The topic of Public Health and horses encompasses the study of interactions between equine populations and human health systems. It involves examining the transmission of zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that can be transferred between animals and humans, as well as the role of horses in the epidemiology of such diseases. This field also considers the impact of equine-related activities on public health, including injuries and environmental effects. Research in this area often explores preventive measures, management strategies, and policies to mitigate health risks associated with horses. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the intersection of equine and public health, focusing on disease transmission, risk assessment, and health management strategies.
Elfman L, Riihimäki M, Pringle J, Wålinder R.Many people spend considerable amount of time each day in equine stable environments either as employees in the care and training of horses or in leisure activity. However, there are few studies available on how the stable environment affects human airways. This study examined in one horse stable qualitative differences in indoor air during winter and late summer conditions and assessed whether air quality was associated with clinically detectable respiratory signs or alterations to selected biomarkers of inflammation and lung function in stable personnel. Methods: The horse stable environment...
Lucas M, Day L, Shirangi A, Fritschi L.A high injury prevalence has been reported among veterinarians. Studies describing the factors associated with injury have been limited. Objective: To describe the characteristics of serious injuries and the use of safety precautions at the time of injury in Australian veterinarians. Methods: Graduates in veterinary medicine from Australian universities completed questionnaires asking about injuries during their professional career including type of injury and circumstances during which injury occurred. Results: A total of 2188 significant injuries were reported. Injuries were most frequently ...
East IJ.In 2007, an epizootic of equine influenza (EI) occurred in Australia, involving parts of the states of Queensland and New South Wales. Following an extensive control program, the disease was eradicated within 4 months, after infecting more than 75,000 horses on over 10,000 properties. In Queensland, examination of land use patterns revealed that the majority of infected premises (89.5%) were located in one of three land use classes viz. rural residential, residential-unspecified or grazing natural vegetation. All nine clusters of infection in Queensland were surrounded to some degree by parcel...
Vetter J.Bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is the fifth most distributed common weed species of the world. Its ecological distribution is very wide, and the plant can grow and spread successfully on many types of soil. The cover of P. aquilinum is--in some cases--remarkable (e.g., in the United Kingdom). Bracken fern contains different poisonous agents: some cyanogen glycosides, factors (agents) of antithiamine character (thermolabile thiaminase and thermostable other compounds) and factors of carcinogenic activity (first of all ptaquiloside). This paper summarises and reviews different toxicological ...
Himsworth CG, Argue CK.Clinical signs and carcass traits observed during the 2006 Saskatchewan anthrax outbreak were largely consistent with those previously published, except for cutaneous anthrax and anthrax mastitis in cows, and subcutaneous edema in bulls and horses. Failure of blood to clot was the most reliable indicator of anthrax in carcasses. Impressions cliniques de l’anthrax lors de l’éclosion de 2006 en Saskatchewan. Les signes cliniques et les caractéristiques des carcasses observés durant l’éclosion d’anthrax en Saskatchewan en 2006 étaient généralement similaires à ceux déjà publiés...
Haarhuis JC, Muijtjens AM, Scherpbier AJ, van Beukelen P.Interest in the areas of food animals (FA) and veterinary public health (VPH) appears to be declining among prospective students of veterinary medicine. To address the expected shortage of veterinarians in these areas, the Utrecht Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has developed an admissions procedure to select undergraduates whose aptitude and interests are suited to these areas. A study using expert meetings, open interviews, and document analysis identified personal characteristics that distinguished veterinarians working in the areas of FA and VPH from their colleagues who specialized in comp...
Patel JR, Heldens JG.Since the refinement of tissue culture techniques for virus isolation and propagation from the mid 1960s onwards, veterinary virology has received much academic and industrial interest, and has now become a major global industry largely centred on vaccine development against economically important virus diseases of food animals. Bio-tech approaches have been widely used for improved vaccines development. While many viral diseases are controlled through vaccination, many still lack safe and efficacious vaccines. Additional challenges faced by academia, industry and governments are likely to com...
