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.
Boysen C, Davis EG, Beard LA, Lubbers BV, Raghavan RK.Kansas witnessed an unprecedented outbreak in Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection among horses, a disease commonly referred to as pigeon fever during fall 2012. Bayesian geostatistical models were developed to identify key environmental and climatic risk factors associated with C. pseudotuberculosis infection in horses. Positive infection status among horses (cases) was determined by positive test results for characteristic abscess formation, positive bacterial culture on purulent material obtained from a lanced abscess (n = 82), or positive serologic evidence of exposure to organism ...
Edson D, Field H, McMichael L, Vidgen M, Goldspink L, Broos A, Melville D, Kristoffersen J, de Jong C, McLaughlin A, Davis R, Kung N, Jordan D....Pteropid bats or flying-foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are the natural host of Hendra virus (HeV) which sporadically causes fatal disease in horses and humans in eastern Australia. While there is strong evidence that urine is an important infectious medium that likely drives bat to bat transmission and bat to horse transmission, there is uncertainty about the relative importance of alternative routes of excretion such as nasal and oral secretions, and faeces. Identifying the potential routes of HeV excretion in flying-foxes is important to effectively mitigate equine exposure risk at the bat...
Huybrechts B, Callebaut A.Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are widely distributed plant toxins with species dependent hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, genotoxic and pneumotoxic risks. In a recent European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinion, only two data sets from one European country were received for honey, while one feed data set was included. No data are available for food or feed samples from the Belgian market. We developed an LC-MS/MS method, which allowed the detection and quantification of 16 PAs in a broad range of matrices in the sub ng g(-1) range. The method was validated in milk, honey and hay and applied to hon...
Paternina LE, Verbel-Vergara D, Romero-Ricardo L, Pérez-Doria A, Paternina-Gómez M, Martínez L, Bejarano EE.Identification of the bloodmeal sources of phlebotomine sand flies is fundamental to determining which species are anthropophilic and understanding the transmission of Leishmania parasites in natural epidemiological settings. The objective of this study was to identify sand fly bloodmeals in the mixed leishmaniasis focus of the department of Sucre, northern Colombia. In all 141 engorged female sand flies were analyzed, after being captured in intradomiciliary, peridomiciliary and extradomiciliary habitats with Shannon and CDC traps and by active searching in diurnal resting sites. Bloodmeals w...
Schröter C, Schulte-Sutum A, Zeckey C, Winkelmann M, Krettek C, Mommsen P.Equestrian sports are one of the most popular forms of sport in Germany, while also being one of the most accident-prone sports. Furthermore, riding accidents are frequently associated with a high degree of severity of injuries and mortality. Nevertheless, there are insufficient data regarding incidences, demographics, mechanisms of accidents, injury severity and patterns and outcome of injured persons in amateur equestrian sports. Accordingly, it was the aim of the present study to retrospectively analyze these aspects. Methods: A total of 503 patients were treated in the emergency room of th...
Grimmer NM, Gimbar RP, Bursua A, Patel M.The literature regarding rhabdomyolysis secondary to illicit drug use is sparse. Clenbuterol is a bronchodilator approved for veterinary use, which in high doses can increase protein deposition and lipolysis similarly to anabolic steroids, and is thereby abused for bodybuilding and weight loss effects. Clenbuterol has previously been described in case reports to be cardiotoxic, with patient presentations similar to overdoses of sympathomimetic substances, but reports of rhabdomyolysis are limited to a single case series in horses. Methods: We report the first case of rhabdomyolysis secondary t...
Saastamoinen M, Särkijärvi S, Hyyppä S.Stable air quality and the choice of bedding material are an important health issue both in horses and people working or visiting horse stables. Risks of impaired respiratory health are those that can especially be avoided by improving air quality in the stable. The choice of bedding material is particularly important in cold climate conditions; where horses are kept most of the day and year indoors throughout their life. This study examined the effect of two bedding materials; wood shavings and peat; on stable air quality and health of horses. Ammonia and dust levels were also measured to ass...
