Seroprevalence refers to the measurement of the presence of specific antibodies in the blood serum of horses, indicating exposure to particular pathogens or diseases. This metric is used to assess the spread of infectious diseases within equine populations and can help in understanding the epidemiology of these conditions. Seroprevalence studies involve the collection and analysis of blood samples to determine the proportion of horses that have been exposed to a specific infectious agent. These studies provide valuable data for disease surveillance, control, and prevention strategies. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that focus on the seroprevalence of various infectious diseases in horses, exploring their distribution, risk factors, and implications for equine health management.
Magalhães FJR, Ribeiro-Andrade M, Souza FM, Lima Filho CDF, Biondo AW, Vidotto O, Navarro IT, Mota RA.Little is known about toxoplasmosis in animals of the Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in the total population of pet cats (n=348), dogs (n=320), pigs (n=27), equines (n=101), as well as a significant portion of the population of feral cats (n=247) of the Island by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test. Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 71.26%, 54.74%, 48.75%, 51.85% and 22.7%, of the pet and feral cats, dogs, pigs and equines, respectively, demonstrating a high prevalence of T. gondii infection in the wild and ...
Pronost S, Hue E, Fortier C, Foursin M, Fortier G, Desbrosse F, Rey FA, Pitel PH, Richard E, Saunier B.Like hepatitis C virus (HCV) in humans, the newly identified equine hepacivirus (NPHV) displays a predominating liver tropism that may evolve into chronic infections. The genomes of the two viruses share several organizational and functional features and are phylogenetically closest amongst the Hepacivirus genus. A limited amount of data is available regarding the spread of hepacivirus infections in horses. In this study, we asked whether in a more representative sample the prevalence and distribution of NPHV infections in France would resemble that reported so far in other countries. A total ...
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 Algeria, since the 1994 epidemic, no data on WNV circulation was available until 2012. In September 2012, a fatal human case of WNV neuro-invasive infection occurred in Jijel province. This study describes the first seroprevalence study of West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies conducted in the equine population in Algeria. During 2014, serum samples were collected from 293 equids (222 donkeys and 71 horses) asymptomatic and unvaccinated for...
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...
Meseko CA, Ehizibolo DO, Nwokike EC, Wungak YS.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a major cause of acute respiratory diseases in horses in most parts of the world that results in severe economic losses. Information on the epidemiology of EIV in tropical Africa is scanty. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the presence of influenza A virus nucleoprotein (NP) in 284 horse sera in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria. The ELISA-positive sera were further examined for hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies to two strains each of H3N8 and H7N3 subtypes of influenza A virus. The results showed that antibodies against inf...
Simbizi V, Saulez MN, Potts A, Lötter C, Gummow B.Most leptospiral infections in horses are asymptomatic; however, acute disease manifestations as well as reproductive failure and recurrent uveitis have been reported. In South Africa, the epidemiology of the disease in horses is not well documented. A serosurvey to determine what serovars were present in horses from Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Provinces and to get an estimate of the seroprevalence of leptospirosis was carried out from January 2013 until April 2014 with the assistance of four large equine hospitals located in these provinces. Furthermore, associations between poten...
Tirosh-Levy S, Blum SE, Steward KF, Waller AS, Steinman A.The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi in Israel, to monitor seropositive horses over time and to identify archived strains that were recovered from Israeli horses. A serological survey of 200 healthy horses on 20 farms throughout Israel was performed to detect recent exposure to S equi antigens A and C via indirect ELISA. Seroprevalence was 9.5 per cent (19/200) and positive horses were found in 30 per cent (6/20) of the farms. Sixteen horses that returned a positive serology result were retested three and six months later. Most (12...
Zhou M, Cao S, Sevinc F, Sevinc M, Ceylan O, Liu M, Wang G, Moumouni PF, Jirapattharasate C, Suzuki H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X.Considering the scarce information on occurrences of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in domestic animals from Turkey, the aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of these parasite infections in cattle, horses, sheep, goats and dogs in Turkey. The specific antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum were detected by iELISAs based on the recombinant TgSAG2 or NcSAG1 in a total of 2,039 serum samples from eleven provinces. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infections was 46.3%, 4.0%, 20.0%, 12.9% and 19.8%, that of N. caninum infections was 0.3%, 7.4%, 2.1%, 3.2% and 16.6% in...
