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.
Murrell KD, Djordjevic M, Cuperlovic K, Sofronic Lj, Savic M, Djordjevic M, Damjanovic S.A discovery in 2002 of a Trichinella spiralis-infected horse in Serbia offered an opportunity to conduct needed epidemiological studies on how horses, considered herbivores, acquire a meat-borne parasite. This enigma has persisted since the first human outbreaks from infected horse meat occurred in then 1970s. The trace back of the infected horse to a farm owner was carried out. Interviews and investigations on the farm led to the conclusion that the owner had fed the horse food waste in order to condition the horse prior to sale. Further investigations were then carried out to determine the f...
Drogemuller M, Failing K, Schnieder T, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.This study was designed to investigate the effect of repeated treatments with increasingly high fenbendazole (FBZ) dosages on the phenotype and genotype of a benzimidazole (BZ)-resistant cyathostomin population. An experimentally infected horse was treated repeatedly with FBZ dose rates between 7.5 and 30.0 mg/kg body weight (bw) over approximately 2 years. Faecal egg counts (FECs) and larval cultures were performed weekly. A total of 45 faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRTs) were analysed, revealing a high variability during the course of experiment with a mean value in faecal egg count re...
Mancianti F.Feline leishmaniasis (FL) is a quite uncommon feature. Clinical disease has been described in cats since nineties begin. More than 40 reports in world literature have been referred, but the clinical cases have been only recently well defined. Most of the reports focus on infected cats living in endemic areas, even if, more recently FL due to Leishmania infantum was found in Sao Paulo State, in Brazil where autochthonous human or canine leishmaniasis cases have never reported. In Europe clinical cases of FL have been described from Portugal, France, Spain and Italy from 1996 to 2002. When a typ...
Epe C, Coati N, Schnieder T.The results of coproscopical examinations in horses, ruminants, pigs, dogs, cats, hedgehogs and rabbits between 1998 and 2002 are presented. In 4399 samples from horses 37.4% stages of strongylids, 1.4% anoplocephalids, 1.3% Strongyloides westeri, 0.9% Parascaris equorum, 0.04% Oxyuris equi, 0.04% Eimeria sp. and 0.04% Fasciola hepatica were found. In 998 samples of cattle 22.1% stages of strongylids, 11.2% of Eimeria spp., 3.5% of cryptosporidium, 2.9% of Moniezia spp., 1.3% of Trichuris spp., 0.7% of Dictyocaulus sp., 0.6% of Fasciola hepatica, 0.6% of Strongyloides sp., 0.5% of Nematodirus ...
Lindsay DS, Mitchell SM, Vianna MC, Dubey JP.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis is a major cause of neurological disease in horses from the Americas. Horses are considered accidental intermediate hosts. The structure of sporocysts of the causative agent, Sarcocystis neurona, has never been described. Sporocysts of S. neurona were obtained from the intestines of a laboratory-raised opossum fed skeletal muscles from a raccoon that had been fed sporocysts. Sporocysts were 11.3 by 8.2 microm and contained 4 sporozoites. The appearance of the sporocyst residuum was variable. The residuum of some sporocysts was composed of many dispersed granu...
Traversa D, Giangaspero A, Galli P, Paoletti B, Otranto D, Gasser RB.Gastric or cutaneous habronemosis caused by Habronema microstoma Creplin, 1849 and Habronema muscae Carter, 1865 is a parasitic disease of equids transmitted by muscid flies. There is a paucity of information on the epidemiology of this disease, which is mainly due to limitations with diagnosis in the live animal and with the identification of the parasites in the intermediate hosts. To overcome such limitations, a molecular approach, based on the use of genetic markers in the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2) of ribosomal DNA, was established for the two species of Habronema. Charact...
Nagore D, García-Sanmartín J, García-Pérez AL, Juste RA, Hurtado A.Specific oligonucleotide probes were designed to develop a new and highly sensitive reverse line blot assay to detect and identify simultaneously different Theileria and Babesia species in horses. The amplified hypervariable V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene was hybridised against different generic and species-specific probes. The survey was conducted over 243 samples of equine blood divided into three different groups: group 1, 24 horses presented as possible clinical piroplasmosis; group 2, 181 clinically healthy free-ranging horses exposed to ticks; group 3, 38 riding horses with unrelated pat...