Cruz F, Fores P, Mughini-Gras L, Ireland J, Moreno MA, Newton R.Equine viral arteritis (EVA), a disease caused by infection with the equine arteritis virus (EAV), is present in many European countries. In Spain, the last confirmed outbreak was reported in 1992 and there is a paucity of seroprevalence studies. The disease has a major impact on the equine breeding industry, which is mainly represented by Spanish Purebred (SP) horses in Spain. Objective: To estimate the seroprevalence of EAV in the breeding SP horse population in central Spain and identify potential horse and studfarm level factors associated with seropositivity to EAV. Methods: Cross-section...
Vieira RF, Vidotto O, Vieira TS, Guimaraes AM, Santos AP, Nascimento NC, Santos NJ, Martins TF, Labruna MB, Marcondes M, Biondo AW, Messick JB.The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of hemoplasmas in a rural Brazilian settlement's population of human beings, their dogs and horses, highly exposed to tick bites; to identify the tick species parasitizing dogs and horses, and analyze factors associated with their infection. Blood samples from 132 dogs, 16 horses and 100 humans were screened using a pan-hemoplasma SYBR green real-time PCR assay followed by a species-specific TaqMan real-time PCR. A total of 59/132 (44.7%) dog samples were positive for hemoplasmas (21 Mycoplasma haemocanis alone, 12 ' Candidatus Mycoplasma...
Aleman M, Shapiro K, Sisó S, Williams DC, Rejmanek D, Aguilar B, Conrad PA.Recent reports of Sarcocystis fayeri-induced toxicity in people consuming horse meat warrant investigation on the prevalence and molecular characterization of Sarcocystis spp. infection in horses. Sarcocysts in skeletal muscle of horses have been commonly regarded as an incidental finding. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of sarcocysts in skeletal muscle of horses with neuromuscular disease. Our findings indicated that S. fayeri infection was common in young mature horses with neuromuscular disease and could be associated with myopathic and neurogenic processes. The number of in...
Smith MA, Nolan TJ, Rieger R, Aceto H, Levine DG, Nolen-Walston R, Smith BI.In the last decade there have been numerous reports of anthelmintic resistant cyathostomins in many parts of the world. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the commercially available anthelmintics against cyathostomin egg shedding in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. A total of 989 horses from 67 different farms located in southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and northeastern Maryland were treated with fenbendazole, oxibendazole, pyrantel pamoate, ivermectin, or moxidectin at their recommended dosages. Fecal egg count reduction testing was us...
Fonseca de Araújo Valença SR, Barreto Valença RM, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Feitosa de Albuquerque PP, Souza Neto OL, Mota RA.The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii among horses and its associated risk factors in Alagoas, Brazil. In total, 440 samples from 36 properties in 23 districts of the state of Alagoas were studied, covering the Leste, Agreste and Sertão mesoregions. Risk factors were evaluated through the application of an investigative questionnaire that focused on the productive, reproductive and sanitary management of herds. T. gondii infection were assayed using the immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with a cutoff point of 64; 14.4% (95% CI: 11.0%-17.8%) of - hors...
Perglione CO, Gildea S, Rimondi A, Miño S, Vissani A, Carossino M, Cullinane A, Barrandeguy M.In 2012, equine influenza (EI) virus was confirmed as the cause of outbreaks of respiratory disease in horses throughout South America. In Uruguay and Argentina, hundreds of vaccinated thoroughbred horses in training and racing facilities were clinically affected. Objective: To characterise the EI viruses detected during the outbreak in Uruguay and Argentina. Methods: Virus was detected in nasopharyngeal swabs by a pan-reactive influenza type A real-time RT-PCR. The nucleotide sequence of the HA1 gene was determined and analysed phylogenetically using mega 5 software. Amino acid sequences alig...
