Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique used to amplify specific DNA sequences, allowing for detailed genetic analysis in horses. This method enables the detection and quantification of genetic material, facilitating research in areas such as genetic disorders, infectious diseases, and population genetics in equine species. PCR applications in horses include identifying pathogens, verifying parentage, and studying genetic variations. The technique's sensitivity and specificity make it a valuable tool in equine veterinary diagnostics and research. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the applications, methodologies, and advancements of PCR in equine science.
de Sousa SH, Paludo GR, Freschi CR, Machado RZ, de Castro MB.The aim of this report was to confirm the cause of abortion to be Theileria equi acquired transplacentally in a mare in Federal District, Brazil. The aborted fetus showed a high parasitemia of erythrocytes (80%) by the oval and Maltese cross forms of T. equi. Necropsy of the fetus demonstrated congestion of organs, jaundice, anemia and pronounced spleno- and hepatomegaly. Twelve breeding mares, including the one that aborted and her fetus, tested positive for T. equi infection by universal and multiplex PCR assay. The absence of histopathologic changes such as inflammation and necrosis in the ...
Mittelman NS, Divers TJ, Engiles JB, Gerhold R, Ness S, Scrivani PV, Southard T, Johnson AL.There are reports of horses with acute onset acquired cervical scoliosis and cutaneous analgesia. The underlying dorsal gray column myelitis that produces these neurologic signs has been only presumptively attributed to migration of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis within the spinal cord. Despite previous confirmation brain by polymerase chain reaction testing, of P. tenuis within the brain of horses by polymerase chain reaction testing, genetic testing has failed to definitively identify the presence of this parasite in cases of equine myelitis. This case report provides molecular confirmation via ...
Portella LP, Cadore GC, Sangioni LA, Pellegrini LF, Fighera R, Ramos F, Vogel FS.Sarcocystis spp., Neospora spp., and Toxoplasma gondii are Apicomplexa protozoa that can infect horses. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of antibodies against Sarcocystis spp., Neospora spp., and T. gondii in horses slaughtered in southern Brazil. The presence of histological lesions, tissue cysts, and Sarcocystis spp. DNA in the hearts of these horses was also investigated. A total of 197 paired serum and heart samples were evaluated by serology and direct microscopic examination; 50 of these samples were subjected to histopathological and PCR analyses. Antibodies against at lea...
Tzelos T, Barbeito JS, Nielsen MK, Morgan ER, Hodgkinson JE, Matthews JB.Parasitic nematodes, particularly cyathostomins, are ubiquitous in grazing horses world-wide. Considerable burdens of cyathostomin larvae can encyst in the large intestinal wall. The most recommended treatment against these pathogenic stages is moxidectin. Information is required on how effective moxidectin is against cyathostomin populations in different regions. The objectives here were to determine the efficacy of moxidectin treatment and estimate the strongyle egg reappearance period (ERP) after treatment in several equine populations, to confirm the type of strongyle nematodes present and...
Sumbria D, Singla LD, Sharma A, Bal MS, Randhawa CS.Equine piroplasmosis caused by Theileria equi, an apicomplexan intracellular haemoprotozoan parasite effects equids throughout the world. Current investigation is the first detailed epidemiological survey report based on conventional (blood smear) and primary polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of T. equi on 464 equids (426 horses and 38 donkeys/mules) in Punjab province of India. PCR targeting 18S rRNA gene of T. equi produced high fidelity 709bp amplification products with 100% concordance with blood films. The prevalence of infection was proportional (P≤0.01) to temperature ...
Elzinga SE, Rohleder B, Schanbacher B, McQuerry K, Barker VD, Adams AA.Extracts derived from the leaves of the stevia plant (stevioside) are commonly used as sweeteners for humans and horses. Stevioside appears to be safe for human consumption, including for individuals with insulin dysregulation. In the horse, the safety or metabolic effects of stevioside on normal animals or on those with metabolic dysfunction are unknown. Furthermore, the inflammatory response to a glycemic challenge or to stevioside in horses is not well defined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the effects of stevioside and a glycemic challenge on insulin, glucose, and i...
Schöniger S, Gräfe H, Schoon HA.Subfertility in mares is mainly caused by endometrial diseases. Alterations of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are associated with endometrial disorders in women. This study investigated TLRs 2, 4 and 6 in the equine endometrium. Endometria of 21 mares were examined by histology, PCR and immunohistochemistry. Tissues from 2 mares were considered normal. The remaining showed endometritis, endometrosis and/or angiosclerosis. TLRs 2, 4 and 6 were expressed as transcripts and proteins in all endometria. Immunohistochemistry detected TLRs 2, 4 and 6 in mast cells, luminal and glandular epithelial cells,...