Matthews JB, Hodgkinson JE, Dowdall SM, Proudman CJ.Intestinal helminths are an important cause of equine disease. Of these parasites, the Cyathostominae are the commonest group that infect horses. These nematodes consist of a complex tribe of 51 species, although individual horses tend to harbour 10 or so common species, in addition to a few rarer species. The Cyathostominae can be extremely pathogenic, and high levels of infection result in clinical symptoms ranging from chronic weight loss to colic, diarrhoea and death. As part of their life cycle, immature cyathostomins penetrate the large intestinal wall, where they can enter a state of in...
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...
Ryu SH, Jang JD, Bak UB, Lee C, Youn HJ, Lee YL.A weanling Thoroughbred foal was admitted to Equine Hospital, Korea Racing Association with signs of colic. On admission the foal was sweating profusely, appeared anxious and exhibiting signs suggestive of abdominal pain. Clinical examination revealed: tachycardia (90 beats/min), tachypnea (50 breaths/min) and congested and slightly cyanotic mucous membranes. No intestinal sounds were auscultated in all 4 abdominal quadrants. Rectal palpation identified concurrent cecum and large colon impactions. Treatment consisted of intravenous administration of a balanced electrolyte solution, nasogastric...
Slocombe JO.Aims of this study with 13 equids naturally infected with Anoplocephala perfoliata were to document (i) a critical test with a period of 48 h from treatment to necropsy to assess the efficacy of an anthelmintic against the tapeworm, (ii) the efficacy of pyrantel pamoate oral paste at 13.2 mg pyrantel base/kg body weight, and (iii) the time after treatment when fecal egg counts would best estimate the tapeworm's prevalence in a herd. Feces passed in successive 12-h periods after treatment were examined for tapeworms. At necropsy, tapeworms in equids were identified as attached to the mucosa or ...
Spencer JA, Ellison SE, Guarino AJ, Blagburn BL.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a neurologic syndrome seen in horses from the Americas and is mainly caused by Sarcocystis neurona. Cell-mediated immune responses to mitogens have been shown to be reduced in horses with EPM, although it is not known whether the parasite causes this immunosuppression or if the immunosuppression is required for disease manifestation. Recently, a 29-kDa surface antigen from S. neurona merozoites was identified as being highly immunodominant on Western blot. This antigen has been sequenced and cloned, and the expressed protein has been named SnSAG1. Is...
Deprez P, Vercruysse J.The results of the treatment with moxidectin or ivermectin of 20 horses with clinical cyathostominosis were studied during a 3-week observation period. Both treatments were effective in completely eliminating larvae from the faeces within 1 or 2 weeks, but no significant improvement in body weight or clinical parameters could be demonstrated over the observation period. The poor short time results of the treatment support the need for an adequate prevention of cyathostominosis in horses.
Otranto D, Colwell DD, Milillo P, Di Marco V, Paradies P, Napoli C, Giannetto S.Two species of Rhinoestrus (i.e. Rhinoestrus purpureus (Brauer) and Rhinoestrus usbekistanicus Gan) cause nasal myiasis in horses, donkeys and zebras. In the past 15 years myiasis caused by R. purpureus has been reported in Egypt and by R. usbekistanicus in Senegal and Niger, both in horses and in donkeys. With the aim to investigate the presence of this myiasis in autochthonous horses and donkeys from southern Italy and to study the seasonal trend of larval infection, 212 native horses were necropsied in two slaughterhouses in the Apulia region (site A) from January to November 2003, and 120 ...
Ramsey YH, Christley RM, Matthews JB, Hodgkinson JE, McGoldrick J, Love S.A study following the development of Cyathostominae from egg to the infective larval third stage was conducted from April to December 2001 in west central Scotland. Duplicate samples (1 kg) of naturally infected faeces were placed on a 78 cm2 plot each week on a cyathostomin-free pasture. Subsamples of the grass surrounding the faecal plot were collected weekly on four occasions and the number of larvae obtained determined. Few larvae were recovered in the first week of development of individual plots, followed by a rise in the numbers of larvae in second, third and fourth weeks of development...