Janvilisri T, Scaria J, Thompson AD, Nicholson A, Limbago BM, Arroyo LG, Songer JG, Gröhn YT, Chang YF.Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore-forming enteric anaerobe which can infect humans and a wide variety of animal species. Recently, the incidence and severity of human C. difficile infection has markedly increased. In this study, we evaluated the genomic content of 73 C. difficile strains isolated from humans, horses, cattle, and pigs by comparative genomic hybridization with microarrays containing coding sequences from C. difficile strains 630 and QCD-32g58. The sequenced genome of C. difficile strain 630 was used as a reference to define a candidate core genome of C. difficile a...
Muñiz Fontán M, Moure González JD, Mirás Veiga A, Rodríguez Núñez A.Children's equestrian activities in the domestic, play activities, sports and educational areas are relatively frequent, and are not exempt from risks. Nevertheless, there is a lack of data on horse-related injuries, their circumstances and the key points for their prevention. Methods: Retrospective and descriptive study of pediatric equestrian injuries admitted to Hospital between July 1997 and September 2008. Results: A total of 17 patients with ages between 4 and 17 years were analyzed. There were 14 accidental falls, 2 kicks and 1 bite, and 8 patients had lost consciousness after the accid...
Kaiser A, Meier HP, Straub R, Gerber V.Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) is a reportable, eradicable epizootic disease caused by the equine lentivirus of the retrovirus family which affects equids only and occurs worldwide. The virus is transmitted by blood, mainly by sanguivorous insects. The main symptoms of the disease are pyrexia, apathy, loss of body condition and weight, anemia, edema and petechia. However, infected horses can also be inapparent carriers without any overt signs. The disease is diagnosed by serological tests like the Coggins test and ELISA tests. Presently, Switzerland is offi cially free from EIA. However, Switz...
Baguelin M, Newton JR, Demiris N, Daly J, Mumford JA, Wood JL.We present a metapopulation model of the spread of equine influenza among thoroughbred horses parametrized with data from a 2003 outbreak in Newmarket, UK. The number of horses initially susceptible is derived from a threshold theorem and a published statistical model. Two simulated likelihood-based methods are used to find the within- and between-yard transmissions using both exponential and empirical latent and infectious periods. We demonstrate that the 2003 outbreak was largely locally driven and use the parametrized model to address important questions of control. The chance of a large ep...
Svraka S, van der Veer B, Duizer E, Dekkers J, Koopmans M, Vennema H.Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most common diseases worldwide, with viruses, particularly noroviruses, being the leading cause in developed countries. In The Netherlands, systematic surveillance of gastroenteritis outbreaks of suspected viral etiology was established by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in 1994. Since 2002, the total number of outbreaks reported has been increasing, and with that comes the need for sensitive assays that can be performed quickly. In addition, the diagnostic demand changed so that now the proportion of samples from hospitals is hi...
Kaiser A, Meier HP, Doherr MG, Perler L, Zanoni R, Gerber V.Since 1991, no cases of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) have been reported in Switzerland. Risk factors for introduction of the virus into Switzerland are still present or have even increased as frequent inapparent infections, large numbers of imported horses, (since 2003) absence of compulsory testing prior to importation, EIA cases in surrounding Europe, possible illegal importation of horses, frequent short-term stays, poor knowledge of the disease among horse owners and even veterinarians. The aim of this study was to provide evidence of freedom from EIA in imported and domestic horses in S...
Båverud V, Gunnarsson A, Engvall EO, Franzén P, Egenvall A.A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of different serovars of Leptospira spp. and their association with clinical disease and host factors in Swedish horses. Methods: Sera from 2017 horses brought to equine clinics during 1997-98 were investigated. The sera were examined by microscopic agglutination test for the presence of antibodies against the following L. interrogans serovars: Bratislava strain Jez, Icterohaemorrhagiae strain Kantorowicz and Pomona strain Pomona and also L. kirschneri sv Grippotyphosa strain Duyster and L. borgpetersenii sv Sejroe strain ...
