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.
McTigue FE, Mansbridge SC, Pyatt AZ.Equine anthelmintic resistance poses a threat to the health and welfare of horses worldwide. With no new imminent anthelmintic classes, it is vital to decrease the resistance rate and preserve available classes. Traditional indiscriminate anthelmintic use is not synonymous with a strategic control ideology; however, many continue to implement outdated practices. In comparison to livestock farmers, there have been few social science studies examining horse owner behaviours. This study aimed to understand the perceived barriers faced by horse owners and yard managers to adopting a strategic appr...
Zhang J, Ma H, Ai J, Qi T, Kang M, Li J, Sun Y.Anaplasma genus infects the blood cells of humans and animals by biting, causing zoonotic anaplasmosis. However, limited data are available on carrier animals for Anaplasma spp. antibodies in the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau Area. Therefore, a serological indirect ELISA diagnostic method based on the major surface protein 5 (MSP5), derived from Anaplasma phagocytophilum, was developed in this study to analyze both IgG and IgM antibodies of Anaplasma spp. in a total of 3952 animals from the Qinghai−Tibetan Plateau, including yaks (Bos grunniens), cows (Bos taurus), cattle (Bos taurus domesticus)...
Pathak A, Gulati BR, Maan S, Mor S, Kumar D, Soman R, Punia S, Chaudhary D, Khurana SK.Rotaviruses are the most common viral agents associated with foal diarrhea. Between 2014 and 2017, the annual prevalence of rotavirus in diarrheic foals ranged between 18 and 28% in Haryana (India). Whole-genome sequencing of two equine rotavirus A (ERVA) isolates (RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV4/2017 and RVA/Horse-wt/IND/ERV6/2017) was carried out to determine the genotypic constellations (GCs) of ERVAs. The GCs of both the isolates were G3-P[3]-I8-R3-C3-M3-A9-N3-T3-E3-H6, a unique combination reported for ERVAs so far. Both the isolates carried VP6 of genotype I8, previously unreported from equines. U...
Graham H, van Kalsbeek P, van der Goot J, Koene MGJ.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease affecting horses, donkeys, mules and zebras, caused by the intracellular apicomplexan protozoa and . The geographical distribution of EP is closely related to the distribution of its vector tick species belonging to the genera of and . Since the discovery of ticks in 2007 and the first reported autochthonous cases in the South of the Netherlands in 2012, no data on the (sero)prevalence of EP in horses in the Netherlands have been reported and it remains unclear whether and have been able to establish themselves in the Netherlands. This stu...
Brewer K, Machin J, Maylin G, Fenger C, Morales-Briceño A, Tobin T.Gabapentin, 1-(Aminomethyl)cyclohexaneacetic acid, MW 171.240, is a frequently prescribed high dose human medication that is also used recreationally. Gabapentin is orally absorbed; the dose can be 3,000 mg/day and it is excreted essentially unchanged in urine. Gabapentin is stable in the environment and routinely detected in urban wastewater. Gabapentin randomly transfers from humans to racing horses and is at times detected at pharmacologically ineffective / trace level concentrations in equine plasma and urine. In Ohio racing between January 2019 and July 2020,18 Gabapentin identifications...
Considering the course of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is important to have serological tests for monitoring humoral immune response against SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Herein we describe a novel bridge enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (b-ELISA) for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detection in human and other species, employing recombinant Spike protein as a unique antigen, which is produced at high scale in insect larvae. Eighty two human control sera/plasmas and 169 COVID-19 patients' sera/plasmas, confirmed by rRT-PCR, were analyzed by the b-ELISA assay. In addition, a total of 27 a...