Majewska AC, Solarczyk P, Tamang L, Graczyk TK.A total of 564 fecal specimens from 318 horses used for recreational riding, child hippotherapy, and racing at ten commercial and government-run stables in western Poland were tested for Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts by microscopic examination of Ziehl-Neelsen stained smears, enzyme immunoassay, and combined direct immunofluorescent antibody and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Also, seven stool specimens from five personnel who had repeated contact with these horses were tested for C. parvum oocysts. Eleven horses that shed C. parvum oocysts were found in five of ten stables (50%). The pre...
Rehbein S, Holste JE, Doucet MY, Fenger C, Paul AJ, Reinemeyer CR, Smith LL, Yoon S, Marley SE.The efficacy of an oral formulation of ivermectin plus praziquantel in the reduction of nematode and cestode egg counts in horses was assessed in 273 horses under field conditions at 15 sites in North America (n = 6) and Europe (n = 9). Horses were confirmed by fecal examination to have natural infections of strongyles (100%) and tapeworms (76%). Replicates of four horses were formed at each site, and in each replicate three animals received ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg body weight) plus praziquantel (1 mg/kg body weight) oral paste and one animal remained untreated or received vehicle paste. Fecal s...
Grubbs ST, Amodie D, Rulli D, Wulster-Radcliffe M, Reinemeyer C, Yazwinski T, Tucker C, Hutchens D, Smith L, Patterson D.The safety and efficacy of 2% moxidectin/12.5% praziquantel oral gel administered at a rate of 0.4 mg moxidectin and 2.5 mg praziquantel/kg was studied in client-owned horses under field use conditions. Four hundred horses (300 treated with moxidectin/praziquantel oral gel and 100 treated with vehicle) were enrolled, feces were collected, and eggs were counted. Investigators as well as horse owners were masked to treatment assignment. No adverse reactions to treatment were observed in any horses. Moxidectin/praziquantel gel reduced Anoplocephala spp by more than 99% and provided a significant ...
Tandon R, Kaplan RM.A larval development assay (LDA, DrenchRite) was evaluated to determine the effectiveness of this method in detecting anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin nematodes of horses. A total of 15 horse farms from Georgia and South Carolina (USA) and Population S ponies from the University of Kentucky (USA) were included in this study. Nematode eggs were extracted from pooled fecal samples and placed into the wells of a DrenchRite plate for testing against thiabendazole (TBZ), levamisole (LEV) and 2 ivermectin (IVM) analogs (IVM-1, IVM-2). After a 7-day incubation larvae in each well were counted ...
De Carli GA, Tasca T, Pires Borges F.The in vitro hemolytic activity of Tritrichomonas foetus was investigated. The parasite was tested against human erythrocytes of groups A, B, AB, and O, and against erythrocytes of nine adult animals of different species (the rabbit, rat, chicken, cat, dog, swine, horse, bovine, and sheep). The results showed that T. foetus strains (ATCC KV1, K, PAL, 5022, RJ, 90) did not present any hemolytic activity against any human erythrocyte group nor against rabbit, rat, chicken, cat, dog and swine erythrocytes. T. foetus strains, however, lysed horse, bovine, and sheep erythrocytes. No hemolysin relea...
Boxell AC, Gibson KT, Hobbs RP, Thompson RC.To assess the occurrence of gastrointestinal parasites in horses in Perth. To apply polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the identification of some species of encysted larval cyathostomes. Methods: Between February and September of 2000, the gastrointestinal tracts of 29 horses submitted to a local knackery and Murdoch University Veterinary hospital in Perth were examined post mortem for the presence of gastrointestinal parasites. Methods: The gastrointestinal tract was divided into six sections, which were screened for the presence of parasites such as Gasterophilus sp, Anoplocephala sp and Pa...
Barrett EJ, Farlam J, Proudman CJ.Two hundred and thirty-three horses were screened for the presence of roundworms by faecal egg counts (FECs) and for tapeworms by an ELISA specific for antibodies to the immunodominant 12 kDa and 13 kDa tapeworms antigen. The 62 horses were found to be infected with both parasites were treated with a combination of 0.2 mg/kg ivermectin and 1.5 mg/kg praziquantel. The treatment suppressed the median FEC of the horses to zero for 10 weeks and significantly reduced their anti-12/13 kDa antibody levels. The estimated risk of tapeworm-associated colic in these horses was halved by 12 weeks after th...