Riley CB, Liddiard JR, Thompson K.Specific estimates of the risk of horse-related injury (HRI) to university students enrolled in veterinary and animal sciences have not been reported. This study aimed to determine the risk of student HRI during their university education, the nature and management of such injuries. A retrospective questionnaire solicited demographic information, data on students' equine experience prior to and during their educational programs, and on HRI during their program of study. Of 260 respondents, 22 (8.5%) reported HRI (27 incidents). Including concurrent injuries the most commonly injured body parts...
Malik P, Singha H, Goyal SK, Khurana SK, Tripathi BN, Dutt A, Singh D, Sharma N, Jain S.Burkholderia mallei is the causative agent of glanders which is a highly contagious and fatal disease of equines. Considering the nature and severity of the disease in equines, and potential of transmission to human beings, glanders is recognised as a 'notifiable' disease in many countries. An increasing number of glanders outbreaks throughout the Asian continents, including India, have been noticed recently. In view of the recent re-emergence of the disease, the present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of glanders among indigenous equines from different parts of India. Serum sa...
Aharonson-Raz K, Steinman A, Kavkovsky A, Bumbarov V, Berlin D, Lichter-Peled A, Berke O, Klement E.It is claimed that the distribution of Culicoides-borne viruses is highly influenced by climate. Equine encephalosis virus (EEV) is a Culicoides-borne orbivirus which affects horses and was recently found to be endemic in Israel. To test whether climate is a crucial factor in the geographical distribution of EEV, we collected blood samples from horses in Israel during the years 2002, 2007 and 2010 and tested them for the abundance of antibodies to EEV. Samples were also collected in 2011 from horses that were seronegative to the virus in 2010, to determine the rate of infection with EEV. It wa...
Liu A, Zhang J, Zhao J, Zhao W, Wang R, Zhang L.Horses interact with humans in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits as well as in working activities. Cryptosporidium spp are one of the most important zoonotic pathogens causing diarrhea of humans and animals. The reports of Cryptosporidium in horses and the findings of zoonotic Cryptosporidium species/genotypes show a necessity to carry out molecular identification of Cryptosporidium in horses, especially in diarrheic ones. The aim of the present study was to understand Cryptosporidium infection and species/genotypes in diarrheic horses, and to trace...
Young JD, Gelbs JC, Zhu DS, Gallacher SE, Sutton KM, Blaine TA.Despite the common nature of orthopaedic injuries in equestrian sports, there is no published review to specifically characterize orthopaedic injuries in equestrian athletes. Objective: To characterize orthopaedic injury patterns in equine sports-related injuries and their treatment. Methods: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: This review was performed through a PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus query (from 1978 to June 2014) in the English literature using search terms "(equine-related OR equestrian-related OR horse-related OR equestrian OR equestrians) AND (injury OR injuries)." Only...
Kendall A, Anagrius K, Gånheim A, Rosanowski SM, Bergström K.Recommendations for prophylactic vaccination against tetanus in horses vary greatly between countries and have scarce scientific support in the peer-reviewed literature. In human medicine, recommended booster vaccination intervals are also very variable, but are considerably longer than for horses. More information is needed about the duration of immunity induced by modern vaccines. Objective: To investigate if the duration of antibody titres previously determined to be protective against tetanus differ from what is indicated by recommended vaccination intervals for horses. Methods: Prospectiv...
Lotstra RJ, van den Broek J, Power T, Marr CM, Wijnberg ID.Atrial fibrillation is a common equine arrhythmia. Quinidine alone, or with digoxin are common treatments. Studies on outcome in Warmblood populations in which duration of the AF is often unknown are limited. Objective: To identify the factors that are associated with the success of full treatment cardioversion with oral medication, and establish whether there are differences in these factors between institutions. Methods: Retrospective case series using patient records of Equine University Clinic of Utrecht University and Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket. Methods: Forty-nine horses treate...
Kalamanova A, Stringer AP, Freeman SL, Burford JH.Colic is a common reason for owners to seek veterinary treatment for their working equids in Morocco. There is no information available regarding cultural, religious or educational barriers to obtaining treatment or about the typical workload of these animals which may predispose them to colic. Objective: To characterise the typical workload and feeding regimens of working equids in Morocco; to characterise the ability of owners to recognise the clinical signs and causes of colic; and to identify specific barriers to the veterinary treatment of colic. Methods: Questionnaire-based survey. Metho...
