in drug targets encoded by the β-tubulin genes. The importance of these SNPs varies between different parasitic nematodes, but it has been h...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Kuzmina TA, Dzeverin II, Nielsen MK, McDowell KJ.The main purpose of the research was to determine if three weekly samplings would produce consistent results for low strongyle egg shedders, generally associated with older horses. Strongyle egg counts per gram of feces (EPG) were done for 661 Thoroughbred mares on 14 farms in 2012-2013 once a week for three consecutive weeks. None of the mares had been treated with ivermectin or moxidectin for more than 90 days and with fenbendazole, oxibendazole, or pyrantel pamoate for more than 60 days. Strongyle EPG count data indicated that 38.3% of the mares were positive at first and second sampling, a...
Palmer DG, Lyon J, Palmer MA, Forshaw D.To determine the specificity and sensitivity of a commercial copro-antigen ELISA for the detection of Fasciola hepatica infection in cattle and sheep and to assess the suitability of the test for use in horses. Methods: Testing was done on more than 100 negative faecal samples from each of sheep, cattle and horses and on at least 40 positive faecal samples from each species. Positive samples were selected based on a positive sedimentation test for liver fluke eggs. Faecal samples of animals from Western Australia, which is free of liver fluke infection, served as negative controls. Specificity...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC.The prevalence of patent Strongyloides westeri infections was determined by examination for eggs in fecal samples collected from 513 Thoroughbred (TB) foals between February 25 and June 3, 2014. The study was conducted with 244 colts and 269 fillies from 11 well-managed farms in Central Kentucky. Foals ranged from 17 to 117 days of age and had never been dewormed. The mean prevalence of patent S. westeri infection was 30% (156/513 foals). This prevalence was substantially greater than historical reports from the same sampling area during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It is hypothesized that ...
Manuja A, Kumar P, Kumar R, Kumar B, Singha H, Sharma RK, Yadav SC.Trypanosoma evansi is the causative agent of surra, which is the most common and widespread trypansomal disease. The infection is mainly restricted to animals, but it has also been documented in human. Trypanosomes possess the thick immunogenic surface coat known as variant surface glycoprotein (VSG). The parasite modifies the VSG constantly resulting in continuous antigenic variations and thus evades the host immune response. Due to antigenic variations, vaccination against trypanosomosis is not useful. Therefore, alternate strategies to augment the immune response are required. CpG-ODN class...
Lassen B, Peltola SM.There is evidence of resistance in horses to anthelmintic treatment using ivermectin and pyrantel. However, little information is available about the parasites, treatment practices or anthelmintic resistance in the horse population in Estonia. In the present study, we examined 41 trotting and riding horses aged < 3 years from four stables in Estonia. Faecal samples were collected, and horses were selected for treatment if the nematode egg count per gram faeces exceeded 200. Horses (n= 32) that shed strongyle-type eggs were treated with pyrantel, whereas Parascaris equorum-positive animals...
Wilkołek PM, Pomorski ZJ, Szczepanik MP, Adamek L, Pluta M, Taszkun I, Gołyński M, Rozwód A, Sitkowski W.The present study was designed to asses specific IgE towards environment allergens in 42 healthy horses. Determination of this immunoglobulin in serum serve as diagnostic tools in allergic diseases to improve efficacy of the treatment and proper allergen selection to specific immunotherapy. Serum levels of allergen specific IgE were measured with equine monoclonal antibody, using 15 individual and 5 mix allergens in North European Panel. The study revealed season dependent increased levels of allergen specific IgE in normal horses. It is noteworthy that healthy horses show high percentage of p...
Michlik KM, Biazik AK, Henklewski RZ, Szmigielska MA, Nicpoń JM, Pasławska U.Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) are congenital heart defects and have been described in both human and veterinary medical literature. Methods: A 5-year-old half-bred bay stallion was referred for surgical castration. Cardiac murmurs were heard on the presurgical clinical examination and the cardiac examination revealed subcutaneous oedema, tachycardia with a precodrial thrill and a grade 5/6 pansystolic murmur, which was heard on auscultation of the right and left side of the chest. Examination of the B-mode echocardiograms revealed the presence of a QAV (on...