Gasser RB, Hung GC, Chilton NB, Beveridge I.Infections of equids with parasitic nematodes of the order Strongylida (subfamilies Strongylinae and Cyathostominae) are of major veterinary importance. In last decades, the widespread use of drugs against these parasites has led to problems of resistance within the Cyathostominae, and to an increase in their prevalence and intensity of infection. Novel control strategies, based on improved knowledge of parasite biology and epidemiology, have thus become important. However, there are substantial limitations in the understanding of fundamental biological and systematic aspects of these parasite...
Wirtherle N, Schnieder T, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.Faecal egg counts (FECs) were made on samples from 1383 horses on 64 farms in northern Germany between August 2000 and November 2001. There were significant differences between the mean FECs in the two years; in 2000, 59.6 per cent of 369 samples were positive and in 2001, 32.6 per cent of 1014 samples were positive for strongyle eggs. The results of a FEC reduction test indicated that resistance to fenbendazole was present on all 10 farms where it had been used, including in 33 of 60 horses tested. In contrast, treatment with ivermectin resulted in the complete elimination of nematode eggs in...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC.Prevalence of internal parasites was determined by fecal examination for eggs and oocysts in Thoroughbred foals in central Kentucky in 2003. Fecal samples were examined from 733 foals on 14 farms. This included 70 trips to the farms and a total of 2,346 fecal samplings. Monthly collection of fecal samples was begun for four farms in February, six in March, three in April, and one farm in May. Termination of the study for all farms was the end of July. A criterion was that the foals be at least 10 days old for initial samplings. If available, the same foals were sampled each time, in addition t...
Love S.Since 1917, only 11 new endoparasiticides have been developed for the horse, of which five chemical classes are in common use. The selection pressure of frequent administration of deworming doses for parasite control programs has been associated with the development of resistance of small strongyle parasites to the effects of benzimidazoles and pyrantel salts. Against the background of the inevitability of the occurrence of ivermectin/moxidectin resistance, responsible use of equine anthelmintics based on the clinical pharmacology of the compounds and the biology/epidemiology of intestinal par...
Mitchell SM, Zajac AM, Davis WL, Lindsay DS.Toxoplasma gondii is an important apicomplexan parasite of humans and other warm-blooded animals. Ponazuril is a triazine anticoccidial recently approved for use in horses in the United States. We investigated the mode of action of ponazuril against developing RH strain T. gondii tachyzoites in African green monkey kidney cells. Host cells were infected with 2.0 x 10(5) tachyzoites and treated with 5 microg/ml ponazuril. Cultures were fixed and examined by transmission electron microscopy 3 days after treatment. Ponazuril interfered with normal parasite division. This led to the presence of mu...
Brianti E, Giannetto S, Traversa D, Chirgwin SR, Shakya K, Klei TR.A mixed population of equine cyathostomin (Nematoda, Strongyloidea) infective third stage larvae (L3) was cultured in vitro using a cell-free medium. Some L3 were cultured immediately after Baermann collection from fecal cultures, while others were kept in water at 4 degrees C for 7 days before initiating the in vitro cultures. Cultures were examined daily for viability. At days 2, 7, 14 and 21 larvae were collected for identification of developmental stage and morphological changes, using both light and scanning electron microscopy. Larvae were classified as early L3 (EL3), developing L3 (DL3...
Slusarewicz P, Slusarewicz JH, Nielsen MK.An automated equine fecal egg count test, known as the Parasight System, was modified for use with small ruminants. Modifications included the introduction of a short centrifugation step in a floatation medium, an adjustment in pre-test sample filtering, and training of an image analysis-based egg counting algorithm to recognize and enumerate trichostrongylid eggs. In preliminary assessments, the modified method produced trichostrongylid egg counts comparable to manual McMaster analyses of the same samples from both ovine and caprine sources. The coefficient of determination (R) for the linear...