Bartsch S, Bauer B, Wiemann A, Clausen PH, Steuber S.Host feeding patterns of engorged sibling species of the Culicoides obsoletus and Culicoides pulicaris groups captured during three nights on two selected farms maintaining either cattle, sheep, horses, and pigs (Seedorf, Brandenburg) or cattle, sheep, moufflons, and red and fallow deer (Paulinenaue, Brandenburg) were determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification using conserved primers and sets of species-specific primers derived from vertebrates mitochondrial cytochrome b. Out of a total of 177 blood meals analysed, 115 (65%) tested positive for a blood meal from vertebrates. 63.5% (...
Furet JP, Firmesse O, Gourmelon M, Bridonneau C, Tap J, Mondot S, Doré J, Corthier G.Pollution of the environment by human and animal faecal pollution affects the safety of shellfish, drinking water and recreational beaches. To pinpoint the origin of contaminations, it is essential to define the differences between human microbiota and that of farm animals. A strategy based on real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays was therefore developed and applied to compare the composition of intestinal microbiota of these two groups. Primers were designed to quantify the 16S rRNA gene from dominant and subdominant bacterial groups. TaqMan probes were defined for the qPCR technique used ...
Alonso-Padilla J, Loza-Rubio E, Escribano-Romero E, Córdoba L, Cuevas S, Mejía F, Calderón R, Milián F, Travassos Da Rosa A, Weaver SC....West Nile virus (WNV) was probably introduced in southern and northern Mexico from the USA in two independent events. Since then, WNV activity has been reported in several Mexican states bordering the USA and the Gulf of Mexico, but disease manifestations seen there in humans and equids are quite different to those observed in the USA. We have analysed WNV seroprevalence in asymptomatic, unvaccinated equids from two Mexican states where no data had been previously recorded. WNV IgG antibodies were detected in 31.6% (91/288) of equine sera from Chiapas and Puebla states (53.3% and 8.0%, respect...
Bryant NA, Rash AS, Russell CA, Ross J, Cooke A, Bowman S, MacRae S, Lewis NS, Paillot R, Zanoni R, Meier H, Griffiths LA, Daly JM, Tiwari A....Equine influenza virus (EIV) surveillance is important in the management of equine influenza. It provides data on circulating and newly emerging strains for vaccine strain selection. To this end, antigenic characterisation by haemaggluttination inhibition (HI) assay and phylogenetic analysis was carried out on 28 EIV strains isolated in North America and Europe during 2006 and 2007. In the UK, 20 viruses were isolated from 28 nasopharyngeal swabs that tested positive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. All except two of the UK viruses were characterised as members of the Florida sublineage w...
Zeman P, Jahn P.Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-borne rickettsial pathogen that has measurable genetic heterogeneity across its geographical range and reservoir spectrum. In the present study, publicly available sequences of the genes that have prevailingly been used for typing A. phagocytophilum were analysed to identify the segments giving the highest resolution with respect to the predictability of host and geographical provenances of the strains. Selected partial sequences of 16S rRNA, groL, msp4 and ank genes were then employed in a tentative multilocus typing scheme used to characterize the strains ...
Van Metre DC, Barkey DQ, Salman MD, Morley PS.To develop a syndromic surveillance system based on visual inspection from outside the livestock pens that could be used for detection of disease among livestock entering an auction market. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: All livestock (beef and dairy cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and pigs) entering a single auction market in Colorado during 30 business days. Procedures-Livestock were enumerated and visually inspected for clinical signs of disease by a veterinarian outside the pens, and clinical signs that were observed were categorized into 12 disease syndromes. Frequency of clinical...