Duncan KT, Sundstrom KD, Hunt D, Lineberry MW, Grant A, Little SE.Although ticks are known vectors of pathogens across a range of hosts, there is limited research on emerging tick-borne diseases of horses in the United States. Tick surveys from other regions suggest Rickettsia spp. and Ehrlichia spp. may be clinically relevant in horses. To better understand the transmission risk of these tick-borne rickettsial disease agents to horses, ticks were collected from horses in Oklahoma. Ticks for the current study (306 Amblyomma americanum, 20 Dermacentor albipictus, 19 D. variabilis, and 7 A. maculatum) were evaluated for Rickettsia spp. and Ehrlichia spp. using...
Rutberg AT, Turner JW, Herman K.To be effective and publicly acceptable, management of free-roaming horses and burros in the United States and elsewhere needs a consistent ethical framing of the animals and the land they occupy. In the U.S., the two laws that largely govern wild horse and burro management, the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act and the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act ("FLPMA"), rest on conflicting foundations, the former based on an ethic of care and the latter on largely utilitarian principles. These conflicts specifically fuel debates over the selection of appropriate fertility control ...
Busechian S, Turini L, Sgorbini M, Pieramati C, Pisello L, Orvieto S, Rueca F.Obesity and overconditioning are becoming more prevalent in horses, and are influencing the animal's health, activity, and reproductive efficiency. Body condition score (BCS) and cresty neck score (CNS) have been correlated with the development of various diseases. Many of the papers in the literature evaluate the prevalence of obesity and overconditioning in horse populations considering BCS given by owners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of the owners' estimation of the degree of equine obesity or overconditioning by comparing BCS and CNS provided by each owner and a boar...
Wibmer CK, Mashilo P.Horses and humans share a close relationship that includes both species' viromes. Many emerging infectious diseases can be transmitted between horses and humans and can exhibit mortality rates as high as 90% in both populations. Antibody biologics represents an emerging field of rapidly discoverable and potent antiviral therapeutics. These biologics can be used to provide passive immunity, as well as blueprints for the rational design of novel active vaccine antigens. Here, we exploit the limited diversity of immunoglobulin variable genes used by horses to develop a rapid, high-throughput mono...
Fennig MW, Weber E, Santos B, Fitzsimmons-Craft EE, Wilfley DE.Eating disorders (EDs) are deadly illnesses with high relapse rates, highlighting need for better interventions. Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has been implemented supplementally for EDs, with horses utilized at many residential facilities. AAT shows promise with meta-analyses of randomized control trials (RCTs) showing significant decreases in depression, anxiety, and negative affect; however, no review to date has evaluated efficacy for EDs. Therefore, this study conducted a systematic review of primary literature to investigate the efficacy of AAT for EDs. A systematic review was conducted ...
Chapman GR, Wells B, Gilkerson JR, Flash ML.In recent years there has been public speculation about the breed, destination and number of horses being sold by public auction at livestock saleyards in Australia. Currently, there is little objective information available about the breed and condition of horses sold through this medium. With little publicly available objective data on these horses, the horse industry has been left vulnerable to misinformation. Accurate information regarding the composition and condition of horses attending saleyards is important to identify and address any welfare issues and to inform public debate. Methods...
Leonardi M, Boschin F, Boscato P, Manica A.Predicting the effects of future global changes on species requires a better understanding of the ecological niche dynamics in response to climate; the large climatic fluctuations of the last 50,000 years can be used as a natural experiment to that aim. Here we test whether the realized niche of horse, aurochs, red deer, and wild boar changed between 47,000 and 7500 years ago using paleoecological modelling over an extensive archaeological database. We show that they all changed their niche, with species-specific responses to climate fluctuations. We also suggest that they survived the climati...
Zahoor J, Kashif M, Nasir A, Bakhsh M, Qamar MF, Sikandar A, Rehman A.Trypanosomiasis is one of the severe pathogenic infections, caused by several Trypanosoma species, affecting both animals and humans, causing substantial economic losses and severe illness. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular diagnosis and the risk factors associated with trypanosomiasis in District Jhang, Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, blood samples were randomly collected from 200 horses. A predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data on risk factors before the sample collection. The microscopy examination through Giemsa staining, formol gel test and PCR tec...