Guo PF, Chen TT, Tsaihong JC, Ho GD, Cheng PC, Tseng YC, Peng SY.Cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium. A total of 436 horse fecal samples were collected from 19 farms, and acid-fast staining method was used for primary screening. Cryptosporidium oocysts were found in 161 samples, among which 33 positive sample were selected for nested PCR, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and DNA sequencing of 18 S rDNA, showing 31 samples to be bovine C. parvum and 2 C. felis. The methods employed in this study should be useful as tools to identify cryptosporidiosis genotypes and species of livestock.
Morsy AT, Saleh MS, Morsy TA.A zoonosis is an animal disease that is transmissible to humans. Humans are usually an accidental host that acquires disease through close contact with an infected animal, who may or may not be symptomatic. Children are at highest risk for infection because they are more likely to have close contact with pets. Pets are responsible for transmission of an extensive array of bacterial, fungal, and parasitic zoonotic pathogens. The route of transmission can be through the saliva (e.g., bites or contaminated scratches), feces, respiratory secretions, direct contact, or by the animal acting as a veh...
Qingling M, Guanglei W, Jun Q, Xinquan Z, Tianli L, Xuemei S, Jinsheng Z, Huisheng W, Kuojun C, Chuangfu C.Hydatid worms, hosted by humans and animals, impose serious human health risk and cause significant livestock production loss. To better understand the disease infection status in Xinjiang, China, we investigated the disease epidemics in 4 livestock animals, i.e., cattle, sheep (both sheep and goat), camels, and horses, slaughtered at the abattoirs in Urumqi, Yining, Tacheng, and Altay areas. The results showed that the animals were infected at different rates, in the order of sheep (9.8%), cattle (8.4%), camels (6.8%), and horses (4.3%). The infection rates were found to be different between ...
Sumbria D, Singla LD, Sharma A, Moudgil AD, Bal MS.The detection of Trypanosoma evansi in blood is intricate, primarily in chronic stage of infection, as the parasitaemia is often low and fluctuating. The climatic conditions of the target area of Punjab (a province of India with a total of 34,000 horses and ponies used for sports and transport) are conducive for the parasite propagation. The objective of present investigation was to assess the prevalence of T. evansi in central and western Punjab by PCR and card agglutination test (CATT/T. evansi) in relation to clinico-haematobiochemical alterations and risk factors associated with latent try...
Acosta Ida C, Da Costa AP, Gennari SM, Marcili A.Trypanosoma and Leishmania infections affect wild and domestic animals and human populations. The growing process of deforestation and urbanization of Atlantic Rainforest areas has given rise to introduction of humans and domestic animals to the sylvatic cycles of Trypanosoma and Leishmania species. Serological, parasitological, and molecular surveys among wild and domestic animals in the Corrego do Veado Biological Reserve, which is an Atlantic Rainforest fragment in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil, were evaluated. In total, 154 wild animals of 25 species and 67 domestic ani...
Collas C, Fleurance G, Cabaret J, Martin-Rosset W, Wimel L, Cortet J, Dumont B.Agroecology opens up new perspectives for the design of sustainable farming systems by using the stimulation of natural processes to reduce the inputs needed for production. In horse farming systems, the challenge is to maximize the proportion of forages in the diet, and to develop alternatives to synthetic chemical drugs for controlling gastrointestinal nematodes. Lactating saddle mares, with high nutritional requirements, are commonly supplemented with concentrates at pasture, although the influence of energy supplementation on voluntary intake, performance and immune response against parasi...