Cymerys J, Słońska A, Brzezicka J, Tucholska A, Chmielewska A, Rola J, Malik P, Bańbura MW.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory infections, abortion and neurological disorders in horses. Molecular epidemiology studies have demonstrated that a single-point mutation in DNA polymerase gene, resulting in an amino acid variation (N752/D752), is significantly associated with the neuropathogenic potential of EHV-1 strains. The aim of the study was to elucidate if there are any differences between neuropathogenic (EHV-1 26) and non-neuropathogenic (Jan-E and Rac-H) EHV-1 strains in their ability to infect neuronal cells. For the tested EHV-1 strains, cytopathic effect (CPE) ...
Lopez KM, Fleming GJ, Mylniczenko ND.Reports of equine herpesvirus (EHV) 1 and EHV-9 causing clinical disease in a wide range of species have been well documented in the literature. It is thought that zebras are the natural hosts of EHV-9 both in the wild and in captive collections. Concerns about potential interspecies transmission of EHV-1 and EHV-9 in a mixed species savannah exhibit prompted serologic and polymerase chain reaction surveys. Eighteen Burchell's zebras ( Equus quagga ), 11 Hartmann's mountain zebras ( Equus zebra hartmannae), and 14 Thomson's gazelles ( Eudorcas thomsonii ) cohabitating the same exhibit were exa...
Javed R, Taku AK, Sharma RK, Badroo GA.The aim was to determine the occurrence of in equines and their environment in Jammu (R.S. Pura, Katra), molecular characterization and to determine the antibiotic resistance pattern of . Methods: A total of 96 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected from equines. The organism was isolated on Columbia nalidixic acid agar containing 5% sheep blood as well as on sheep blood agar and was later confirmed by cultural characteristics and biochemical tests. Molecular detection of isolates was done by gene amplification followed by virulence associated protein A () gene amplification. Antibiogra...
Park JW, Choi JY, Hong SA, Kim NY, Do KT, Song KD, Cho BW.This study was performed to reveal the molecular structure and expression patterns of horse glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit () and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit () genes whose products form glutamate cysteine ligase, which were identified as differentially expressed genes in the previous study. Methods: We performed bioinformatics analyses, and gene expression assay with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for horse and genes in muscle and blood leukocytes of Thoroughbred horses. Results: Expression of showed the same pattern in both blood and muscle tissu...
Guven E, Avcioglu H, Deniz A, Balkaya İ, Abay U, Yavuz Ş, Akyüz M.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a hemoprotozoan tick-borne disease with worldwide distribution that is caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. There are studies reporting the presence of equine piroplasmosis in Turkey but the situation in Erzurum is unknown. The aim of the current study was to determine the situation of equine piroplasmosis in jeered horses in Erzurum. Between April and August 2015, a total of 125 Arabian horse were examined and blood samples were collected. At the time of sampling, animals were also examined for tick infestations and clinical signs. Besides microscopic exa...
Serpa PB, Garbade P, Natalini CC, Pires AR, Tisotti TM.OBJECTIVE To develop a high-resolution melting (HRM) assay to detect the g.66493737C>T polymorphism in the myostatin gene (MSTN) and determine the frequency of 3 previously defined g.66493737 genotypes (T/T, T/C, and C/C) in warmblood horses. SAMPLES Blood samples from 23 horses. PROCEDURES From each blood sample, DNA was extracted and analyzed by standard PCR methods and an HRM assay to determine the MSTN genotype. Three protocols (standard protocol, protocol in which a high-salt solution was added to the reaction mixture before the first melting cycle, and protocol in which an unlabeled p...
Meichner K, Kraszeski BH, Durrant JR, Grindem CB, Breuhaus BA, Moore PF, Neel JA, Linder KE, Borst LB, Fogle JE, Tarigo JL.An 11-year-old, 443-kg Haflinger mare was presented to the North Carolina State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a 2-week history of lethargy and a 3-day duration of anorexia, pyrexia, tachycardia, and ventral edema. Severe pitting edema, peripheral lymphadenopathy, and a caudal abdominal mass were noted on physical examination. An extreme leukocytosis (154.3 × 103 /μL) and microscopic hematologic findings suggestive of myelomonocytic leukemia were observed. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed a monoclonal gammopathy and urine protein electrophoresis revealed a monoclonal ligh...