Riva MG, Sobrero L, Menchetti L, Minero M, Padalino B, Dalla Costa E.Horses with a low level of tameness are at higher risk for transport-related disease and injury; hence, European regulations for the protection of animals during transport (EC 1/2005) are stricter for unhandled (unbroken) horses. However, the regulation does not provide adequate tools for unhandled horse identification. The Broken/Unbroken Test (BUT) was developed and validated to easily identify whether a horse is broken (handled) or not. As a further validation step, the aim of this study was to assess whether there is any correspondence between the BUT classification and the behavioral resp...
Suminda GGD, Bhandari S, Won Y, Goutam U, Kanth Pulicherla K, Son YO, Ghosh M.Increasing globalization, agricultural intensification, urbanization, and climatic changes have resulted in a significant recent increase in emerging infectious zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are becoming more common, so innovative, effective, and integrative research is required to better understand their transmission, ecological implications, and dynamics at wildlife-human interfaces. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) methodologies have enormous potential for unraveling these contingencies and improving our understanding, but they are only now beginning to be realized in livestock resea...
Morley M, Loeb J.As Malcolm Morley becomes BVA president for 2022/23, Josh Loeb chats to him about his love for horses and why the veterinary profession is actually a human-centred business.
Songsri J, Mala W, Wisessombat S, Siritham K, Cheha S, Noisa N, Wongtawan T, Klangbud WK. O157:H7 is enterohemorrhagic , which produces verocytotoxin or Shiga toxin. It is a well-known cause of severe diseases in humans worldwide. Cattle and other ruminants are the main reservoirs of this organism. Sports animals, such as fighting bulls, riding horses, and fighting cocks, are economic animals in Southern Thailand. This study aimed to identify O157:H7 from the rectal swabs of these sports animals and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated bacteria. Unassigned: The rectal swabs were collected from 34 fighting bulls, 32 riding horses, and 31 fighting cocks. ...
Kakimori MTA, Barros LD, Collere FCM, Ferrari LDR, de Matos A, Lucas JI, Coradi VS, Mongruel ACB, Aguiar DM, Machado RZ, André MR, Vieira TSWJ....This study aimed to determine the occurrence of hemoplasmas and tick-borne pathogens (TBP) (Theileria equi, Babesia caballi, and Ehrlichia sp.) in horses and ticks' salivary glands, and determine the factors associated with exposure/infection in a rural settlement in southern Brazil. Blood samples from 22 horses were screened for anti-T. equi and anti-Ehrlichia sp. antibodies by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) assays. Samples were also tested by PCR assays for T. equi and B. caballi (18S rRNA and rap-1 genes, respectively), hemoplasmas (16S rRNA gene), and Ehrlichia sp. (dsb gene)...
Cao X, Qiu X, Shi N, Ha Z, Zhang H, Xie Y, Wang P, Zhu X, Zhao W, Zhao G, Jin N, Lu H.Getah virus (GETV) is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus belonging to the genus of the family . Natural infections of GETV have been identified in a variety of vertebrate species, with pathogenicity mainly in swine, horses, bovines, and foxes. The increasing spectrum of infection and the characteristic causing abortions in pregnant animals pose a serious threat to public health and the livestock economy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish a method that can be used for epidemiological investigation in multiple animals. In this study, a real-time reverse tr...
Martos Martinez-Caja A, De Herdt V, Enders-Slegers MJ, Moons CPH.The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused dramatic changes to our lifestyle, particularly affecting our ability to interact "in person" with our social network. These changes have had a detrimental effect on the mental welfare of the global population. The international questionnaire "Pets in Lockdown" was designed to investigate whether feelings of loneliness were affecting the mood of people during the COVID-19 lockdown and whether pet ownership may have had a positive influence on both loneliness and general mood. As expected, higher loneliness scores were associated with higher nega...