Singh BR, Jyoti J, Chandra M, Babu N, Sharma G.Salmonellosis is a zoonosis, and one of the most serious public health and animal health problems. Methods: We studied 111 isolates of Salmonella belonging to 14 S. enterica subspecies enterica serovars namely S. Abortusequi (45), S. Weltevreden (1), S. Dumfries (2), S. Tshiongwe (1), S.I. 4,5,12:r,i:1,5 (12), S. Bovismorbificans (3), S. Drogana (8), S. Lagos (4), S. Kottbus (3), S. Richmond (1), S. Typhimurium (6), S. Newport (7), S. Paratyphi B var Java (17) and S. Saintpaul (5) isolated from equids in India. Results: All strains studied were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. Strains ...
Gimenez C, Casado N, Criado-Fornelio A, de Miguel FA, Dominguez-Peñafiel G.This study reports a molecular survey of Hepatozoon species and of the order Piroplasmida in the Province of Burgos, northern Spain. The diagnostic techniques employed included PCR and the sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Eighty-nine blood samples from domestic animals plus 138 blood/coagulated blood samples from wild mammals were examined. Theilerid protozoa were found at relatively high frequencies in bovines (14.6%) and horses (36%). Theileria buffeli, T. sergenti and T. annulata were diagnosed in cows. T. equi was common in horses and T. annae was found in a donkey for the first time. A ne...
Hitchens PL, Blizzard CL, Jones G, Day LM, Fell J.To describe rates of occurrence of falls, injuries and fatalities to horse-racing jockeys in Australia. Methods: Retrospective analysis of data on race-day falls from stewards' reports provided by the Principal Racing Authority of each state and territory of Australia, August 2002 - July 2006. Methods: Fall, injury and fatality incidence rates; comparison with overseas rates. Results: There were 3360 jockey falls from 748 367 rides. Falls occurred at a rate of 0.42 per 100 rides in flat races and 5.26 per 100 rides in jumps races. In flat racing, 54.6% (1694/3101) of falls occurred before the ...
Odoi A, Carter CN, Riley JW, Smith JL, Dwyer RM.To develop an early-warning automated surveillance-data-analysis system for early outbreak detection and reporting and to assess its performance on an abortion outbreak in mares in Kentucky. Methods: 426 data sets of abortions in mares in Kentucky during December 2000 to July 2001. Methods: A custom software system was developed to automatically extract and analyze data from a Laboratory Information Management System database. The software system was tested on data on abortions in mares in Kentucky reported between December 1, 2000, and July 31, 2001. The prospective space-time permutations sc...
Hassanien RT, Hussein HA, Abdelmegeed HK, Abdelwahed DA, Khattab OM, Ali MH, Habashi AR, Ibraheem EM, Shahein MA, Abohatab EM.Due to climatic changes, arthropod-borne viruses have become a global health concern. In Egypt, West Nile virus (WNV) was initially detected in humans in 1950 and then in 1951, 1954, 1968, and 1989. Although WNV infection has been recorded in numerous Middle Eastern countries, its prevalence among the equine population in Egypt is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the current situation of vector-borne WNV in Egypt, estimate its seroprevalence, and assess the associated risk factors. Unassigned: We screened 1100 sera samples and nasal swabs from the same equids, 156 mosquito pools, and 3...
McFadden AM, Pearce PV, Orr D, Nicoll K, Rawdon TG, Pharo H, Stone M.To summarise investigation and laboratory data collected between 2001 and 2011 to provide evidence that equine arteritis virus is not present in the horse population of New Zealand. Methods: Analysis was carried out on results from laboratory tests carried out at the Ministry for Primary Industries Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) for equine arteritis virus from horses tested prior to being imported or exported, testing of stallions as part of the New Zealand equine viral arteritis (EVA) control scheme and testing as part of transboundary animal disease (TAD) investigations for exclusion of EVA....
Fikri F, Hendrawan D, Wicaksono AP, Purnomo A, Khairani S, Chhetri S, Maslamama ST, Purnama MTE.Colic is among the common health issues in equine health management. Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are the most frequent causes of colic, but dysfunction of other organs and systems inside the abdominal cavity may also contribute. Therefore, it is crucial to identify risk factors for colic of specific etiologies. This study aimed to examine the incidence, risk factors, and best therapeutic management practices for horses with colic. Unassigned: A cohort of 256 horses living in Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia, was randomly recruited based on reports of colic symptoms by owners. Diagnosis and t...