Balasuriya UB, Lee PA, Tsai YL, Tsai CF, Shen YH, Chang HG, Skillman A, Wang HT, Pronost S, Zhang Y.Equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), a major problem for the equine industry in the United States, is caused by equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). In addition, EHV-1 is associated with upper respiratory disease, abortion, and chorioretinal lesions in horses. Here we describe the development and evaluation of an inexpensive, user-friendly insulated isothermal PCR (iiPCR) method targeting open reading 30 (ORF30) to detect both neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic strains on the field-deployable POCKIT™ device for point-of-need detection of EHV-1. The analytical sensitivity of the EHV-1 ...
Inácio SV, Widmer G, de Brito RL, Zucatto AS, de Aquino MC, Oliveira BC, Nakamura AA, Neto LD, Carvalho JG, Gomes JF, Meireles MV, Bresciani KD.The present study focuses on Cryptosporidium infections of foals in Brazil. A total of 92 animals of different breeds from 11 farms in the vicinity of Araçatuba in the state of São Paulo, were examined. According to PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene, Cryptosporidium sp. DNA was detected in 21.7% (20/92) of foals. Good quality 18S rRNA, actin, HSP70 and gp60 genes nPCR amplicons were obtained from five fecal samples. PCR amplification and sequencing of a fragment of the GP60 sporozoite surface glycoprotein gene revealed C. parvum genotypes IIaA18G3R1, IIaA15G2R1. Interestingly, we also detected...
Goodman LB, Anderson RR, Slater M, Ortenberg E, Renshaw RW, Chilson BD, Laverack MA, Beeby JS, Dubovi EJ, Glaser AL.Nanoliter scale real-time PCR uses spatial multiplexing to allow multiple assays to be run in parallel on a single plate without the typical drawbacks of combining reactions together. We designed and evaluated a panel based on this principle to rapidly identify the presence of common disease agents in dogs and horses with acute respiratory illness. This manuscript describes a nanoscale diagnostic PCR workflow for sample preparation, amplification, and analysis of target pathogen sequences, focusing on procedures that are different from microliter scale reactions. In the respiratory panel prese...
Seo MG, Lee SH, Ouh IO, Lee GH, Goo YK, Kim S, Kwon OD, Kwak D.Members of the genus Coxiella can be transmitted from ticks to humans during contact with animals; Coxiella may thus spread from the infected horses or ticks to humans. In this study, the presence of Coxiella burnetii and Coxiella-like endosymbionts (CLE) in ticks found on infested horses was determined using PCR and genotyping. A total of 213 ticks were randomly collected from 51 horses (4-5 ticks per horse) raised on Jeju Island, Korea, between 2009 and 2013. All ticks were morphologically identified as adult Haemaphysalis longicornis, a predominant tick species widespread in Korea. Based on...
Bodaan CJ, Wise LM, Wakelin KA, Stuart GS, Real NC, Mercer AA, Riley CB, Theoret C.Healing is delayed in limb wounds relative to body wounds of horses, partly because of sustained inflammation and inefficient angiogenesis. In laboratory animals, proteins derived from orf virus modulate these processes and enhance healing. We aimed to compare immune cell trafficking and the inflammatory, vascular, and epidermal responses in body and limb wounds of horses and then to investigate the impact of orf virus interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor-E on these processes. Standardized excisional wounds were created on the body and forelimb of horses and their progression ...
Equine sarcoids develop upon bovine papillomavirus type 1 or 2 (BPV1, BPV2) infection in conjunction with trauma and represent the most common tumour disease in horses and other equids, including donkeys. In face of a sarcoid outbreak involving 12 of 111 donkeys and mules at the 'Rifugio degli Asinelli', a subsidiary charity organization of The Donkey Sanctuary, non-invasively collected sample material including crusts, dandruff, swabs and hair roots was collected from sarcoid-affected and 26 healthy donkeys, as well as dandruff from a grooming kit and tabanids caught from or in the vicinity o...
Sting R, Seeh C, Mauder N, Maurer M, Loncaric I, Stessl B, Kopp P, Banzhaf K, Martin B, Melzer F, Raßbach A, Spergser J.A total of 124 Taylorella (T.) equigenitalis and five T. asinigenitalis field isolates collected between 2002 and 2014 were available for genotyping using REP- (repetitive extragenic palindromic) PCR and PFGE (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis). The study comprised 79 T. equigenitalis field isolates originating from ten defined breeds of German horses and revealed a spectrum of five REP (rep-E1-E4, rep-E3a) and 15 PFGE (TE-A1-A9, TE-B1-B3, TE-C, TE-E1, and TE-E2) genotypes. T. equigenitalis field isolates (n=40) obtained from Austrian Lipizzaner horses were differentiated into three REP (rep-E1...