Lord J, Carter C, Smith J, Locke S, Phillips E, Odoi A.Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among veterinary pathogens is necessary to identify clinically relevant patterns of AMR and to inform antimicrobial use practices. Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus and Rhodococcus equi are bacterial pathogens of major clinical importance in horses and are frequently implicated in respiratory tract infections. The objectives of this study were to describe antimicrobial resistance patterns and identify predictors of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) (resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes) among equine S. zooepidemicus and R. equi...
Pacchiarotti G, Nardini R, Scicluna MT.Viral hepatitis has recently assumed relevance for equine veterinary medicine since a variety of new viruses have been discovered. Equine Hepacivirus (EqHV) is an RNA virus belonging to the Flaviviridae family that can cause subclinical hepatitis in horses, occasionally evolving into a chronic disease. EqHV, to date, is considered the closest known relative of human HCV. EqHV has been reported worldwide therefore assessing its features is relevant, considering both the wide use of blood products and transfusions in veterinary therapies and its similitude to HCV. The present review resumes the ...
Hoagwood K, Vincent A, Acri M, Morrissey M, Seibel L, Guo F, Flores C, Seag D, Peth Pierce R, Horwitz S.Reining in Anxiety (RiA) is a therapeutic program for youth with mild to moderate anxiety delivered in a therapeutic riding setting by Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructors. RiA was developed after a review of the evidence base for youth anxiety, is manualized, and includes five core CBT components: in vivo exposure, cognitive restructuring, youth psychoeducation, relaxation, and caregiver psychoeducation about anxiety. This study extended findings from a prior RCT that examined (1) the feasibility of collecting saliva samples from horses and children to measure stress (cortisol) and relaxa...
Behnke T, Street P, Davies S, Ouyang JQ, Sedinger JS.Non-native ungulate grazing has negatively impacted native species across the globe, leading to massive loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Despite their pervasiveness, interactions between non-native grazers and native species are not fully understood. We often observe declines in demography or survival of these native species, but lack understanding about the mechanisms underlying these declines. Physiological stress represents one mechanism of (mal)adaptation, but data are sparse. We investigated glucocorticoid levels in a native avian herbivore exposed to different intensities of ...
The genus includes species with a wide geographical spread that cause pathology in humans and animals. In this context, an epidemiological study of infection was carried out in the northeastern part of Romania to investigate for the first time the prevalence of this infection in pigs, horses, wild boars and bears, the geographical distribution of species and the natural reservoir of infection. Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 166,270 animals were examined by the method of artificial digestion, in order to calculate the annual and general prevalence of infection, according to the host and...
Ben David A, Barnea A, Torgeman A, Diamant E, Dor E, Schwartz A, Rosen O, Caspi N, Saraf M, Lerer E, Adar Y, Lupo E, Toister E, Zichel R.Botulism is a paralytic disease caused by botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs). Equine antitoxin is currently the standard therapy for botulism in human. The preparation of equine antitoxin relies on the immunization of horses with botulinum toxoid, which suffers from low yield and safety limitations. The Hc fragment of BoNTs was suggested to be a potent antibotulinum subunit vaccine. The current study presents a comparative evaluation of equine-based toxoid-derived antitoxin (TDA) and subunit-derived antitoxin (SDA). The potency of recombinant Hc/A, Hc/B, and Hc/E in mice was similar to that of toxo...
Johns IC, Adams EL.This study aimed to identify changing antimicrobial resistance patterns in isolates commonly obtained from equine clinical submissions. Laboratory records from 1999 to 2012 were searched for equine samples from which Escherichia coli or Streptococcus species was isolated. Susceptibility to enrofloxacin, ceftiofur, gentamicin, penicillin G, trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (TMPS) and tetracyclines was noted. Isolates were divided into those identified between 1999 and 2004 (Early) and between 2007 and 2012 (Late). The proportion of isolates resistant to each antimicrobial and multiple drug-resista...