Borland EM, Ledermann JP, Powers AM.Highlands J virus (HJV) is an alphavirus closely related to western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) and eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV). HJV is an avian pathogen with the potential for disruption of poultry operations, but is not known to cause human or equine disease. HJV has only been identified in the eastern United States and is thought to have a transmission cycle similar to that of EEEV involving Culiseta melanura mosquitoes and birds. However, HJV is more genetically similar to WEEV and it remains unclear if it may be transmitted by Culex species mosquitoes like WEEV. Seven st...
Nunes JDSDSS, Casseb LMN, Guimarães RJPS, Reis WDM, de Barros BCV, Ferreira MS, Chiang JO, Pinheiro HHC, Vasconcelos PFDC, Cruz ACR.Serum samples from 89 equids were analyzed (75 horses, 9 donkeys, and 5 mules) from the municipality of Viseu, Pará state, Brazil. Samples were collected in November 2014 and August 2015. The antibody prevalence against the following alphaviruses was estimated: Eastern equine encephalitis virus, Western equine encephalitis virus, Mucambo virus, and Mayaro virus. Seroprevalence was determined by the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) technique. Sera that exhibited HI antibodies with heterotypic reactions for the analyzed viruses were subjected to the 90% plaque reduction neutralization test (PRN...
Mayo C, Venter E, Steyn J, Coetzee P, van Vuuren M, Crafford J, Schütte C, Venter G.The seasonal abundance of Culicoides midges, the vector of Bluetongue and African horse sickness viruses (BTV/AHSV) and the presence of viruses in midges were determined in 3 geographic areas in South Africa. In the Onderstepoort area, more than 500,000 Culicoides midges belonging to 27 species were collected. Eighteen midge species were collected throughout Winter and the presence of AHSV and BTV RNA in midges was detected using real time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The nucleic acid of AHSV was found in 12 pools out of total pools of 35 Culicoides. Twenty‑f...
Walker RL, de Peralta TL, Villanueva MR, Snipes KP, Madigan JE, Hird DW, Kasten RW.Isolates of Salmonella choleraesuis serotype ohio (S. ohio) recovered during an outbreak of equine neonatal salmonellosis on a Thoroughbred farm were compared with isolates of the same serotype from various animal, feed and environmental sources. Biochemical profiles, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, phage susceptibility, plasmid profiles, restriction endonuclease analysis and ribotyping were used to compare relatedness of the strains. A total of 46 outbreak and non-outbreak associated isolates of S. ohio were studied. Differences in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, phage susceptib...
Wong JW, Selvam A, Zhao Z, Yu SM, Law AC, Chung PC.Composting sewage sludge alone would reduce the decomposition efficiency due to free limited porosity in sludge. To alleviate this, the use of horse stable straw bedding waste (HSB) was evaluated as a co-composting material with sewage sludge in a 10 tonnes day(-1) in-vessel composter for a period of 7 days before curing in a static aeration pile. Sludge was mixed with HSB at 1 : 1.5 (HSL) and 1 : 2.9 (LSL) on a fresh weight basis. After a composting period of 56 days, both mixing ratios demonstrated to be feasible with LSL having a better organic decomposition and a shorter time to reach matu...
Jin Y, Li W, Ba X, Li Y, Wang Y, Zhang H, Li Z, Zhou J.Zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to public health. Chlamydia, as an intracellular pathogen, can colonize the intestinal tract of humans and animals, changing the gut microbiota. However, only a few studies have evaluated alterations in the gut microbiota of horses infected with Chlamydia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate gut microbiota and serum biochemical indicators in horses with Chlamydial infection (IG) and healthy horses (HG). Fecal and blood samples were collected from 16 horses (IG: 10; HG: 6) before morning feeding for the determination of gut microbiota and serum...