Parreira DR, Jansen AM, Abreu UG, Macedo GC, Silva AR, Mazur C, Andrade GB, Herrera HM.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) and Trypanossoma evansi are endemic in Brazilian Pantanal Biome, an important area for livestock production. In this sense, we evaluated the epidemiological single and co-infection effects of T. evansi and EIAV in naturally infected horses in the southern Pantanal wetland by serological tests and hematological assays. Both higher seroprevalence and heath poor condition of the sampled animals were associated with differences in horse management between farms. We found that the negative animals for both infectious agents (NN) represented the major group in F...
Cazarotto CJ, Balzan A, Grosskopf RK, Boito JP, Portella LP, Vogel FF, Fávero JF, de C Cucco D, Biazus AH, Machado G, Da Silva AS.Many parasitic diseases are considered asymptomatic, even though some studies have shown that they may cause pathological changes in the host. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora spp. and Sarcocystis spp. in horses, and to identify the risk factors for disease. For this, 174 horses were studied, 90 males and 84 females aged between two and 20 years old. Blood samples were collected and stored in tubes without anticoagulant to obtain serum, which was subjected to serological tests for T. gondii, Sarcocystis spp., and...
Vieira TS, Vieira RF, Krawczak FS, Soares HS, Guimarães AM, Barros-Filho IR, Marcondes M, Labruna MB, Biondo AW, Vidotto O.Although well established in dogs, Ehrlichia sp. infection has been scarcely reported in horses. The aim was to perform a comprehensive serological and molecular survey for the detection of Ehrlichia spp. in carthorses from Southern Brazil. Blood samples from 190 carthorses from Paraná State were sampled. Horses were also tested for Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Anti-Ehrlichia sp. antibodies were detected by a commercial rapid ELISA, and immunofluorescence antibody assays (IFA) with E. chaffeensis and E. canis as crude antigens. The molecular and phylogenetic analysis of...
Tagliabue S, Figarolli BM, D'Incau M, Foschi G, Gennero MS, Giordani R, Giordani R, Natale A, Papa P, Ponti N, Scaltrito D, Spadari L, Vesco G....Nowadays, leptospirosis is a re‑emerging widespread infectious disease often underestimate worldwide. The National Reference Centre for Leptospirosis (NRCL), at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna, Brescia (Italy), with the cooperation of all the other Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (IIZZSS), evaluated the distribution of such important zoonosis in Italy. Serological data obtained between 2010‑2011 by each laboratory were collected by the NRCL and discussed. Serum samples collected from 43,935 animal specimens were analysed by the Microsco...
Pikalo J, Sattler T, Eichinger M, Loitsch A, Sun H, Schmoll F, Schusser GF.Aim of the study was to detect antibodies and potential risk factors for an infec- tion with Leptospira in horses in Middle Germany. Serum samples of 314 horses were examined retrospectively by microscopic agglutination test for the presence of antibodies against eight Leptospira serovars. In total, 17.2% (n = 54) of the horses were positive for one or more of the serovars analyzed. The most prevalent serovar was lcterohaemorrhagiae (11.1%), followed by serovar Bratislava (9.6 %) and Grippotyphosa (1.9%). Mares showed a significantly higher occurrence of antibodies (p < 0.05) than geldings ...
Ribeiro MJ, Rosa MH, Bruhn FR, Garcia Ade M, Rocha CM, Guimarães AM.The present study used the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) to determine the seroprevalence of Sarcocystis neurona, Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora spp., and evaluated the variables associated with these infections among 506 apparently healthy horses, reared in the south of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This study was conducted between April 2012 and October 2013. Among the horses, the true prevalence of S. neurona was 26% (95% CI: 22.0-30.4%), T. gondii 19.9% (95% CI: 15.5-24.8%) and Neospora spp. 23.9% (95% CI: 19.9-28.1%); and among the farms, 88.3% (95% CI: 74.4-91.6%), 71.6% ...