Lotstra RJ, van den Broek J, Power T, Marr CM, Wijnberg ID.Atrial fibrillation is a common equine arrhythmia. Quinidine alone, or with digoxin are common treatments. Studies on outcome in Warmblood populations in which duration of the AF is often unknown are limited. Objective: To identify the factors that are associated with the success of full treatment cardioversion with oral medication, and establish whether there are differences in these factors between institutions. Methods: Retrospective case series using patient records of Equine University Clinic of Utrecht University and Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket. Methods: Forty-nine horses treate...
Tirosh-Levy S, Steinman A, Carmeli Y, Klement E, Navon-Venezia S.Methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS), and specifically Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization or infection have become a serious emerging condition in equine hospitals, with complex concerns regarding animals, personnel and public health. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for colonization by Staphylococci, MRS, and MRSA among horses in Israel. Nasal swabs were collected from horses at 17 riding stables (n=206), and from hospitalized horses admitted to a veterinary hospital (n=84). Species identification was performed by ...
Anastasi E, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Hondalus MK, Willingham-Lane JM, MacArthur I, Cohen ND, Roberts MC, Vazquez-Boland JA.The objective of this study was to identify the molecular mechanism of macrolide resistance in the actinomycete Rhodococcus equi, a major equine pathogen and zoonotic agent causing opportunistic infections in people. Methods: Macrolide-resistant (n = 62) and macrolide-susceptible (n = 62) clinical isolates of R. equi from foals in the USA were studied. WGS of 18 macrolide-resistant and 6 macrolide-susceptible R. equi was performed. Representative sequences of all known macrolide resistance genes identified to date were used to search the genome assemblies for putative homologues. PCR w...
Roy Chowdhury P, DeMaere M, Chapman T, Worden P, Charles IG, Darling AE, Djordjevic SP.Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) are a significant health problem to humans and food animals. Clostridial toxins ToxA and ToxB encoded by genes tcdA and tcdB are located on a pathogenicity locus known as the PaLoc and are the major virulence factors of C. difficile. While toxin-negative strains of C. difficile are often isolated from faeces of animals and patients suffering from CDI, they are not considered to play a role in disease. Toxin-negative strains of C. difficile have been used successfully to treat recurring CDI but their propensity to acquire the PaLoc via lateral gene transfe...
Gazzonis AL, Bertero F, Moretta I, Morganti G, Mortarino M, Villa L, Zanzani SA, Morandi B, Rinnovati R, Vitale F, Manfredi MT, Cardoso L, Veronesi F.Leishmania infantum is a vector-borne pathogen endemic in countries in the Mediterranean basin, including Italy. Dogs act as the primary reservoir for this parasite, but other animal species may also be infected. Low-to-moderate seroprevalence levels of infection have been reported in apparent healthy equine populations in southern Europe, reinforcing the importance of exploring those species, including horses, that act as a food source for vectors and may thus participate in the epizoological scenario of canine leishmaniosis (CanL) and zoonotic visceral leishmaniosis (ZVL). Since little is kn...
Date T, Sugiyama M, Lkhagvasuren D, Wakita T, Oyunsuren T, Mizokami M.Equine hepacivirus (EHV) belongs to the hepacivirus A and is related to hepatitis C virus (HCV). This virus shows hepatic tropism and is known to chronically infect horses. EHV has been reported from various countries, but the prevalence in Mongolia, where large horse populations are pastured, remains unknown. This study collected serum samples from horses in six areas across Mongolia, in order to investigate the status of infection. The possibility of human infection was also examined. The results showed an infection rate among horses of about 40 % in all regions. However, no evidence of EHV ...