Stejskalova K, Janova E, Horecky C, Horecka E, Vaclavek P, Hubalek Z, Relling K, Cvanova M, D'Amico G, Mihalca AD, Modry D, Knoll A, Horin P.The West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus causing meningoencephalitis in humans and animals. Due to their particular susceptibility to WNV infection, horses serve as a sentinel species. In a population of Romanian semi-feral horses living in the Danube delta region, we have analyzed the distribution of candidate polymorphic genetic markers between anti WNV-IgG seropositive and seronegative horses. Thirty-six SNPs located in 28 immunity-related genes and 26 microsatellites located in the MHC and LY49 complex genomic regions were genotyped in 57 seropositive and 32 seronegative ho...
Ruple-Czerniak AA, Aceto HW, Bender JB, Paradis MR, Shaw SP, Van Metre DC, Weese JS, Wilson DA, Wilson J, Morley PS.Methods that can be used to estimate rates of healthcare-associated infections and other nosocomial events have not been well established for use in equine hospitals. Traditional laboratory-based surveillance is expensive and cannot be applied in all of these settings. Objective: To evaluate the use of a syndromic surveillance system for estimating rates of occurrence of healthcare-associated infections among hospitalised equine cases. Methods: Multicentre, prospective longitudinal study. Methods: This study included weaned equids (n = 297) that were admitted for gastrointestinal disorders at ...
Kawakami V, Rietberg K, Lipton B, Eckmann K, Watkins M, Oltean H, Kay M, Rothschild C, Kobayashi M, Van Beneden C, Duchin J.On March 17, 2016, Public Health-Seattle & King County in Washington was notified of two persons who received a diagnosis of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) infections. S. zooepidemicus is a zoonotic pathogen that rarely causes human illness and is usually associated with consuming unpasteurized dairy products or with direct horse contact (1). In horses, S. zooepidemicus is a commensal bacterium that can cause respiratory, wound, and uterine infections (2). The health department investigated to determine the magnitude of the outbreak, identify risk factors, and o...
Korkeala H, Stabel-Taucher R, Pekkanen TJ.When 33 horse kidneys were tested for the presence of inhibitory substances by the Bacillus subtilis BGA method at pH 8 and the Micrococcus luteus ATCC 9341 method, 24 were positive and 9 negative. The pH of the seeded M. luteus test medium changed from pH 6.6 before incubation to 8.7 after 24 hours incubation at 30 degrees C. When the same 33 kidneys were tested by the B. subtilis BGA method, medium pH 6, and 15 of them also by the M. luteus method using a medium buffered to pH 6, all were negative. The cadmium concentration of the 33 horse kidneys was found to be 70.17 +/- 81.28 mg/kg wet we...
Pelyva IZ, Kresák R, Szovák E, Tóth ÁL.Multiple studies have investigated the positive effects of human-animal interactions and showed that animal-assisted activities can be successfully used to better human physical and mental health. Equine-assisted activities have also raised considerable attention within the field. Our research focuses on healthy students (aged 14-18) without deviations or special educational needs. We analyze the occurrence of behavior problems and prosocial behavior among adolescents who regularly have interactions with horses, and those who have no connection to horses at all. The subjects of our investigati...
Madigand J, Rio M, Vandevelde A.Many studies focus on the impact of equine assisted services (EAS) on social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but existing data are not consensual and the only available meta-analysis included only three studies and did not consider the social responsiveness scale (SRS). This meta-analysis aims to measure the impact of EAS on social skills in ASD. Using Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library, the means and standard deviations of every available SRS post-intervention scores in each participant group were collected from the five selected randomised controlled trials with...