Epperson ED, Castleman WL.Histopathologic differentiation between deep dermal or subcuticular equine sarcoids (ie, nodular sarcoids) and other spindle cell tumors in the dermis and subcutis such as peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNSTs) can be challenging based on morphologic criteria alone. It has been proposed that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for bovine papillomavirus (BPV) DNA and S100 immunohistochemistry be used as diagnostic tests to separate equine sarcoids from PNSTs. We reviewed 197 skin-associated spindle cell tumors (ie, soft tissue sarcomas), including PNSTs and sarcoids, received at the University of F...
Looijen MG, New DJ, Fischer CD, Dardari R, Irwin KM, Berezowski CJ, Bond SL, Léguillette R.OBJECTIVE To evaluate the mRNA expression of T helper (Th)1, Th2, and Th17 cell-associated inflammatory mediators in cells of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples collected from healthy horses exposed to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) and to monitor blood oxygen concentration during and following HBO therapy. ANIMALS 8 healthy horses. PROCEDURES In a randomized controlled crossover design study, each horse was exposed (beginning day 1) to 100% oxygen at a maximum of 3 atmospheres absolute (304 kPa) daily for 10 days or ambient air at atmospheric pressure in the HBO chamber for an equivalent amount of...
Franco MM, Santos JB, Mendonça AS, Silva TC, Antunes RC, Melo EO.The domestication of the Equus genus 5000-6000 years ago has influenced the history of human civilization. As soon as horse and donkey species had been domesticated, they were crossbred, producing humanity's first documented attempt at animal genome manipulation. Since then, the mule (male donkey x female horse) and the reciprocal cross (the hinny, male horse x female donkey) have been the most common equine hybrids in the world. Due to their hybrid vigor, mules and hinnies have been intensively used for carrying loads and people and for tilling the land. Despite their importance, visual disti...
Ayala-Valdovinos MA, Lemus-Flores C, Galindo-García J, Bañuelos-Pineda J, Rodríguez-Carpena JG, Sánchez-Chiprés D, Duifhuis-Rivera T.Theileria equi infection prevalence was calculated from 1000 blood samples obtained from apparently healthy horses in western Mexico. Samples were sent to the Animal Biotechnology Laboratory of the University of Guadalajara (Mexico) for T. equi diagnosis. Nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) was used as a diagnostic method to detect pathogen DNA. Using primers for the merozoite antigen-1 (EMA-1) gene, 19.70±2.47% of the horses (95% CI, 17.23-22.17%) tested positive for T. equi. There was no significant association between gender and T. equi infection. However, prevalence was higher among s...
Tartor YH, El Damaty HM, Mahmmod YS.Rapid and accurate identification of dermatophytes is crucial for the effective control of disease outbreaks. Current methods based on culture and microscopic characteristics may require weeks before positive identification is made. Objective: To (i) identify the most common pathogenic dermatophytes affecting Arabian horses; (ii) compare the performance of direct microscopy (DM), culture, PCR using hair samples (PCRhair ) and PCR based on culture isolates (PCRculture ) for the diagnosis of dermatophytosis. Methods: Samples of hair and crusts of skin lesions from Arabian horses were collected o...
Hijjawi N, Mukbel R, Yang R, Ryan U.Little is known about the epidemiology of Cryptosporidium in Jordan and to date, only one genotyping study has been conducted on Cryptosporidium isolates from Jordanian children. In the present study, a total of 284 faecal samples from Jordanian cattle, sheep, goats and chicken and 48 human faecal samples were screened for the presence of Cryptosporidium using an 18S quantitative PCR (qPCR) and a C. parvum/C. hominis specific qPCR at a lectin locus. Of these, 37 of 284 animal faecal samples were positive by qPCR at the 18S locus giving an overall prevalence of 11.6%. The point prevalence of Cr...
Javed R, Taku AK, Gangil R, Sharma RK.The aim was to determine the occurrence of streptococci in equines in Jammu (R. S. Pura, Katra), characterization of Streptococci equi subsp. equi and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus with respect to their virulence traits and to determine antibiotic sensitivity pattern of virulent Streptococcus isolates. Methods: A total of 96 samples were collected from both clinically affected animals (exhibiting signs of respiratory tract disease) and apparently healthy animals and were sent to laboratory. The organisms were isolated on Columbia nalidixic acid agar containing 5% sheep blood as well ...