Vianna MC, Horta MC, Sangioni LA, Cortez A, Soares RM, Mafra CL, Galvão MA, Labruna MB, Gennari SM.The present study investigated the infection by spotted fever rickettsia in an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF; caused by Rickettsia rickettsii) in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Human, canine and equine sera samples, and Amblyomma cajennense adult ticks collected in a rural area of Itabira City, Minas Gerais State were tested for rickettsial infection. Through Immunofluorescence Assay (IFA) we demonstrated the presence of antibodies anti-R. rickettsii in 8.2%, 81.3% and 100% of the human, canine and equine sera, respectively. None of the 356 tick specimens analyzed were positive fo...
Ekruth J, Gottschalk C, Ulrich S, Gareis M, Schwaiger K.Stachybotrys (S.) chartarum is a cellulolytic mould with the ability to produce highly cytotoxic macrocyclic trichothecenes. Two chemotypes are defined according to their ability to produce either atranones or satratoxins. S. chartarum has been well known as the causative agent of the lethal disease stachybotryotoxicosis in horses. Further investigations revealed that this disease is strictly correlated with the presence of macrocyclic trichothecenes. Furthermore, their occurrence in water-damaged buildings has been linked to adverse health effects such as the sick building syndrome. As the ch...
Abdrakhmanov SK, Mukhanbetkaliyev YY, Korennoy FI, Karatayev BS, Mukhanbetkaliyeva AA, Abdrakhmanova AS.An analysis of the anthrax epidemic situation among livestock animals in the Republic of Kazakhstan over the period 1933-2016 is presented. During this time, 4,064 anthrax outbreaks (mainly in cattle, small ruminants, pigs and horses) were recorded. They fall into five historical periods of increase and decrease in the annual anthrax incidence (1933-1953; 1954-1968; 1969-1983; 1984- 2001; and 2002-2016), which has been associated with changes in economic activity and veterinary surveillance. To evaluate the temporal trends of incidence variation for each of these time periods, the following me...
Scherer WF, Cupp EW, Lok JB, Brenner RJ, Ordonez JV.The minimal intestinal dose of an enzootic strain of Venezuelan encephalitis (VE) virus for Culex (Melanoconion) taeniopus mosquitoes caught at a marsh habitat of VE virus in Guatemala was less than five plaque forming units (pfu) of virus. Ingestion of this dose of virus in blood of viremic hamsters resulted in transmission of virus to other hamsters. This low intestinal threshold of an enzootic strain of VE virus indicates that the natural Guatemalan population of Cu. (Mel.) taeniopus can acquire VE virus from vertebrates that have viremia levels as low as 1,000-5,000 pfu/ml of blood, provid...
Sun MH, Liu SQ, Du KJ, Nie CM, Lin YW.Uranium is harmful to human health due to its radiation damage and the ability of uranyl ion (UO2(2+)) to interact with various proteins and disturb their biological functions. Cytochrome b5 (cyt b5) is a highly negatively charged heme protein and plays a key role in mediating cytochrome c (cyt c) signaling in apoptosis by forming a dynamic cyt b5-cyt c complex. In previous molecular modeling study in combination with UV-Vis studies, we found that UO2(2+) is capable of binding to cyt b5 at surface residues, Glu37 and Glu43. In this study, we further investigated the structural consequences of ...
Pocurull DW, Gaines SA, Mercer HD.Salmonella cultures were obtained from outbreaks of animal disease from 37 states and 1 territory. They were screened for resistance to 11 antimicrobial drugs. Of the 1,251 strains studied, 935 were resistant to one or more of these agents. The three most common resistance patterns were ampicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, sulfamethoxypyridazine, tetracycline; ampicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, sulfamethoxypyridazine; dihydrostreptomycin, sulfamethoxypyridazine, tetracycline. Resistance transfer was demonstrated on 267 multiply resistant cultures, of which 181 were able to transfer all or part of th...
Furtado T, Perkins E, Pinchbeck G, McGowan C, Watkins F, Christley R.While equine obesity is understood by equine professionals to be a serious and widespread welfare problem, thus far approaches to reducing the prevalence of obesity in the UK's leisure horses have mainly been limited to educating owners about the dangers of obesity in their horses. In human health, approaches to behavior change encourage holistic thinking around human behavior, recognizing the importance of the connection between the individuals' knowledge, attitudes, habits, and the social and physical environments. This study used qualitative data from interviews with horse owners and profes...