French DD, Klei TM, Foil CS, Miller RI, Foil LD, Chapman MR, McClure JJ.The efficacy of a single dose of ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg), in injectable or paste formulations, against microfilariae of Onchocerca cervicalis and associated skin lesions was evaluated in 20 naturally infected horses during midsummer months in Louisiana. All horses had clinical signs of dermatitis of the ventral midline and/or limbs, shoulders, thorax, and withers. Efficacy was monitored at 21, 42, and 63 days after treatment. Procedures done at these intervals included microfilarial counts of 6-mm skin biopsy specimens of affected ventral midline, grading of gross lesions, and photography and h...
Traversa D, Otranto D, Iorio R, Giangaspero A.Equine thelaziosis caused by the eyeworm Thelazia lacrymalis is a parasitic disease transmitted by muscid flies. Although equine thelaziosis is known to have worldwide distribution, information on the epidemiology and presence of the intermediate hosts of T. lacrymalis is lacking. In the present work, a PCR-RFLP based assay on the first and/or second internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) of ribosomal DNA was developed for the detection of T. lacrymalis DNA in its putative vector(s). The sensitivity of the technique was also assessed. The restriction patterns obtained readily differentiat...
Holman PJ, Becu T, Bakos E, Polledo G, Cruz D, Wagner GG.Babesia equi, a causative agent of equine piroplasmosis, was isolated from horses in the Chaco Province of Argentina, a known piroplasmosis endemic region. Fifteen B. equi field isolates were acquired by culture from 23 actively working horses from 2 ranches. The horses appeared healthy with no clinical signs or histories indicative of equine piroplasmosis. All 23 horses had B. equi-specific antibody activity by the indirect fluorescent antibody test and 18 were also complement fixation test positive for B. equi. Equine erythrocytes were prepared for parasite culture using a microcentrifuge tu...
Nurcahyo W, Yowi MRK, Hartati S, Prastowo J.Horses have a strategic and vital role to play in the lives of the people of Sumba Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province. They act as social animals that are involved in death ceremonies, horse races, and during pasola, thereby supporting tourism, and are given away as dowry in wedding ceremonies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of trypanosomiasis among horses in four districts of Sumba Island by examining clinical symptoms and detecting parasites, antibodies, and other factors that are related to infection in horses. Methods: We studied a total of 211 horses that belonged to 88 ...
Zhou R, Yang J, Zhang K, Qi Y, Ma W, Wang Z, Ente M, Li K.The absolute dominant species that infests wild population of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) is Gasterophilus pecorum, and feces of released Przewalski's horse, a habitat odor, plays an important role in mating and ovipositing locations of G. pecorum. To screen out unique volatiles for attracting G. pecorum, volatiles from fresh feces of released horses at stages of pre-oviposition (PREO), oviposition (OVIP), and post-oviposition (POSO) of G. pecorum, and feces with three different freshness states (i.e., Fresh, Semi-fresh, and Dry) at OVIP were collected by dynamic headspace adsorptio...
Zweygarth E, Lopez-Rebollar LM, Meyer P.Twenty blood samples of zebras (Equus zebra zebra) from the Karoo National Park and the Bontebok National Park in South Africa, all seropositive for Theileria equi, were subjected to in vitro culture to identify carrier animals and to isolate the parasites. Sixteen animals had a detectable parasitaemia in Giemsa-stained blood smears examined before culture initiation, the remaining four animals were identified as T. equi carriers by in vitro culture. Cultures were initiated either in an oxygen-reduced gas mixture or in a 5% CO2-in-air atmosphere. Out of the 20 blood samples, 12 cultures of T. ...
Bürger HJ, Bauer C.In order to confirm benzimidazole resistance as recommended at a workshop of the Commission of the European Communities the isolate 'E' of cyathostome strongyles originating from a stud where benzimidazole resistance had been demonstrated by egg hatch tests and by egg count reduction tests was investigated in two series of critical tests. Each of 11 foals reared strongyle-free was infected with 130,000 third stage cyathostome larvae. One animal remained untreated, two pairs of foals were treated with paste formulations of the (pro)benzimidazoles cambendazole (20 mg/kg bodyweight) or febantel (...
Young KE, Garza V, Snowden K, Dobson RJ, Powell D, Craig TM.Diversity of parasite populations was compared between two herds of horses, one a regularly treated herd the other a feral herd which has bad no anthelmintic treatment for at least 25 years. Eggs obtained from fecal samples of both herds were tested for anthelmintic resistance by use of an in-vitro larval hatch/development assay (LDA), DrenchRite. A fecal egg reduction test was also performed with the domesticated herd using fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate and ivermectin. Cyathostomes were the predominant group of worms present in both herds. Trichostrongylus axei was seen in both herds, but St...