Botha CJ, Naudé TW.Well-known plant poisonings such as 'dunsiekte' (seneciosis) and 'jaagsiekte' (crotalariosis) of horses in southern Africa are briefly reviewed. Relatively unfamiliar mycotoxicoses such as stachybotryotoxicosis and perennial rye grass staggers and potentially occurring exotic intoxications such as equine nigropallidal encephalomalacia and ergot alkaloid poisoning are also discussed. This article is aimed at informing the southern African equine practitioner about probable poisonings that might occur locally in horses.
Özçelik R, Graubner C, Remy-Wohlfender F, Dürr S, Faverjon C.Equine health is important in regard to trade, economy, society, and the veterinary, as well as public health. To reduce the burden of equine infectious diseases internationally, it is important to collect, review, and distribute equine health surveillance data as accurate and timely as possible. Within this study, we aimed at providing a comprehensive descriptive analysis of data submitted to Equinella, a voluntary veterinary-based surveillance system of non-notifiable equine infectious diseases and clinical signs, in Switzerland. This was achieved by reviewing the reports submitted since its...
Thompson K, Taylor J, Mendez D, Chicken C, Carrick J, Durrheim DN.There are almost 9,500 full-time employees in Australia's thoroughbred horse breeding industry. During foaling, they can be exposed to bodily fluids and mucous membranes which may present risks for zoonotic disease. These risks can be mitigated through personal biosecurity strategies. The aim of this study was to identify which personal biosecurity strategies were more or less likely to be adopted by workers. Seventeen participants representing 14 thoroughbred breeding farms and three equine veterinary practices in Australia's largest thoroughbred breeding region trialed up to 16 stakeholder-n...
Ekiri AB, Long MT, Hernandez JA.The main objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic performance of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the detection of Salmonella in fecal samples collected from hospitalized horses with or without signs of gastrointestinal (GI) tract disease. The PCR assay used primers and a probe that targeted the invA gene of Salmonella. Assuming a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 96.6%, and a disease prevalence of 2%, 5%, and 10-15% in study horses, the PCR assay had a high (100%) negative predictive value, and a positive predictive value that ranged from 37% in horses ...
Pinidiyapathirage J, Kitchener S, McNamee S, Wynter S, Langford J, Doyle A, McMahon A.Agricultural industries are among the most dangerous in Australia posing significant public health risks. This study analyses the nature and management of agriculture-related injuries presenting to EDs in selected hospitals in Southern Queensland. Data on agricultural injury presentations over a 6 month period was collected at four rural hospitals by a dedicated onsite hospital data coordinator. Additionally, in two of the participating hospitals all injury presentations over the same 6 month period were recorded. A pre-tested survey instrument, modified for rural settings and designed and dev...
Krcmar S, Mikuska A, Merdić E.The response of female tabanids to natural attractants was studied in the Monjoros Forest along the Nature Park Kopacki rit in eastern Croatia. Tabanids were caught in canopy traps baited with either aged cow, horse, sheep, or pig urine and also in unbaited traps. Tabanids were collected in a significantly higher numbers in traps baited with natural attractants compared to unbaited traps. The number of females of Tabanus bromius, Tabanus maculicornis, Tabanus tergestinus, and Hybomitra bimaculata collected from canopy traps baited with cow urine and traps baited with other natural attractants ...
Gregg K, Polejaeva I.Prevention and regulation of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) disease transmission solely depend on identification, isolation, and elimination of infected animals because of lack of an effective vaccine. Embryo production via the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology uses oocytes collected mainly from untested animals, which creates a potential risk of EIAV transmission through infected embryos. The current review examines the risk of EIAV disease transmission through SCNT embryo production and transfer. Equine infectious anemia virus is a lentivirus from the family Retroviridae...
Cohen ND, Cywes-Bentley C, Kahn SM, Bordin AI, Bray JM, Wehmeyer SG, Pier GB.Strangles is a common disease of horses with worldwide distribution caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (SEE). Although vaccines against strangles are available commercially, these products have limitations in safety and efficacy. The microbial surface antigen β 1→6 poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) is expressed by SEE. Here we show that intramuscular (IM) injection alone or a combination of IM plus intranasal (IN) immunization generated antibodies to PNAG that functioned to deposit complement and mediate opsonophagocytic killing of SEE ex vivo. However, immunization st...