Venter M, Pretorius M, Fuller JA, Botha E, Rakgotho M, Stivaktas V, Weyer C, Romito M, Williams J.During 2008-2015 in South Africa, we conducted West Nile virus surveillance in 1,407 animals with neurologic disease and identified mostly lineage 2 cases in horses (7.4%, 79/1,069), livestock (1.5%, 2/132), and wildlife (0.5%, 1/206); 35% were fatal. Geographic correlation of horse cases with seropositive veterinarians suggests disease in horses can predict risk in humans.
Sturdee AP, Bodley-Tickell AT, Archer A, Chalmers RM.A longitudinal sample survey testing for Cryptosporidium in livestock and small wild mammals conducted over 6 years (1992-1997) on a lowland farm in Warwickshire, England, has shown the parasite to be endemic and persistently present in all mammalian categories. Faecal samples were taken throughout the year and oocysts concentrated by a formal ether sedimentation method for detection by immunofluorescence staining using a commercially available genus specific monoclonal antibody. Cryptosporidium parvum was identified by morphology and measurement of modified Ziehl-Neelsen stained oocysts. C. m...
Neill CL, Hansen CR, Salois M.The purpose of this study is to estimate the economic cost of burnout in the veterinary profession and highlight the financial reasons why the industry should address the burnout crisis from an organizational perspective. Using data from 5,786 associate veterinarians in private practice, information was obtained using employment information related to compensation, work hours, hour preferences, and job turnover. Burnout was measured using the Professional Quality of Life Scale and used to calculate conditional probabilities on turnover and reduced working hours due to burnout. Lost revenue fro...
Rossi SL, Russell-Lodrigue KE, Killeen SZ, Wang E, Leal G, Bergren NA, Vinet-Oliphant H, Weaver SC, Roy CJ.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an arbovirus endemic to the Americas that is responsible for severe, sometimes fatal, disease in humans and horses. We previously described an IRES-based VEE vaccine candidate based up the IE serotype that offers complete protection against a lethal subtype IE VEEV challenge in mice. Here we demonstrate the IRES-based vaccine's ability to protect against febrile disease in cynomolgus macaques. Vaccination was well tolerated and elicited robust neutralizing antibody titers noticed as early as day 14. Moreover, complete protection from disease chara...
Padalino B, Raidal SL, Hall E, Knight P, Celi P, Jeffcott L, Muscatello G.An online survey was conducted to determine associations between transport management and transport-related injuries and diseases in horses in Australia. The survey was composed of three sections: respondents' demographic information, transport management strategies or procedures (before, during and after transportation) and transport diseases experienced in the previous two year period. Univariate and multivariate modelling was performed exploring associations between variables (respondents' details and transport management strategies) and the following transport-related diseases as outcomes:...
Salat J, Ruzek D.Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a disease caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), represents a serious neural infection of humans in Europe and Asia. The main reservoir hosts of TBEV are ticks, rodents and insectivores, but domestic animals may also be infected with the virus. This review summarizes what is known about TBE in domestic species (e.g., dogs, horses), in which infection may manifest with clinical signs similar to those seen in severe human cases. We also focus on TBE in ruminants where TBE infections are typically asymptomatic and do not cause health problems in the infecte...
Samadi S, Wouters IM, Houben R, Jamshidifard AR, Van Eerdenburg F, Heederik DJ.Workers in horse stables are likely exposed to high levels of organic dust. Organic dusts play a role in increased risk of inflammatory reactions and are associated with respiratory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate dust, endotoxin, beta(1-->3)-glucan, and culturable microorganisms exposure levels in horse stables. Methods: Ambient (n = 38) and personal (n = 42) inhalable dust samples were collected using PAS-6 sampling heads. As a special measurement, we included sampling near the horses' heads. Samples were analyzed for endotoxin and beta(1-->3)-glucan by Limulus amebo...