Bahrami S, Ghadrdan AR, Mirabdollahi SM, Fayed MR.A total of 105 blood samples from healthy horses from different stables in Yazd province, center of Iran, were examined for the presence of Theileria equi infection using parasitological and molecular methods. Out of the 105 samples, the parasitological method detected T. equi infection in 5 (4.76%) cases while the PCR method gave 24 (22.86%) positive results. Age, gender and breed were not determined as risk factors for T. equi infection in this study. Since blood samples were taken from healthy animals, this implies that 22.86% of horses had subclinical theileriosis in the current study. In ...
Reinemeyer CR, Prado JC, Andersen UV, Nielsen MK, Schricker B, Kennedy T.Strongylid infections are ubiquitous in grazing horse populations. Infections with cyathostomin (small strongyle) and strongylin (large strongyle) nematodes have long been associated with clinical disease in horses, but little is known about their subclinical impact. A masked, randomized, controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effects of daily administration of pyrantel tartrate on body condition scores, weight gain, fecal egg counts, and total worm counts of young horses repeatedly inoculated with strongylid larvae. Twenty eight immature horses were treated with larvicidal anthelminti...
Betancourt A, Lyons ET, Horohov DW.Anthelmintic treatments have been associated with local inflammatory reactions. Since each class of anthelmintic has unique mechanisms of action affecting different subpopulations of parasites, we hypothesised that they will also induce characteristic proinflammatory responses. Objective: To determine the effect of anthelmintic class on the proinflammatory response post treatment. Methods: Ponies naturally infected with cyathostomins and other parasites after pasture grazing were left untreated or treated with representatives of 3 different classes of anthelmintics: fenbendazole (benzimidazole...
Castagnolli KC, Ferreira BR, Franzin AM, de Castro MB, Szabó MP.This work evaluated the effect of the Amblyomma cajennense tick on the immune response of BALB/c mice and on horse lymph node cell proliferation. We observed that mice do not develop resistance to nymphs of this tick species and that lymphocyte proliferation of this host is inhibited by tick saliva, nymphal extract, or infestations. Horse lymph node cell proliferation is inhibited by tick saliva as well. Mice lymphocytes under the effect of tick saliva, nymphal extract, or infestations display a predominantly Th-2 cytokine production pattern. Observed results partially explain this tick's dise...
Stancampiano L, Usai F, Marigo A, Rinnovati R.Strongyle infections have been traditionally regarded as a possible cause of colic in horses. Aim of the study was the comparison of parasitological status between subjects with or without colic syndrome, with particular attention to small strongyle infections. Coprological analyses were performed on 86 horses: 43 with colic and 43 controls. Strongyle eggs were found in 34/86 horses (prevalence 39.5%), the mean number of strongyles eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) was 145.34 (standard deviation 398.28). All those 34 positive animals had small strongyles infections. Negative binomial multiple regr...
Wobeser BK, Godson DL, Rejmanek D, Dowling P.A protozoal parasite identified as Neospora hughesi was found in inflammatory lesions in the central nervous system of a Canadian-born adult horse presented with neurological signs. This is believed to be the first case of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) caused by Neospora hughesi in a horse outside of the United States. Un parasite protozoaire identifié comme a été trouvé dans les lésions inflammatoires du système nerveux central d’un cheval adulte né au Canada présentant des signes neurologiques. On croit qu’il s’agit du premier cas d’encéphalomyélite protozoai...
Torres R, Hurtado C, Pérez-Macchi S, Bittencourt P, Freschi C, de Mello VVC, Machado RZ, André MR, Müller A.This study aimed to serologically and molecularly survey and in thoroughbred horses from racecourses in Chile. Additionally, the genetic diversity of the positive samples was assessed. A total of 286 thoroughbred horses from the Santiago and Valparaíso racecourses had their serum samples submitted to an ELISA for and , and 457 samples (from the Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción racecourses) were tested with nested PCRs for the 48 KDa rhoptry protein (RAP-1) and 18S rRNA genes. Selected RAP-1 and 18S positive products were sequenced to perform phylogenetic and haplotype analyses. An ...