Nogueira BCF, Campos AK, Alves RS, de Cássia Vieira Faria R, Sarandy MM, Fonseca E Silva F, Gonçalves RV.Amblyomma sculptum is frequently observed parasitizing horses, responsible for economic losses, damage to the host''s skin and transmission of pathogens. The oxidative stress profile and inflammatory mechanisms involved in this parasitism remain poorly studied. Thus, this study aimed to assess the histopathological changes and oxidative profile responses of horses in the attachment site of A. sculptum to find variations that indicate resistance and susceptibility between the breeds to this tick, based on the hypothesis that resistant animals have a greater inflammatory response and lesser numb...
Rahmani SS, Malekifard F, Tavassoli M.Neospora caninum is an Apicomplexan parasite that can cause enormous economic losses due to abortions in cattle. The present study investigated the role of Neospora spp. infection in equine abortion in Iranian donkeys using molecular and phylogenetic analyses. Twenty-nine-aborted fetuses and 29 blood samples from their dams were collected from six different regions in the West and Northwest of Iran. They were tested for N. caninum by PCR at the Nc5 locus, followed by sequencing of five of the PCR products. The overall molecular prevalence was 34.5% in blood samples and the prevalence by DNA de...
van Doorn DC, Kooyman FN, Eysker M, Hodgkinson JE, Wagenaar JA, Ploeger HW.Cyathostomins are considered to be the primary helminth pathogen of horses and macrocyclic lactones (ML) are the most frequently used anthelmintics. Therefore, ML resistance is a serious threat for the control of these parasites. In the present study ivermectin resistant cyathostomin L3 were in vitro selected, using a reiterative larval migration inhibition assay (rLMIA) and differentiated by reverse line blot (RLB). Larvae were obtained from two populations, one from a never treated, free-roaming horse population in the nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen (OVP) and the other from regularly ive...
Thompson KR, Clarkson L, Riley CB, van den Berg M.Little is known about the horse health management practices of Australian horse caregivers (owners). This article presents findings from a convenience sample of 505 horse owners who participated in an online survey. No large-scale welfare issues were identified, but there were some areas of potential concern, including owners who did not regularly deworm their horses (4%), a lack of strategic parasite control (3.1%), and a lack of regular dental care (11%). Several participants did not have their horse's hooves regularly shod or trimmed (2%), and 14% had an unqualified person maintain their ho...
Getachew AM, Innocent G, Proudman CJ, Trawford A, Feseha G, Reid SW, Faith B, Love S.A 12/13 kDa antigen, tapeworm ELISA test, developed for use in horses, was used to detect parasite-specific serum antibody, IgG(T), in the serum of donkeys. In a pilot study the 12/13 kDa antigen was tested and proved to detect the antibody, IgG(T), in donkey sera. Blood samples from 797 donkeys, naturally exposed to cestode infection, from four geographical localities were collected and sera were prepared and analysed. There was substantial serological evidence that donkeys were potentially infected with A. perfoliata. A range of ELISA OD values were obtained from the serological assay. Over ...
Eysker M, Boersema JH, Kooyman FN.Two groups of three ponies were used to study the effect of three ivermectin or pyrantel treatments given at intervals of 5 weeks at the beginning of the grazing season. Although each pyrantel treatment resulted in a greater than 95% reduction in faecal egg counts during the first 3 weeks, high pasture larval counts were seen from the beginning of August onwards and substantial cyathostomine burdens were found at necropsy in December. The ivermectin treatments resulted in an even more pronounced reduction in faecal egg output, and the pasture larval counts and cyathostomine burdens at necropsy...
Galon EM, Macalanda AM, Garcia MM, Ibasco CJ, Garvida A, Ji S, Zafar I, Hasegawa Y, Liu M, Ybañez RH, Umemiya-Shirafuji R, Ybañez A, Claveria F....Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) considerably impair equine health and productivity. Moreover, TBDs, particularly equine piroplasmosis, impede international movement and trade of equids, which is a vital component of the global horse racing industry. In the Philippines, horse racing is a lucrative industry generating millions of USD annually. However, information on equine TBDs is scarce. This study intended to describe molecularly the equine tick-borne infections in a racehorse park in Cavite, Philippines and identify the risk factors associated with the infections. One hundred twenty-four (n = 124...