Olguin-Perglione C, Barrandeguy ME.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is one of the most important respiratory pathogens of horses as outbreaks of the disease lead to significant economic losses worldwide. In this review, we summarize the information available on equine influenza (EI) in South America. In the region, the major events of EI occurred almost in the same period in the different countries, and the EIV isolated showed high genetic identity at the hemagglutinin gene level. It is highly likely that the continuous movement of horses, some of them subclinically infected, among South American countries, facilitated the spread o...
Borges AM, Silva LG, Nogueira MF, Oliveira AC, Segri NJ, Ferreira F, Witter R, Aguiar DM.Serum samples collected from 547 equids in the Pantanal region of Brazil were evaluated for antibodies to Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) by the agar gel immunodiffusion test. Risk factors associated with EIAV seropositivity were evaluated and spatial dependence investigated using a Spatial Lag Model. EIAV prevalence on farms in the Pantanal was 52.0% (13/25) with adjusted prevalence between equids of 31.5% (17.4-48.8% 95% CI). Intra-herd prevalence ranged from 5.0 to 77.0%. Statistical analysis demonstrated that farms and animals in regularly flooded areas had respectively 60 and 146 fo...
Li H, Dong GD, Liu JM, Gao JX, Shi YJ, Zhang YG, Jin YM, Lu K, Cheng GF, Lin JJ.Schistosomiasis japonica is a major public health problem in China. Domestic animals play a major role in the transmission of Schistosoma japonicum to humans. To better understand the epidemiology of schistosomiasis japonica in domestic animals in the mountainous areas of China, we performed a 5-year longitudinal study of schistosomiasis in cattle and horses in Yunnan Province from 2009 to 2013. We also performed a concurrent drug-based intervention study in three settlement groups in Yunnan Province aimed at developing an effective means of controlling transmission in this region. The prevale...
Wolyncewicz GEL, Palmer CS, Jowett HE, Hutson JM, King SK, Teague WJ.Horse-related injuries account for one quarter of all paediatric sports fatalities. It is not known whether the pattern of injury spectrum and severity differ between children injured whilst mounted, compared with those injured unmounted around horses. We aimed to identify any distinctions between the demographic features, spectrum and severity of injuries for mounted versus unmounted patients. Methods: Trauma registry data were reviewed for 505 consecutive paediatric patients (aged<16years) admitted to a large paediatric trauma centre with horse-related injuries over a 16-year period. Patient...
Beckwith WH, Sirpenski S, French RA, Nelson R, Mayo D.The emergence of the West Nile virus (WNV) in the northeastern United States has drawn emphasis to the need for expanded arbovirus surveillance in Connecticut. Although the state of Connecticut began a comprehensive mosquito-screening program in 1997, only since 1999 have there been efforts to determine the prevalence of arboviruses in bird populations in this state. Herein, we report on our results of an arbovirus survey of 1,704 bird brains. Included in this report are the first known isolations of eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) from crows and data on the geographic and temporal di...
Cauchard S, Van Reet N, Büscher P, Goux D, Grötzinger J, Leippe M, Cattoir V, Laugier C, Cauchard J.Trypanozoon parasites infect both humans, causing sleeping sickness, and animals, causing nagana, surra, and dourine. Control of nagana and surra depends to a great extent on chemotherapy. However, drug resistance to several of the front-line drugs is rising. Furthermore, there is no official treatment for dourine. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop antiparasitic agents with novel modes of action. Host defense peptides have recently gained attention as promising candidates. We have previously reported that one such peptide, the equine antimicrobial peptide eCATH1, is highly active a...