Durand B, Chevalier V, Pouillot R, Labie J, Marendat I, Murgue B, Zeller H, Zientara S.During late summer and autumn 2000, a West Nile fever outbreak in southern France resulted in 76 equine clinical cases; 21 horses died. We report the results of a large serosurvey of all equines within a 10-km radius of laboratory-confirmed cases. Blood samples were obtained from 5,107 equines, distributed in groups of 1 to 91 animals. West Nile virus immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies were found in 8.5% of animals (n=432). Forty-two percent of the IgG-positive animals were also IgM positive. Horses living in small groups were more affected than those in large groups. The results suggest that We...
Ireland JL, Wylie CE, Collins SN, Verheyen KL, Newton JR.This study aimed to describe the provision of preventive health care and owner-reported disease prevalence in horses and ponies within Great Britain (GB), and to assess geographical variations in health care provision. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, using a postal questionnaire administered to a random sample of veterinary-registered owners of horses and ponies in GB (n=797). The majority of animals received regular preventive health care: 95.6% had regular hoof care; 71.3% were vaccinated for both influenza and tetanus and median time since last anthelmintic administration was 8.7 we...
Rioja-Lang FC, Connor M, Bacon H, Dwyer CM.Equine welfare issues are receiving increasing attention in the UK, but welfare problems can arise from a wide range of causes. In order to identify the most important welfare concerns for horses, we used a Delphi method with 19 equine welfare experts. An initial list of 84 equine welfare issues was generated using an online discussion board and NVivo thematic analysis. Subsequently, experts ranked these welfare issues for perceived prevalence, severity and duration of suffering associated with each issue on a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a mean score of 3 or above ( = 37) were includ...
Palombo EA.Rotaviruses are the major cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children and animals. The rotavirus genome is composed of eleven segments of double-stranded RNA and can undergo genetic reassortment during mixed infections, leading to progeny viruses with novel or atypical phenotypes. There are numerous descriptions of rotavirus strains isolated from human and animals that share genetic and antigenic features of viruses from heterologous species. In many cases, genetic analysis by hybridization has clearly demonstrated the genetic relatedness of gene segments to those from viruses isolated f...
Beards GM, Brown DW, Green J, Flewett TH.Pleomorphic virus-like particles have been observed by electron microscopy in the faeces of children and adults with diarrhoea. Some of these particles were approximately 100 nm in diameter and had a "fringe" of closely applied peplomers approximately 10 nm long; they closely resembled Berne virus of horses and Breda virus of calves, the two representatives of a newly proposed family called the Toroviridae. In one sample a toroidal nucleoprotein-like structure was observed within the particles. For two samples a buoyant density of 1.14 g/ml was determined by centrifugation through a sucrose de...
Parkin TD.This article describes the development of epidemiologic analyses of racetrack injury in racehorses. The risk or rate of fatal and nonfatal injury in racing and training around the world is examined. The focus is on the importance of global collaboration and the identification of modifiable risk factors. In particular, exercise-related risk factors for injury are evaluated and the potential impact of interventions discussed.
Haenni M, Saras E, Ponsin C, Dahmen S, Petitjean M, Hocquet D, Madec JY.The objective of this study was to characterize ESBL-producing Enterobacter cloacae isolated from animals and to compare their clonal distribution with that of human-related isolates. Among 635 clinical E. cloacae from horses, dogs and cats collected in France between 2010 and 2013, 36 were resistant to ceftiofur as determined by disc diffusion. ESBL genes were identified by sequencing. Plasmids carrying ESBL-encoding genes were characterized by PCR-based replicon typing, S1-PFGE and Southern blotting. IncHI2 plasmids were subtyped using the plasmid double-locus sequence typing scheme and mult...