Moreno SA, Concepción JL, Nava M, Molinari J.In Venezuela, horses are indispensable for extensive cattle raising, and extensive cattle raising prevails in all regions. This determines the numerical relationship between horses and cattle (r = 0.93) to be relatively constant nationwide. At regional level, the average extension of cattle ranches varies greatly. However, in relation to the area covered by pastures, the numbers of horses (r = 0.95) and cattle (r = 0.93) are relatively uniform nationwide. Water buffalo occupy small fractions of the territory; therefore, their numbers are related to the area of pastures less strongl...
Cain JL, Nielsen MK.The equine ascarids, Parascaris spp., are important nematode parasites of juvenile horses and were historically model organisms in the field of cell biology, leading to many important discoveries, and are used for the study of chromatin diminution. In veterinary parasitology, Parascaris spp. are important not only because they can cause clinical disease in young horses but also because they are the only ascarid parasites to have developed widespread anthelmintic resistance. Despite this, much of the general biology and mechanisms of anthelmintic resistance are poorly understood. This review co...
Léveillé AN, Bland SK, Carlton K, Larouche CB, Kenney DG, Brouwer ER, Lillie BN, Barta JR.Species in the genus Klossiella Smith and Johnson, 1902 are unique among the suborder Adeleorina because they are monoxenous in mammals exclusively, whereas all other reported members of the Adeleorina use invertebrates as definitive hosts. Unlike other coccidia, all members of the Adeleorina undergo syzygy, the association of microgamonts and macrogamonts before maturation to gametes and syngamy. After fertilization, many members of the Adeleorina produce thin-walled polysporocystic oocysts. Despite being biologically similar to other members of the Adeleorina, the phylogenetic placement of t...
Hodgkinson JE, Love S, Lichtenfels JR, Palfreman S, Ramsey YH, Matthews JB.Here, we report evaluation of five oligoprobes designed from intergenic spacer (IGS) region sequences for identification of cyathostomin species. Oligoprobes were designed for identification of Cylicocyclus ashworthi, Cylicocyclus nassatus, Cylicostephanus longibursatus, Cylicostephanus goldi and a fifth probe designed to identify all members of this tribe. PCR amplification of IGS DNA from 16 cyathostomin species allowed sequence comparison and identification of four putative species-specific probes. Southern blotting of amplified products from 16 species showed that all probes were species-s...
Macdonald SL, Abbas G, Ghafar A, Gauci CG, Bauquier J, El-Hage C, Tennent-Brown B, Wilkes EJA, Beasley A, Jacobson C, Cudmore L, Carrigan P, Hurley J....Cyathostomins are the most common and highly prevalent parasites of horses worldwide. Historically, the control of cyathostomins has mainly relied on the routine use of anthelmintic products. Increasing reports on anthelmintic resistance (AR) in cyathostomins are concerning. A potential method proposed for detecting emerging AR in cyathostomins has been estimating the egg reappearance period (ERP). This paper reviews the data available for the ERP of cyathostomins against the three major classes of anthelmintics, macrocyclic lactones, tetrahydropyrimidines, and benzimidazoles. Published peer-r...
Eysker M, Jansen J, Mirck MH.Alternate grazing of horses and sheep as a control measure for gastrointestinal helminthiasis was studied in three grazing experiments in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Each year a group of three mare yearling Shetland ponies, which were kept on a small pasture from spring to autumn, were compared with a similar group which grazed a similar or the same pasture until July and were subsequently removed to a similar pasture which had been grazed by sheep from April to July. In addition both groups were treated with an anthelmintic when the latter group was removed to the sheep pasture. Pasture larval count...
Cirak VY, Güleğen E, Bauer C.A cross-sectional survey was performed on ten stud farms in western Anatolia, Turkey, in order to provide the first information on the problem of anthelmintic resistance in equine strongyles in this country. Benzimidazole (BZ) resistant cyathostomin populations were detected on seven farms if pre- and post-treatment egg counts are compared in treated animals and the resistance is defined as a mean faecal egg count reduction (FECR) of <95% with a lower 95% confidence limit of <90%. Egg hatch tests using an ED(50) of 0.1 microg/ml thiabendazole as the cut-off value confirmed BZ resistance on fou...