Cardo MV, Carbajo AE, Mozzoni C, Kliger M, Vezzani D.Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes are a key component in the dynamics of arboviral encephalitides transmission. In temperate Argentina, the members of the Culex pipiens complex include Cx. pipiens molestus, Cx. quinquefasciatus and their hybrids. To characterize their blood feeding patterns, adult resting mosquitoes were collected monthly during the warm season in urban and rural equestrian fields. The availability of birds and domestic mammals per site was characterized. The blood source and the complex member were successfully identified for 89 specimens using PCR. Blood of 19 vertebrate ...
Greene EA, Hein W, Wickens CL, Smarsh DN.The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home directives, adopted out of necessity to protect human health, introduced significant challenges for horse owners and small equine businesses. Restricted access, and in many cases closure of barns, resulted in a multitude of questions and concerns within the equine community which needed to be addressed rapidly. Extension Horses, Inc. (EH) coordinated the development and delivery of a variety of educational resources utilizing a combination of online formats and dissemination through social media and EH member contact lists. A series of infograph...
Gibbons DF.Salmonellosis in Equidae occurs sporadically throughout the world; the incidence recorded ranges from less than 1 per cent to as much as 27 per cent. In 1976 there was a significant increase in disease and mortality caused by salmonellosis in horses in Britain and treatment was less successful than with other species. Data revealed a general progressive shift away from species specific salmonella serotypes towards the ubiquitous but less discerning strains of Salmonella typhimurium. The role of predisposing causes is assessed and treatment, prevention and zoonitic importance commented upon.
Barton AJ, Prow NA, Hall RA, Kidd L, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H.This report summarises the findings from a case of naturally-occurring Murray Valley encephalitis in a 2-year-old filly presenting with acute onset of depression and weakness. Serum samples tested at the onset of clinical signs were negative for Hendra and Kunjin virus antibodies, but positive for Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) using IgM-capture ELISA (1 : 300 dilution). A virus neutralisation assay performed 4 weeks later confirmed a titre of 1 : 160. Sera collected in the weeks preceding neurological signs returned a negative titre for MVEV 2 weeks prior followed by a titre ...
Elferink AJW, Entiriwaa D, Bulgarelli P, Smits NGE, Peters J.Processed milk and milk products produced from bovine milk, commonly contain β-casein A1 (βCA1) and β-casein A2 (βCA2). Since the presence of βCA1 is linked to milk intolerance and digestion problems, A2A2 milk, which only contains βCA2, is proposed as a healthier alternative. To support this health claim, the purity of A2A2-milk has to be guaranteed. In the presented study, a multiplex immunoassay, able to distinguish between βCA2 and βCA1, was developed and real-life applicability was shown on raw milk samples from genotyped A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2 cows. Because of its ability to discrim...
Ventura E, Gadaj A, Buckley T, Mooney MH.Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are a group of anabolic enhancer drugs posing threats to the integrity of animal sports and the safety of animal-derived foods. The current research describes for the first time the development of a semi-quantitative assay for the monitoring of SARM family compounds in blood and establishes the relative stability of these analytes under various storage conditions prior to analysis. The presented screening method validation was performed in line with current EU legislation for the inspection of livestock and produce of animal origin, with detection...
Gabal MA, Awad YL, Morcos MB, Barakat AM, Malik G.Mycotoxicoses involving horses, rabbits and cattle have been studied. Fusarium tricinctum and T-2 toxin were isolated from all incriminated feedstuffs. Other isolated trichothecenes from the feed included HT-2, verrucarins and roridin. The toxins were separated, identified and quantitated using thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. T-2 toxin was detected in amounts varying from 0.5-204 ppm. The contaminated feedstuffs in connection with the affected horses and rabbits, included cereal grains (corn, cornstalks, bran and barley), whereas fescue hay was assoc...