Drudge JH, Tolliver SC, Lyons ET.From 1977 to 1981, critical tests were conducted on 10 horses naturally infected with population B strongyles. Drugs tested were: oxibendazole (OBZ), 10 mg/kg of body weight (n = 1); albendazole, 10 mg/kg (n = 1); a mixture of thiabendazole (TBZ), 44 mg/kg and trichlorfon, 40 mg/kg (n = 1); a mixture of TBZ at 44 mg/kg with piperazine (PPZ) at 55 mg of base/kg (n = 1); febantel (FBT), 6 mg/kg (n = 3), 12 mg/kg (n = 1), or 24 mg/kg (n = 1); and pyrantel (PRT) pamoate, 6.6 mg of base/kg (n = 1). Large strongyles, Strongylus vulgaris (9 horses) and S edentatus (5 horses), were effectively removed...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Drudge JH, Stamper S, Swerczek TW, Granstrom DE.Several compounds (n = 13 single or combinations; most at therapeutic dosages) were evaluated between 1977 and 1992 in critical tests (n = 91) against benzimidazole (BZ) resistant small strongyles (Population S) and several other species of internal parasites in Shetland ponies, mostly under 1 year old. The closed breeding herd, from which the test ponies were selected, had been treated every 8 weeks with cambendazole (CBZ) for 4 years (1974-1978) and oxibendazole (OBZ) for 14 years (1978-1992). Published field test data (1974-1992) on older ponies in the herd showed BZ resistance of small str...
Arias M, Yeargan M, Francisco I, Dangoudoubiyam S, Becerra P, Francisco R, Sánchez-Andrade R, Paz-Silva A, Howe DK.Horses serve as an intermediate host for several species of Sarcocystis, all of which utilize canids as the definitive host. Sarcocystis spp. infection and formation of latent sarcocysts in horses often appears to be subclinical, but morbidity can occur, especially when the parasite burden is large. A serological survey was conducted to determine the presence of antibodies against Sarcocystis spp. in seemingly healthy horses from the Galicia region of Spain. Western blot analyses using Sarcocystis neurona merozoites as heterologous antigen suggested greater than 80% seroprevalance of Sarcocyst...
Lind EO, Uggla A, Waller P, Höglund J.The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of a larval development assay (LDA) for the determination of anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin nematode populations of the horse. In addition, comparison of results between geographic regions, types of horse establishment, and the use of anthelmintics in Sweden, was established. Seventy horse herds from different parts of Sweden were sampled, and strongyle eggs from the faeces of 54 of those were investigated by an LDA (DrenchRite). The following anthelmintics were tested: thiabendazole (TBZ), levamisole (LEV), ivermectin monosacch...
Santos RCD, Pinho FA, Passos GP, Larangeira DF, Barrouin-Melo SM.The most commonly used culture medium for the in vitro isolation of Leishmania spp. from canine biological samples is biphasic Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) medium, whose solid phase is prepared using rabbit blood. Leishmania infantum parasites from natural infections are highly sensitive and demanding for growth in axenic conditions when firstly obtained from the dog's body. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether NNN medium (NNN-test) prepared with chicken blood (NNN-C), ox blood (NNN-O), horse blood (NNN-H) or sheep blood (NNN-S) was viable for the isolation of parasites from natur...
Venturi SS, da Silva AF, Frazão-Teixeira E, de Oliveira FCR, Consalter A, Padilha FGF, Fonseca ABM, Ferreira AMR.The aim of this study was to perform a survey on the prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in horses from Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. From 2012 to 2013, a total of 624 blood samples were collected from horses from the eight regions comprising Rio de Janeiro State (Baixadas Litorâneas, Serrana, Norte Fluminense, Noroeste Fluminense, Centro-Sul, Metropolitana, Médio Paraíba, and Costa Verde). All sera samples were tested for anti-T. gondii antibodies by performing the modified agglutination test with a cut-off of 1:25. Positive serology for T. gondii was detected in 22.8% (142/624...