Allison K, Taylor NM, Wilsmore AJ, Garforth C.An online survey was conducted to establish horse owners' beliefs, attitudes and practices relating to the use of anthelmintic drugs. Out of a total of 574 respondents, 89 per cent described themselves as 'leisure riders', most of whom took part in a variety of activities including eventing, show jumping, dressage, hunter trials, hunting, driving, endurance and showing. Overall, respondents were generally aware and concerned about the issue of anthelmintic resistance. Less than 60 per cent of all respondents were comfortable with their existing anthelmintic programme, and 25 per cent would lik...
Leathwick DM, Sauermann CW, Reinemeyer CR, Nielsen MK.A model was developed to reproduce the dynamics of the parasitic stages of equine cyathostomins. Based on a detailed review of published literature, a deterministic simulation model was constructed using the escalator boxcar-train approach, which allows for fully-overlapping cohorts of worms and approximately normally distributed variations in age/size classes. Key biological features include a declining establishment of ingested infective stage larvae as horses age. Development rates are constant for all the parasitic stages except the encysted early third stage larvae, for which development ...
Nielsen MK, Vidyashankar AN, Gravatte HS, Bellaw J, Lyons ET, Andersen UV.Strongylus vulgaris is regarded as the most pathogenic helminth parasite infecting horses. Migrating larvae cause pronounced endarteritis and thrombosis in the cranial mesenteric artery and adjacent branches, and thromboembolism can lead to ischemia and infarction of large intestinal segments. A recently developed serum ELISA allows detection of S. vulgaris-specific antibodies during the six-month-long prepatent period. A population of horses has been maintained at the University of Kentucky without anthelmintic intervention since 1979, and S. vulgaris has been documented to be highly prevalen...
Zak A, Siwinska N, Slowikowska M, Borowicz H, Kubiak K, Hildebrand J, Popiolek M, Niedzwiedz A.There are no available studies describing the possible resistance of strongyles to ivermectin in horses in Poland. One hundred seventy three horses from nine stud farms from South-Western Poland were studied. The effectiveness of ivermectin was studied on the 14th day after ivermectin administration using the fecal egg count reduction test, and a long-term observation of the egg reappearance period was carried out. The fecal study was carried out using a modified McMaster method, which typically detects 20 eggs per gram of stool. The results were subjected to statistical analysis that enabled ...
Berlin D, Nasereddin A, Azmi K, Ereqat S, Abdeen Z, Eyal O, Baneth G.Trypanosoma evansi is the cause of surra in horses, camels and other domestic animals. Following the first outbreak of surra in horses and camels in Israel in 2006, a survey of the prevalence of the parasite in the Israeli horse population was conducted using serology, PCR followed by the reverse dot blot (RDB) technique and blood smear microscopy. In total, 614 horses from 7 regions were sampled. The CATT/T. evansi kit was used for serology for all the horses. Horses from the Arava and Dead Sea region, where the first outbreak occurred, were sampled again one year later and both samples were ...
Wells D, Krecek RC.Structured interviews using a questionnaire were conducted to gather information on socioeconomic aspects, health, nutrition, breeding and management of working equids in 3 study areas of Moretele 1 near Hammanskraal, North West Province, South Africa. The questionnaire addressed questions about the role of animals with a focus on donkeys used for work in these areas. Extension and animal health officers and donkey owners participated. The analysis highlights the use of donkeys for transport of water, wood and people; that ticks, wounds and harness sores are the conditions reported most freque...