Ferreira EP, Vidotto O, Almeida JC, Ribeiro LP, Borges MV, Pequeno WH, Stipp DT, de Oliveira CJ, Biondo AW, Vieira TS, Vieira RF.Theileriosis is a worldwide protozoal tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi, which may produce a variety of clinical signs and turn infected horses into lifetime carriers. This study has aimed to perform a serological and molecular detection of T. equi and associated factors in sports horses from six areas of northeastern Brazil. In overall, 59.6% horses were positive by indirect immunofluorescence assay and 50.4% by polymerase chain reaction. No significant association was found when presence of ticks, age, gender, anemia or total plasma proteins was analyzed with seropositivity and mol...
Amat JP, Vergne T, Tapprest J, Ferry B, Hans A, Hendrikx P, Dufour B, Leblond A.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) may have serious economic impact on the equine industry. For this reason, it is monitored in many countries, especially in breeding stock, to avoid its spread during breeding activities. In France, surveillance is mainly based on serological tests, since mares are not vaccinated, but difficulties in interpreting certain series of results may impair the estimation of the number of outbreaks. In this study, we propose specific rules for identifying seroconversion in order to estimate the number of outbreaks that were detected by the breeding stock surveillance compon...
Lee H, Kim EJ, Cho IS, Song JY, Choi JS, Lee JY, Shin YK.Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). The SFTSV appears to have a wide host range, as SFTSV-positive ticks have been isolated from both farm animals and wild rodents. Therefore, it is important to monitor SFTSV-positive animals to prevent the transmission of SFTSV from animals to humans. Previously, we developed a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) to detect SFTSV-specific antibodies from field animals and compared the cELISA results to those from an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). In this study, cELISA results were...
Guimarães AM, Bruhn FRP, Ribeiro MJM, Rosa MHF, de Mello Garcia A, da Rocha CMBM, de Assis Rocha I.Theileria equi, a protozoon in the phylum Apicomplexa, is the causative agent of equine theileriosis. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of IgG antibodies against T. equi, by using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) reaction and correlating the serostatus with some epidemiological variables relating to the way in which Mangalarga Marchador horses are raised in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this study, 506 horses were used, all clinically healthy, on 53 horse farms distributed across 27 municipalities in southern Minas Gerais. The statistical te...
Quigley A, Sekiya M, Egan S, Wolfe A, Negredo C, Mulcahy G.There is little information on the prevalence of Fasciola hepatica infection in the horse population in Ireland or the potential impact of fluke infection on animal health. Objective: To investigate F. hepatica infection in the Irish horse population and to assess the diagnostic potential of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the F. hepatica recombinant cathepsin L1 (CL1) antigen. Methods: Cross-sectional abattoir survey of horses for liver fluke status. Methods: Animals (n = 200) were examined at an abattoir between May 2013 and April 2014. Horses were graded ante ...
Funk RA, Pleasant RS, Witonsky SG, Reeder DS, Werre SR, Hodgson DR.Lyme disease can affect people, dogs, and horses, but it remains poorly understood, especially in the horse. Determining the seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in horses in different geographic areas will enable better understanding of the epidemiology of the disease, thus improving diagnosis and treatment of affected animals. Objective: To determine the seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi in horses in southwest Virginia. Methods: Horses presented for routine Coggins testing from January 2013 to January 2014 had additional blood drawn for Lyme Multiplex Assay testing. Methods: Of 492 samples ...
Kooijman LJ, Mapes SM, Pusterla N.Equine coronavirus (EqCoV) infection has been documented in most reports through quantitative qPCR analysis of feces and viral genome sequencing. Although qPCR is used to detect antigen during the acute disease phase, there is no equine-specific antibody test available to study EqCoV seroprevalence in various horse populations. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) targeting antibodies to the spike (S) protein of EqCoV and validated its use, using acute and convalescent sera from 83 adult horses involved in 6 outbreaks. The EqCoV S protein-based ELISA was able to reliably d...
Yildirim Y, Yilmaz V, Kirmizigul AH.The herpesviruses infections in equides are caused by five different serotypes of viruses, belonging to family Herpesviridae. The goal of this study was to conduct a seroepidemiological investigation of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 4 (EHV-4) in horses and donkeys raised in two provinces and their villages in northeastern Turkey. A total of 666 samples from 423 horses and 243 donkeys that were not immunized against these infections were tested with ELISA. While 52.48% of tested horse sera was found to carry specific antibodies to EHV-1, 83.69% of these serums were found to carry s...