McGorum BC, Ellison J, Cullen RT.The concentrations of total and respirable airborne endotoxin in the breathing zone of a pony in 3 different management systems, on 8 occasions, are reported. Airborne endotoxin concentrations in all 3 systems were lower than those reported for many other agricultural environments. However, total airborne endotoxin concentrations in many of the conventional stables exceeded those which can induce pulmonary inflammation and bronchial hyper-responsiveness in normal human subjects, and exceeded those which can induce bronchoconstriction in humans with pre-existing pulmonary inflammation. Therefor...
Bargaoui R, Lecollinet S, Lancelot R.West Nile fever (WNF) is a viral disease of wild birds transmitted by mosquitoes. Humans and equids can also be affected and suffer from meningoencephalitis. In Tunisia, two outbreaks of WNF occurred in humans in 1997 and 2003; sporadic cases were reported on several other years. Small-scale serological surveys revealed the presence of antibodies against WN virus (WNV) in equid sera. However, clinical cases were never reported in equids, although their population is abundant in Tunisia. This study was achieved to characterize the nationwide serological status of WNV in Tunisian equids. In tota...
The Journal of traumaApril 26, 2000
Volume 48, Issue 4 740-744 doi: 10.1097/00005373-200004000-00025
Norwood S, McAuley C, Vallina VL, Fernandez LG, McLarty JW, Goodfried G.Injuries from encounters with large animals represent a significant health risk for rural communities. We evaluated our regional trauma centers' experience with large-animal injuries to determine whether certain mechanisms and patterns of injury predicted either major head/craniofacial or torso (chest/abdomen/pelvis) trauma. Methods: The hospital courses of 145 patients with injuries related to large animals were reviewed retrospectively to determine patterns of injury, specific injury mechanisms, species-specific injuries, and predictors of multiple body region trauma. Results: Seventy-nine p...
Ziegler U, Seidowski D, Angenvoort J, Eiden M, Müller K, Nowotny N, Groschup MH.West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus that is maintained in an enzootic cycle between ornithophilic mosquitoes, mainly of the Culex genus, and certain wild bird species. Other bird species like ravens, jays and raptors are highly susceptible to the infection and may develop deadly encephalitis, while further species of birds are only going through subclinical infection. The objective of this study was to continue in years 2009-2011 the serological and molecular surveillance in wild birds in Germany (see Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 10, 639) and to expand these investigations for the first time a...
Weaver SC, Bellew LA, Gousset L, Repik PM, Scott TW, Holland JJ.We evaluated genetic and phenotypic diversity within natural populations of the alphavirus, Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus. RNA fingerprinting revealed that most populations within infected hosts (unpassaged isolates) contained a consensus genotype along with minority genotypes differing in one to three T1-resistant oligonucleotides. Mutation frequencies appeared to be similar to those reported for other RNA viruses, suggesting that the slow rate of EEE virus evolution is not limited by fidelity of genome replication. Within a given year, genetic diversity was generally greater a...
Amaya M, Keck F, Lindquist M, Voss K, Scavone L, Kehn-Hall K, Roberts B, Bailey C, Schmaljohn C, Narayanan A.Many viruses have been implicated in utilizing or modulating the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) to enhance viral multiplication and/or to sustain a persistent infection. The mosquito-borne Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) belongs to the Togaviridae family and is an important biodefense pathogen and select agent. There are currently no approved vaccines or therapies for VEEV infections; therefore, it is imperative to identify novel targets for therapeutic development. We hypothesized that a functional UPS is required for efficient VEEV multiplication. We have shown that at non-tox...
Pusterla N, Vin R, Leutenegger C, Mittel LD, Divers TJ.Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is an emerging virus associated clinically and epidemiologically with fever, depression, anorexia and less frequently colic and diarrhoea in adult horses. Sporadic cases and outbreaks have been reported with increased frequency since 2010 from Japan, the USA and more recently from Europe. A faeco-oral transmission route is suspected and clinical or asymptomatic infected horses appear to be responsible for direct and indirect transmission of ECoV. A presumptive clinical diagnosis of ECoV infection may be suggested by clinical presentation, haematological abnormalities ...