O'Connor S, Warrington G, Whelan G, McGoldrick A, Cullen S.To examine concussion history, knowledge, and attitudes among Irish professional and amateur jockeys. Cross-sectional survey. Questionnaire was distributed through e-mails sent to all licensed jockeys, over social media and during professional and amateur race meetings. An average of 23.6% (12%-44%) Irish professional and amateur jockeys (n = 119) holding a license in 2017. Jockeys reported their previous concussion history, actions after their most recent concussion and responded to questions examining their knowledge and attitudes toward concussion. Amateur (32.4%) and professional (19.6%) j...
Rosanowski SM, Rogers CW, Cogger N, Benschop J, Stevenson MA.A survey was conducted to investigate biosecurity practices on non-commercial horse properties, to describe the number of visits by horse professionals and any protocols that visitors were required to follow before interacting with resident horses. Data were collected in November 2009 during a cross-sectional study of non-commercial horse properties, in New Zealand, selected using generalised random-tessellated stratified design and a self-administered postal questionnaire. Data were described and the associations between property-level factors and biosecurity practices were analysed using log...
Hariharan H, Barnum DA, Mitchell WR.Prevalence of antimicrobial drug resistance among over 3000 clinical isolates of animal pathogens in Ontario during 1971-72 has been studied. A high number of multiple resistance patterns is prevalent among members of Enterobacteriaceae, especially Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. The most common resistance pattern among bovine strains was against not less than six drugs in common use. Among different animal species the bovine population was found to be the source of a high percentage of chloramphenicol resistant E. coli and S. typhimurium organisms. All the isolates resistant to t...
Díaz-Sánchez AA, Chilton NB, Roblejo-Arias L, Fonseca-Rodríguez O, Marrero-Perera R, Diyes CP, Yunik MEM, Lobo-Rivero E, Corona-González B.Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae are obligatory intracellular bacteria that cause disease in humans and other animals. Ixodid ticks are the principal vectors of SFG rickettsiae. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and species identity of SFG rickettsiae in ticks and horses from urban and rural areas of western Cuba using PCR assays. Tick samples, collected from 79 horses, consisted of 14 Amblyomma mixtum adults, 111 Dermacentor nitens adults and 19 pools of D. nitens nymphs (2-5 individuals/pool). The PCR results revealed the presence of Rickettsia spp. in 64% of the A. mi...
Mendes JF, Klafke GB, Albano APN, Cabana ÂL, Teles AJ, de Camargo ZP, Xavier MO, Meireles MCA.Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic mycosis that occurs in several Latin American countries, especially in Brazil. It is caused by the thermo-dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides spp. Serological studies to detect animal infection represent an excellent strategy for data on the agent's ecology. Although the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) is an endemic area for PCM in humans, there is scarce information available on the ecology of the agent in the region. This study aimed to investigate the infection by Paracoccidioides lutzii in animals living in RS, Brazil. A total of 85 wild mammals, 20...
Staji H, Yousefi M, Hamedani MA, Tamai IA, Khaligh SG.Anaplasma spp. are among the most recognized arthropod-borne infectious agents. Although the novel A. capra has been isolated from wildlife, livestock, and hard ticks from many parts of the world, there is no report regarding the identification of this pathogen from equines and little is known about the epidemiology of A. capra in Equidae. In this study, A. capra was identified in two out of ten blood specimens of wild onagers (Equus hemionus onager) during a routine health check-up in Semnan, Iran by light microscopy and molecular analyses while other pathogens were not detected. First, inclu...
Catania KC.In March 1800, Alexander von Humboldt observed the extraordinary spectacle of native fisherman collecting electric eels (Electrophorus electricus) by "fishing with horses" [von Humboldt A (1807) Ann Phys 25:34-43]. The strategy was to herd horses into a pool containing electric eels, provoking the eels to attack by pressing themselves against the horses while discharging. Once the eels were exhausted, they could be safely collected. This legendary tale of South American adventures helped propel Humboldt to fame and has been recounted and illustrated in many publications, but subsequent investi...