Corbin CJ, Legacki EL, Ball BA, Scoggin KE, Stanley SD, Conley AJ.The 5α-reductase enzymes play an important role during male sexual differentiation, and in pregnant females, especially equine species where maintenance relies on 5α-reduced progesterone, 5α-dihydroprogesterone (DHP). Epididymis expresses 5α-reductases but was not studied elaborately in horses. Epididymis from younger and older postpubertal stallions was divided into caput, corpus and cauda and examined for 5α-reductase activity and expression of type 1 and 2 isoforms by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Metabolism of progesterone and testosterone to DHP and dihydro...
Vieira TS, Vieira RF, Krawczak FS, Soares HS, Guimarães AM, Barros-Filho IR, Marcondes M, Labruna MB, Biondo AW, Vidotto O.Although well established in dogs, Ehrlichia sp. infection has been scarcely reported in horses. The aim was to perform a comprehensive serological and molecular survey for the detection of Ehrlichia spp. in carthorses from Southern Brazil. Blood samples from 190 carthorses from Paraná State were sampled. Horses were also tested for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Anti-Ehrlichia sp. antibodies were detected by a commercial rapid ELISA, and immunofluorescence antibody assays (IFA) with E. chaffeensis and E. canis as crude antigens. The molecular and phylogenetic analysis of...
Greenwood S, Chow-Lockerbie B, Ramsauer S, Wachoski-Dark G, Knight C, Wobeser B. papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV-2) has been recognized as a potential cause of a subset of genital squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in horses. In the current study, we measured EcPV-2 seropositivity in 50 healthy horses from Western Canada, and these were compared to a herd of horses with known EcPV-2 exposure. Second, the presence of EcPV-2 DNA was measured using EcPV-2-specific PCR (polymerase chain reaction), performed on a variety of tissues collected at necropsy from 70 horses that lacked any history, gross, or histologic evidence of neoplasia or papillomavirus-associated disease. EcPV-2-spec...
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.
Goodman LB, Anderson RR, Slater M, Ortenberg E, Renshaw RW, Chilson BD, Laverack MA, Beeby JS, Dubovi EJ, Glaser AL.Nanoliter scale real-time PCR uses spatial multiplexing to allow multiple assays to be run in parallel on a single plate without the typical drawbacks of combining reactions together. We designed and evaluated a panel based on this principle to rapidly identify the presence of common disease agents in dogs and horses with acute respiratory illness. This manuscript describes a nanoscale diagnostic PCR workflow for sample preparation, amplification, and analysis of target pathogen sequences, focusing on procedures that are different from microliter scale reactions. In the respiratory panel prese...
Nugraha AB, Cahyaningsih U, Amrozi A, Ridwan Y, Agungpriyono S, Taher DM, Guswanto A, Gantuya S, Tayebwa DS, Tuvshintulga B, Sivakumar T, Yokoyama N....Equine piroplasmosis is an economically significant disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, which are tick-borne hemoprotozoan parasites. Infections with these parasite species had never been reported in horses in Indonesia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of T. equi and B. caballi in horses reared in parts of Western Java, Indonesia. Blood samples were collected randomly from 235 horses in four different districts (Bandung, Depok, Tangerang, and Bogor) in Western Java, Indonesia. Thin blood smears prepared from the sampled animals were stained by G...
Sellon DC, Walker K, Suyemoto M, Altier C.To evaluate the ability of nucleic acid amplification techniques to detect Rhodococcus equi in equine buffy coat, blood, and tracheal wash fluid and to differentiate between virulent and avirulent strains of the bacteria. Methods: Blood anticoagulated with EDTA and tracheal wash fluid from healthy horses. Methods: Logarithmic dilutions of virulent and avirulent strains of R equi were added to equine buffy coat and tracheal wash fluid samples. The DNA was extracted and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using primers specific for the 16S ribosomal subunit gene and the virulence plasm...
Trimble AC, Blevins CA, Beard LA, Deforno AR, Davis EG.Leptospirosis is a worldwide veterinary and public health concern, and well recognized infectious disease of horses. Seroprevalence rates vary with geography, but many studies have confirmed a high exposure rate. The correlation between seropositivity and shedding status has not been made in horses, however. The aims of this study were to use semi-nested PCR on urine from apparently healthy horses to determine period prevalence of leptospiral shedding and to correlate these findings with MAT results to establish associations with client based survey data regarding horse management and environm...
Johnson AL, Sweeney RW, McAdams SC, Whitlock RH.Clostridium botulinum type B is estimated to cause more than 85% of cases of equine botulism in the United States, as well as many outbreaks in cattle. In this study, a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of the neurotoxin gene of C. botulinum type B was compared to the mouse bioassay using 45 positive and 43 negative samples of equine, bovine or associated environmental origin. The sensitivity of the qPCR assay was 96%, whereas the sensitivity of the mouse bioassay was 84%. The specificity of the qPCR assay was 95% and the specificity of the mouse bioassay was 100%....