Suganuma K, Yamasaki S, Molefe NI, Musinguzi PS, Davaasuren B, Mossaad E, Narantsatsral S, Battur B, Battsetseg B, Inoue N.Dourine is caused by Trypanosoma equiperdum via coitus with an infected horse. Although dourine is distributed in Equidae worldwide and is listed as an internationally important animal disease by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), no effective treatment strategies have been established. In addition, there are no reports on drug discovery, because no drug screening system exists for this parasite. A new T. equiperdum strain was recently isolated from the genital organ of a stallion that showed typical symptoms of dourine. In the present study, we adapted T. equiperdum IVM-t1 from...
Dowdall SM, Proudman CJ, Love S, Klei TR, Matthews JB.Cyathostomins are important equine gastrointestinal parasites. Mass emergence of mucosal stage larvae causes a potentially fatal colitis. Mucosal stages are undetectable non-invasively. An assay that would estimate mucosal larval stage infection would greatly assist in treatment, control and prognosis. Previously, we identified two putative diagnostic antigens (20 and 25 kDa) in somatic larval preparations. Here, we describe their purification and antigen-specific IgG(T) responses to them. Western blots confirmed the purity of the antigens and showed that epitopes in the 20 kDa complex were sp...
Ryu SH, Bak UB, Kim JG, Yoon HJ, Seo HS, Kim JT, Park JY, Lee CW.A 7-year-old Thoroughbred horse was admitted to the Equine Hospital, Korea Racing Association with signs of colic. Based on the size of impactions, the clinical signs, the results of abdominal paracentesis and medical treatment, the prognosis was poor. The horse died 3 hours later following hopeless discharge. At necropsy, the caecum and large colon were fully filled with fecal contents and there was a rupture (10 cm in dia) in the latero- ventral caecum. The mucosa of the ileo-caecal and caeco- colic valves appeared to the hyperemic, edematous and ulcerous. There were many tapeworms in the af...
Acosta Ida C, Da Costa AP, Gennari SM, Marcili A.Trypanosoma and Leishmania infections affect wild and domestic animals and human populations. The growing process of deforestation and urbanization of Atlantic Rainforest areas has given rise to introduction of humans and domestic animals to the sylvatic cycles of Trypanosoma and Leishmania species. Serological, parasitological, and molecular surveys among wild and domestic animals in the Corrego do Veado Biological Reserve, which is an Atlantic Rainforest fragment in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil, were evaluated. In total, 154 wild animals of 25 species and 67 domestic ani...
Bianchi MV, Mello LS, Wentz MF, Panziera W, Soares JF, Sonne L, Driemeier D, Pavarini SP.Diseases related to the alimentary system are the main cause of death in horses. This retrospective study aimed to describe the pathological findings of fatal parasite-induced enteritis and typhlocolitis caused by cyathostominae, Eimeria leuckarti, Balantidium coli, and Strongyloides westeri in horses. The records of parasite-induced intestinal lesions in horses necropsied in Southern Brazil between 2005 and 2017 were reviewed. Ten horses had fatal parasitic enteritis and/or typhlocolitis, and the main causes were: cyathostominae typhlocolitis (6/10), E. leuckarti enteritis (1/10), S. westeri ...
Reinemeyer CR, Prado JC, Nielsen MK.Despite widespread acknowledgement of cyathostomin resistance to adult icidal dosages of benzimidazole (BZD) anthelmintics, many strongyle control programs continue to feature regularly scheduled larvicidal treatment with fenbendazole (FBZ). However, no studies have been conducted to evaluate the efficacy of larvicidal regimens against encysted cyathostomins in a BZD-resistant (BZD-R) population. A masked, randomized, controlled clinical study was conducted with 18 juvenile horses harboring populations of cyathostomins that were considered BZD-R on the basis of fecal egg count reduction (FECR)...
Murphy AJ, Mansfield LS.Sarcocystis neurona is a protozoan parasite that causes a neurological disease in horses called equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. The route of transmission is speculated to be by fecal-oral transfer of sporocysts shed from opossums. Controversy exists regarding both the natural life cycle for this parasite as well as the species identity of opossum Sarcocystis. To provide stage-specific material for species comparison, 27 opossums from southern Michigan were screened for Sarcocystis spp. sporocysts. Seven opossums were positive for Sarcocystis sporocysts by fecal flotation. A simplified, eff...