Gimenez F, Hines SA, Evanoff R, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC, Maly DJ, Vidadala RSR, Mealey RH.Theileria equi, an etiologic agent of equine piroplasmosis, is a tick-transmitted hemoprotozoan of the phylum Apicomplexa. Recent outbreaks of piroplasmosis in the United States have renewed interest in safe and effective treatment options. Although imidocarb dipropionate (IMD) is the drug of choice for clearance of T. equi, adverse reactions and recently documented resistance support the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. The recently described bumped kinase inhibitors (BKIs) are a new class of compounds that could potentially be used as safe and effective alternatives to IMD. In an...
Traversa D, Otranto D.Dogs, cats, and horses are popular pets in many countries of the World and they have lived in close proximity with human beings for thousands of years. The effect of pet ownership on human health is well known and there is significant merit in preserving the health and welfare of these animals. Some infections caused by parasitic nematodes and arthropods of dogs, cats, and horses are now spreading in several areas of the world. This is the case of canine spirocercosis, feline aelurostrongylosis, and equine gastro-intestinal and nasal nematode and botfly infections. These diseases affect animal...
Spotin A, Dalir F, Hazratian T, Shekarchi AA, Mahami-Oskouei M, Farmani M, Dolatkhah A, Ahmadpour E.The genetic variability of apicomplexan parasite Babesia species is a principal strategy used by piroplasma to evade their hosts' immune responses. The purpose of this review was to evaluate our current knowledge on global haplotype distribution and phylogeography of Babesia ovis derived from sheep, goat, horse and ixodid (hard) ticks. Bibliographic English databases were searched from 2017 to 2023, identifying a total of 11 publications. The 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) sequences of B. ovis from Asia, Europe, and Africa were retrieved and subjected to estimate the genetic diversity and phylog...
Murungi EK, Kariithi HM.The apicomplexan parasite Sarcocystis neurona causes equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a degenerative neurological disease of horses. Due to its host range expansion, S. neurona is an emerging threat that requires close monitoring. In apicomplexans, protein kinases (PKs) have been implicated in a myriad of critical functions, such as host cell invasion, cell cycle progression and host immune response evasion. Here, we used various bioinformatics methods to define the kinome of S. neurona and phylogenetic relatedness of its PKs to other apicomplexans. We identified 97 putative PKs clust...
Proudman CJ, Holmes MA, Sheoran AS, Edwards SE, Trees AJ.The equine intestinal cestode Anoplocephala perfoliata has been the subject of recent epidemiological and immunological studies because of its suspected association with intestinal disease in the horse. We have previously shown that the IgG(T) subtype antibody response to the 12/13 kDa component of the parasite excretory/secretory (E/S) antigen is positively correlated with parasite intensity. In this study, we utilize that correlation to examine the changes in natural infection intensity with age. Infection intensity based on IgG(T) responses showed a triphasic age-dependency pattern with pea...
Lyons ET, Drudge JH, Tolliver SC, Swerczek TW, Crowe MW.A total of 396 Thoroughbreds (86 males, 293 females, and 17 geldings) in Kentucky, 1 to 30 years of age, were examined at necropsy for presence of Anoplocephala perfoliata (2 female horses were not examined) in the cecum for lesions of Draschia megastoma in the stomach, during the 1-year period of Mar 1, 1982 through Feb 28, 1983. Prevalence of A perfoliata was 53% and of lesions of D megastoma was 63%. All lesions of D megastoma were partially or entirely in the glandular region of the stomach. Distances of the midpoint of these lesions from the margo plicatus varied from 0 to 290 mm. The cen...
Hutchinson GW, Abba SA, Mfitilodze MW.Longevity in faeces, migration to and survival on herbage of mixed strongyle infective larvae (approximately 70% cyathostomes: 30% large strongyles) from experimentally deposited horse faeces was studied in the dry tropical region of North Queensland for up to 2 years. Larvae were recovered from faeces deposited during hot dry weather for a maximum of 12 weeks, up to 32 weeks in cool conditions, but less than 8 weeks in hot wet summer. Translation to herbage was mainly limited to the hot wet season (December-March), except when unseasonal winter rainfall of 40-50 mm per month in July and Augus...