Dunowska M, Meers J, Wilks CR.To report the first isolation of equine herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) in New Zealand as part of a study of equine respiratory viruses in New Zealand. Methods: Nasal swabs and peripheral blood leukocytes were collected from 114 foals and adult horses, inoculated on to equine fetal kidney, rabbit kidney and Vero cell lines and observed for cytopathic effect. EHV-5 isolates were identified using an EHV-5 specific polymerase chain reaction. All samples positive for EHV-5 were also checked for the presence of EHV-2, EHV-1 or EHV-4 DNA using published type-specific primers. The polymerase chain reaction res...
Borchers K, Wolfinger U, Ludwig H, Thein P, Baxi S, Field HJ, Slater JD.Two 18-month-old naturally reared ponies were used to investigate the pathogenicity of EHV-2. After dexamethasone treatment, pony 1 was inoculated intranasally with EHV-2 strain T16, which has been isolated from a foal with keratoconjunctivitis superficialis and pony 2 was similarly inoculated with strain LK4 which was originally isolated from a horse with upper respiratory tract disease. Following virus inoculation, pyrexia was not detected in either pony but both developed conjunctivitis, lymphadenopathy, and coughing. EHV-2 was detected in nasal mucus samples up to day 12 post infection (p....
Skotarczak B, Wodecka B, Rymaszewska A, Adamska M.Ixodes ricinus has the potential to transmit zoonotic pathogens to humans and domestic animals. The feeding I. ricinus (n = 1737) collected from 49 Shetland ponies and questing ones from vegetation (n = 371) were tested for the presence and differentiation of the bacterial species. DNA of I. ricinus ticks was examined with PCR and sequencing analysis to identify species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. Altogether, 24.3 % I. ricinus of the infested horses and 12.4 % ticks from vegetation carried at least one pathogen species. Horse-f...
Taouji S, Collobert C, Gicquel B, Sailleau C, Brisseau N, Moussu C, Breuil MF, Pronost S, Borchers K, Zientara S.Equine herpesviruses type 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) are ubiquitous in the equine population. One of their main properties is their ability to establish life-long latent infections in their hosts even in those with natural or vaccine-induced immunity. However, effect of vaccination status on prevalence and tissue tropism was not established. In this study, EHV-1 and EHV-4 were detected by polymerase chain reaction and by classical virus isolation from neural, epithelial and lymphoid tissues collected from unvaccinated (33) or vaccinated (23) horses. The percentage of EHV-1- and EHV-4-positive h...
Bracken MK, Wøhlk CB, Petersen SL, Nielsen MK.Strongyle parasites are ubiquitous in grazing horses. Of these, the bloodworm Strongylus vulgaris is regarded as most pathogenic. Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance in strongyle parasites has led to recommendations of decreased treatment intensities, and there is now a pronounced need for reliable tools for detection of parasite burdens in general and S. vulgaris in particular. The only method currently available for diagnosing S. vulgaris in practice is the larval culture, which is laborious and time-consuming, so veterinary practitioners most often pool samples from several horses ...
Yoon J, Park T, Sohn Y, Lee SK, Park BJ, Ahn HS, Go HJ, Kim DH, Lee JB, Park SY, Song CS, Lee SW, Choi IS.Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen causing hepatitis worldwide. Despite the prevalent evidence of interspecies HEV infection in various animal species, the role of horses in HEV epidemiology remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HEV infection in 283 blood and 114 fecal samples from 397 horses using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Among the 283 serum samples, 35 were positive for anti-HEV antibodies (12.4%; 95% confidence interval: 8.8-16.8), and four of the five sampling reg...
Traversa D, Iorio R, Petrizzi L, De Amicis I, Brandt S, Meana A, Giangaspero A, Otranto D.Equine cutaneous habronemosis, also known as "summer sores", is a parasitic infection caused by larvae of Habronema microstoma and Habronema muscae (Nematoda, Spirurida) released by dung-inhabiting fly vectors on abraded skin, skin wounds or muco-cutaneous transition sites. Larvae induce a local inflammatory reaction characterised by itching, granulomatous, ulcerated and, often non-healing, lesions. The diagnosis of summer sores may be unreliable mainly because of the limits of clinical and microscopic examination. The applicability of a semi-nested PCR assay developed for the diagnosis of gas...