Crotch-Harvey L, Thomas LA, Worgan HJ, Douglas JL, Gilby DE, McEwan NR.Anthelmintics are used as anti-worming agents. Although known to affect their target organisms, nothing has been published regarding their effect on other digestive tract organisms or on metabolites produced by them. The current work investigated effects of fenbendazole, a benzimidazole anthelmintic, on bacteria and ciliates in the equine digestive tract and on and their major metabolites. Animals receiving anthelmintic treatment had high faecal egg counts relative to controls. Analysis was performed over two weeks, with temporal differences detected in bacterial populations but with no other ...
Abdullah HHAM, Elbayoumy MK, Allam AM, Ashry HM, Abdel-Shafy S.Vector-borne bacterial diseases (VBBD) are a diverse group of tropical and subtropical zoonotic diseases. This study investigated the possibility of domestic animals to carry certain vector-borne bacterial microorganisms (VBBMs), as well as the presence of these targeted DNAs in their ectoparasites in different localities of Egypt using molecular analyses. For this study, 234 animal hosts (112 cattle, 38 sheep, 28 goats, 26 buffaloes, 22 donkeys, and 8 horses) in addition to 115 ectoparasites (95 ticks and 20 lice) were investigated for the molecular detection of Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp....
Bishop RM, Scott I, Gee EK, Rogers CW, Pomroy WE, Mayhew IG.To ascertain whether resistance was present in Parascaris equorum to the macrocyclic lactone anthelmintic ivermectin, using faecal egg count reduction tests. Methods: Thirty-nine foals aged between 11 and 28 weeks on three Thoroughbred stud farms (Farms A; n=20, B; n=5 and C; n=14) were treated with ivermectin (Day 0) and faecal egg counts (FEC) were monitored before and for 21 (Farms A and B) or 14 (Farm C) days after treatment. On Farms A and B, the foals were treated with a macrocyclic lactone/benzimidazole/praziquantel combination on Day 21 and FEC assessed on Day 35. The three farms were ...
Ramalho Sousa S, Anastácio S, Nóvoa M, Paz-Silva A, Madeira de Carvalho LM.In Portugal, equine parasitism in pasture animals is characterized by high parasitic burden and high helminthic biodiversity; both factors are potentially pathogenic for their hosts. The decrease in the number of donkeys over the last years in Portugal, their importance in rural lowland and mountain ecosystems and pastures and the scarce information regarding their parasitism led to this research, which aimed to evaluate the parasitological status of a Miranda donkey breed population, a native breed mainly located in the northeast of Portugal. This study provides better knowledge of their gast...
Selmi R, Dhibi M, Ben Said M, Ben Yahia H, Abdelaali H, Ameur H, Baccouche S, Gritli A, Mhadhbi M.Livestock constitute habitual hosts and carriers for several infectious pathogens which may represent a serious public health concern affecting the readiness of military forces and lead to wide economic losses. The present report aimed to investigate the prevalence of some haemopathogens infecting military livestock, particularly, dromedaries, sheep and horses using Giemsa-stained blood smears. A total of 300 animals (100 from each species) were selected, clinically examined and sampled. Trypanosoma spp. (22.0%), Anaplasma spp. (17.0%) and Babesia spp. (1.0%) were identified in camels' blood. ...
Hammerschmitt ME, Henker LC, Lichtler J, da Costa FVA, Soares RM, Llano HAB, Pavarini SP.Sarcocystis neurona is the main agent associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Apart from horses, S. neurona has been occasionally described causing neurologic disease in several other terrestrial animals as well as mortality in marine mammals. Herein, we describe the clinical, pathological, and molecular findings of a fatal case of S. neurona-associated meningoencephalitis in a domestic cat. The causing agent was analyzed by multilocus genotyping, confirming the presence of S. neurona DNA in the tissue samples of the affected animal. Significant molecular differences were fou...