Widjaja S, Soekotjo W, Hartati S, Jennings GB, Corwin AL.A study was conducted to measure the prevalence of hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) and neutralizing antibodies against two arboviruses (Chikungunya and Japanese encephalitis virus) in horses of Java, Indonesia. Blood specimens were collected from a sample of 112 horses at two stables: Pulo Mas, a racing track-horse complex, located in a residential area in North Jakarta, and Pamulang, a riding school, located in a rural environment of West Jaya. Sera were tested by the HI assay and plaque reduction neutralization test. JEV antibodies were detected by HI in 58 (52%) of the horses, while only 1...
Romero-Salas D, Solis-Cortés M, Zazueta-Islas HM, Flores-Vásquez F, Cruz-Romero A, Aguilar-Domínguez M, Salguero-Romero JL, de León AP....Equine piroplasmosis is a tropical parasitic disease caused by several intraerythrocytic members of the genera Babesia and Theileria. These pathogens are transmitted by multiple tick species and are considered as important exotic microorganisms in several countries. Equine piroplasmosis causes significant economic losses due to abortions, decreased activity and even death of equines, making surveillance of these infectious disease essential. In the northern and eastern parts of Mexico, few molecular and serological reports have been made on the presence and exposure of horse to these agents. F...
Laverty G, McCloskey AP, Gorman SP, Gilmore BF.The threat of antimicrobial resistance has placed increasing emphasis on the development of innovative approaches to eradicate multidrug-resistant pathogens. Biofilm-forming microorganisms, for example, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus, are responsible for increased incidence of biomaterial infection, extended hospital stays and patient morbidity and mortality. This paper highlights the potential of ultrashort tetra-peptide conjugated to hydrophobic cinnamic acid derivatives. These peptidomimetic molecules demonstrate selective and highly potent activity against resistant b...
Martínez Díaz HC, Gil-Mora J, Betancourt-Ruiz P, Silva-Ramos CR, Matiz-González JM, Villalba-Perez MA, Ospina-Pinto MC, Ramirez-Hernández A....Some hard ticks' species can act as vectors of a wide variety of pathogens of human and animal importance such as Anaplasma, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia spp. In Colombia, a total of forty-six tick species have been described, and some of them have been implicated as vectors of some infectious agents. The department of Cauca is one of the thirty-two departments of Colombia. Most of its population lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture as the main economic activity, favoring exposure to ticks and tick-borne pathogens. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the tick species and tick-bor...
Rocha-Campos AC, Gonçalves LR, Higashi HG, Yamagushi IK, Fernandes I, Oliveira JE, Ribela MT, Sousa-E-Silva MC, da Silva WD.Contact with Lonomia obliqua caterpillars results in a bleeding syndrome characterized by hemorrhage and blood coagulation disturbances. Conventional therapy using antifibrinolytics or cryoprecipitates has been unable to treat pathophysiologic alterations. As antivenoms are effective therapy for treatment of victims of venomous animals, a process of manufacturing a specific antilonomic serum by immunizing horses with Lonomia caterpillar bristle extracts (LBE) was developed. Lonomia caterpillar bristle extracts exhibited several protein bands on SDS-PAGE, induced blood coagulation abnormalities...
Grewar JD.Bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS) are considered the most important orbiviral diseases in Southern Africans countries. The general endemic status makes these diseases challenging to be quanti ed in terms of their economic impact. Using country reported data from BT and AHS outbreaks and cases, as well as international trade data, the economic impact of BT and AHS is evaluated on local, regional, and global scales. Local scale impact in the Southern African region is underestimated as shown by the underreporting of BT and AHS. Exceptions occur during epidemic cycles of the diseas...
Forster HV, Pan LG.Our objective was to gain insight into the role of the carotid chemoreceptors (CC) in the exercise hyperpnea. Humans and ponies were studied at rest and during submaximal exercise breathing room air. In healthy humans, alveolar ventilation (VA) was tightly matched to CO2 production (CO2) resulting in PaCO2 deviating during exercise less than 1-2 mm Hg from rest. In contrast, ponies' VA increased proportionately more than VCO2 during exercise resulting in a workload dependent hypocapnia. Attenuating CC activity through hyperoxia had no effect on exercise PaCO2 of humans but hyperoxia accentuate...