Lu G, He D, Wang Z, Ou S, Yuan R, Li S.An influenza virus polymerase reconstitution assay based on the human, dog, or chicken RNA polymerase I (PolI) promoter has been developed and widely used to study the polymerase activity of the influenza virus in corresponding cell types. Although it is an important member of the influenza virus family and has been known for sixty years, no studies have been performed to clone the horse PolI promoter or to study the polymerase activity of equine influenza virus (EIV) in horse cells. In our study, the horse RNA PolI promoter was cloned from fetal equine lung cells. Using the luciferase assay, ...
Vychodilova-Krenkova L, Matiasovic J, Horin P.The objective of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within four functionally related immune response genes in the horse, and to develop genotyping techniques that could be useful for future genomic studies of horse infectious and allergic diseases. The genes analysed were: the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor gene CD14, the toll-like receptor 4 gene TLR4, the gene Cepsilon encoding the IgE heavy chain molecule and the gene FcepsilonR1 alpha coding for the alpha subunit of the IgE receptor molecule. Horse-specific primers amplifying selected gene regions were des...
Sykora S, Brandt S.Equine hoof canker is a chronic pododermatitis of still unknown aetiology. Recent findings reported for 3 canker-bearing individuals are suggestive for Treponema spp. having a role in disease pathogenesis. Objective: Based on this hypothesised association, we assessed a larger number of DNA samples from hooves with canker and normal hooves for the presence of treponemal DNA. Methods: Retrospective survey of archived material. Methods: The study involved 71 archival, PCR-compatible DNA extractions purified from 59 canker samples obtained from 26 equine cases and from 12 hoof biopsies taken from...
Bryan LK, Hamer SA, Shaw S, Curtis-Robles R, Auckland LD, Hodo CL, Chaffin K, Rech RR.A 10-year-old Quarter Horse gelding presented to the Texas A&M University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a six month-history of ataxia and lameness in the hind limbs. The horse was treated presumptively for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) based on clinical signs but was ultimately euthanized after its condition worsened. Gross lesions were limited to a small area of reddening in the gray matter of the thoracic spinal cord. Histologically, trypanosome amastigotes morphologically similar to Trypanosoma cruzi, the agent of Chagas disease in humans and dogs, were sporadically detec...
Hodgkinson JE.The future implementation of improved and sustainable control strategies for the major equine parasites will be dependent on a greater insight into their basic biology, pathogenicity and epidemiology together with an enhanced ability for accurate diagnosis. This paper will provide a review of the current molecular methods under development for the detection of equine parasites and their application to current scientific questions. In particular, the strongyles are recognised as important pathogens of horses and recent advances made in the study of this parasitic group at the single species lev...
Menezes RC, Campos MP, Popielarczyk M, Kiupel M.We report a new case of cutaneous leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania (Mundinia) martiniquensis in a horse in Florida, USA. A 10-year-old neutered male Quarter horse was presented with multifocal to coalescing, raised, ulcerated and oozing, non-healing wounds on both pinnae of several weeks' duration. After a few months, the lesions regressed spontaneously. Biopsies of the lesions were performed with microscopical findings of epidermal hyperplasia with multifocal ulceration and focally extensive, dermal pyogranulomatous inflammation with numerous intact and degenerate neutrophils being surround...
Pusterla N, Kass PH, Mapes S, Wademan C, Akana N, Barnett C, MacKenzie C, Vaala W.Recent surveillance studies for equine respiratory viruses have shown that equine influenza virus (EIV) continues to be a prevalent respiratory virus of equids throughout the United States and Europe. Objective: To gain a better understanding of the prevalence and epidemiology of EIV shed by horses, mules and donkeys in the United States from March 2010 to November 2013. Methods: 2,605 equids. Methods: Nasal secretions from index cases with acute onset of respiratory disease were tested by qPCR for EIV. Multilevel logistic regression was used to model the association between EIV status and pre...
Calderón JC, Astudillo M, Romero MH.Introduction: Police working horses are in close contact with their managers and the general population during recreational and patrol activities, which can favor the transmission of leptospirosis among the horses and the occupationally exposed personnel. Objective. To characterize epidemiologically leptospirosis through serology, urine culture and PCR in working horses and in the occupationally exposed population in six police stations in Colombia. Materials and methods. We tested 153 castrated male horses and 123 people in six police stations in the municipalities of Manizales, Pereira, Arme...