Gildea S, Fitzpatrick DA, Cullinane A.Outbreaks of equine influenza (EI) in endemic populations cause disruption and economic loss. Objective: To identify (i) factors involved in the spread of EI (ii) virus strains responsible for outbreaks (iii) single radial haemolysis (SRH) antibody levels correlating with protection against current virus strains (iv) evidence of vaccination breakdown. Methods: RT-PCR, virus isolation and SRH were carried out on nasopharyngeal swabs and blood samples collected from horses, ponies and donkeys on affected premises. Data relating to 629 samples from 135 equidae were analysed. Conclusions: Outbreak...
Fetene E, Leta S, Regassa F, Büscher P.Trypanosomosis caused by Trypanosoma vivax is one of the diseases threatening the health and productivity of livestock in Africa and Latin America. Trypanosoma vivax is mainly transmitted by tsetse flies; however, the parasite has also acquired the ability to be transmitted mechanically by hematophagous dipterans. Understanding its distribution, host range and prevalence is a key step in local and global efforts to control the disease. Methods: The study was conducted according to the methodological recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRIS...
Anestis MD, Anestis JC, Zawilinski LL, Hopkins TA, Lilienfeld SO.Equine-related treatments (ERT) for mental disorders are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of diagnoses; however, they have been subjected only to limited systematic investigation. Objective: To examine the quality of and results from peer-reviewed research on ERT for mental disorders and related outcomes. Methods: Peer-reviewed studies (k = 14) examining treatments for mental disorders or closely related outcomes were identified from databases and article reference sections. Results: All studies were compromised by a substantial number of threats to validity, calling into question t...
Mossel EC, Ledermann JP, Phillips AT, Borland EM, Powers AM, Olson KE.Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) is a naturally occurring recombinant virus derived from ancestral Sindbis and Eastern equine encephalitis viruses. We previously showed that infection by WEEV isolates McMillan (McM) and IMP-181 (IMP) results in high (∼90-100%) and low (0%) mortality, respectively, in outbred CD-1 mice when virus is delivered by either subcutaneous or aerosol routes. However, relatively little is known about specific virulence determinants of WEEV. We previously observed that IMP infected Culex tarsalis mosquitoes at a high rate (app. 80%) following ingestion of an in...
Bingham AM, Burkett-Cadena ND, Hassan HK, McClure CJ, Unnasch TR.Studies investigating winter transmission of Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) were conducted in Hillsborough County, Florida. The virus was detected in Culiseta melanura and Anopheles quadrimaculatus in February 2012 and 2013, respectively. During the winter months, herons were the most important avian hosts for all mosquito species encountered. In collections carried out in the summer of 2011, blood meals taken from herons were still common, but less frequently encountered than in winter, with an increased frequency of mammalian- and reptile-derived meals observed in the summer. Four ...
Wallis N, Raffan E.Obesity is one of the most prevalent health conditions in humans and companion animals globally. It is associated with premature mortality, metabolic dysfunction, and multiple health conditions across species. Obesity is, therefore, of importance in the fields of medicine and veterinary medicine. The regulation of adiposity is a homeostatic process vulnerable to disruption by a multitude of genetic and environmental factors. It is well established that the heritability of obesity is high in humans and laboratory animals, with ample evidence that the same is true in companion animals. In this r...
Medina-Torres CE, Weese JS, Staempfli HR.Fecal samples were collected to establish the apparent prevalence of Clostridium difficile shedding in Standardbred and Thoroughbred racehorses housed at 4 racetracks and 2 breeding facilities, and in horses admitted to a referral large animal clinic. Forty-one (7.59%) of 540 racetrack horses, seven (5.83%) of 120 breeding farm horses, and four (4.88%) out of 82 horses admitted to the referral clinic were culture-positive for C. difficile. An overall fecal culture prevalence of 7.01% for C. difficile was identified in 742 fecal samples. PCR-ribotyping and toxin gene identification was performe...