Bohórquez GA, Luzón M, Martín-Hernández R, Meana A.Although several techniques exist for the detection of equine tapeworms in serum and feces, the differential diagnosis of tapeworm infection is usually based on postmortem findings and the morphological identification of eggs in feces. In this study, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for the simultaneuos detection of Anoplocephala magna, Anoplocephala perfoliata and Anoplocephaloides mamillana has been developed and validated. The method simultaneously amplifies hypervariable SSUrRNA gene regions in the three tapeworm species in a single reaction using three pairs of pri...
Van Eeden C, Zaayman D, Venter M.Recently Shuni virus (SHUV) has been identified in clinical cases of neurological disease in horses in South Africa. Being that it was one of the less recognized orthobunyaviruses, with limited clinical descriptions of disease dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, SHUV-specific assays were never developed. In this study, the development of a nested real-time PCR assay is described for the detection of SHUV by means of melt-curve analysis using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) probe technology. The assay was validated against previously positive clinical specimens and a dilution seri...
Abrahão JS, de Souza Trindade G, Pereira-Oliveira G, de Oliveira Figueiredo P, Costa G, Moreira Franco-Luiz AP, Lopes Assis F, Bretas de Oliveira D....In August 2014, an outbreak of oral exanthematous disease in equids was reported in Brazil, affecting 11 donkeys and 3 mules. Objective: To investigate if Vaccinia virus (VACV) was the aetiological agent in this outbreak. Methods: Investigation of clinical cases using serological, molecular and phylogenetic approaches. Methods: To analyse the presence of neutralising antibodies against VACV, samples were submitted in triplicate to a plaque-reduction neutralisation test (PRNT ). On the basis of previous studies which detected VACV DNA in sera, we submitted extracted DNA samples to different pol...
Slivinska K, Víchová B, Werszko J, Szewczyk T, Wróblewski Z, Peťko B, Ragač O, Demeshkant V, Karbowiak G.A survey was undertaken to assess the prevalence of Theileria equi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in some regions of Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia. Using a specific PCR assays, blood samples from 215 horses were tested. The prevalence of T. equi and A. phagocytophilum infection was 13.95% and 1.4%, respectively. BLAST analysis showed the isolates closest to the T. equi 18S rRNA and A. phagocytophilum msp4 gene sequences in GenBank with a similarity of ≥99%. No significant association was found between the T. equi PCR positivity and the age or sex of the horses. There was a significant associat...
Marsh AE, Barr BC, Madigan J, Lakritz J, Conrad PA.To identify Sarcocystis neurona-specific DNA sequences in the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA (nss-rRNA) gene that could be used to distinguish S neurona from other closely related protozoal parasites, and to evaluate a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, using broad based primers and a unique species-specific probe on CSF for detection of S neurona in equids. Methods: Sequencing of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene from a new S neurona isolate (UCD 1) was performed. The sequence was compared with that of other closely related Sarcocystidae parasites. From this sequence, conse...
More SN, Hernandez O, Castleman WL.Rhinitis and sinusitis caused by fungal pathogens were studied in biopsy samples submitted from 52 horses distributed throughout subtropical and tropical regions of Florida. Methods included routine histopathology as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with panfungal/panoomycete primers and DNA sequencing on extracted DNA (DNA barcoding). Granulomatous, pyogranulomatous, and fibrinopurulent lesions in nasal and sinus mucosa were associated with signs of upper airway obstruction and noise as well as nasal discharge. Morphologic and histochemical assessment of cases identified 31 cases of zy...
Nemoto M, Hata H, Higuchi T, Imagawa H, Yamanaka T, Niwa H, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Kondo T, Matsumura T.We evaluated antigen detection kits for human rotavirus with regard to their usefulness for diagnosing equine rotavirus infection. Limiting dilution analyses showed that of the seven kits investigated the Dipstick `Eiken' Rota (Dipstick) had the highest sensitivity to two serotypes of equine rotavirus. The Dipstick did not cross-react with several equine intestinal pathogens. An investigation using 249 fecal samples indicated that the sensitivity of the Dipstick was 81.9% and 47.3%, and its specificity was 98.2% and 99.0%, and its concordance rate was 92.8% and 68.3%, compared with values obta...
Artiushin S, Tong Y, Timoney J, Lemieux B, Schlegel A, Kong H.A simple and portable assay for detection of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi has been developed based on amplification of S. equi-specific sequence using a thermophilic helicase-dependent reaction followed by visual detection of the amplicon in a disposable lateral flow cassette. An experimental kit (IsoAmp™ SE) was evaluated. Analytical sensitivity was 50 copies of S. equi genomic DNA per reaction. The IsoAmp SE assay had 100% specificity when applied to nasal swabs and washes. The assay was more sensitive than culture but less sensitive than nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The t...