Abad-Cobo A, Llorente F, Barbero MDC, Cruz-López F, Forés P, Jiménez-Clavero MÁ.West Nile fever/encephalitis (WNF) is an infectious disease affecting horses, birds and humans, with a cycle involving birds as natural reservoirs and mosquitoes as transmission vectors. It is a notifiable disease, re-emerging in Europe. In Spain, it first appeared in horses in the south (Andalusia) in 2010, where outbreaks occur every year since. However, in 2014, an outbreak was declared in horses in central Spain, approximately 200 km away from the closest foci in Andalusia. Before that, evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) circulation in central Spain had been obtained only from wildlife, bu...
Davitkov D, Vucicevic M, Stevanovic J, Krstic V, Slijepcevic D, Glavinic U, Stanimirovic Z.Equine piroplasmosis is significant tick-borne disease with wide distribution. The prevalence of equine piroplasmosis in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina is unknown. In aim to obtain a first insight into the prevalence we performed molecular epidemiological study which included 142 horses, on seven locations in these three countries. We first performed PCR for the detection of a 450bp long section of the 18S rRNA of piroplasma-specific region. For all positive samples we have done multiplex PCR for the species detection. Species determination was further confirmed by sequencing PC...
Ardo MB, Abubakar DM.A cross-sectional study was conducted on the seroprevalence of horse brucellosis using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Serum Agglutination Test (SAT) on the Mambilla plateau of Taraba state, Nigeria where horses are reared under a free range management system on cattle farms. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of brucella antibodies in horses as well as the distribution of the infection according to sex and age. A total of 100 horses were sampled, 25 each from four locations where horses were concentrated on the plateau: Gembu, Nguroje, Dorofi, and Mayo Ndaga. S...
Souza CE, Camargo LB, Pinter A, Donalisio MR.Equines play a role in the epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) since they are a primary host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum. We studied the seroprevalence for three species of Rickettsia in equines in four endemic (with human cases) and in four non-endemic areas (no human cases) in the Piracicaba River Basin, São Paulo, Brazil. A serological survey of 504 equines was performed: around 63 animals were sampled in each area and tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay for R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, and R. bellii in 2012-2013. Blood samples were seropositive for 183 equines (36...
Monaco F, Çizmeci Ş, Polci A, Portanti O, Barut F, Deniz A, Cosseddu GM, Pişkin Ç, Savini G.In August 2014, a West Nile virus (WNV) strain belonging to lineage 2 was detected in the brain tissues of a 9 year old mare euthanised after showing severe clinical signs in Bursa region, Turkey. Phylogenetic analyses of 290 bp of NS3 coding region clustered the Turkish strain together with the 2010-2012 Greek isolates. Either IgG and IgM or IgG only WNV antibodies were detected in 2 and 11 horses, respectively, which were in the outbreak surrounding. No WNV RNA was detected in pools of 50 individuals of Culex pipiens (n = 2), Ochlerotatus caspius (n = 2), and Culex theileri (n = 1) collected...
Davoust B, Maquart M, Roqueplo C, Gravier P, Sambou M, Mediannikov O, Leparc-Goffart I.In Africa, infection with West Nile virus (WNV) is frequent but almost always asymptomatic in humans and equids. The aim of this study was to identify whether any other domestic animal living in the same enzootic locality may be the sentinel of WNV circulation. In northwest Senegal, blood samples were collected from 283 adult domestic animals (136 sheep, 64 horses, 29 donkeys, 29 goats, 14 cattle, and 11 dogs), in three localities near Keur Momar Sarr. Each serum was tested for WNV immunoglobulin G using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The prevalence among donkeys, horses, dogs, goats, catt...
Cruz F, Fores P, Mughini-Gras L, Ireland J, Moreno MA, Newton JR.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 4 (EHV-4) have a worldwide distribution and cause respiratory disease, abortion, neonatal death and myeloencephalopathy in susceptible horses. Given the scarcity of serological EHV-1/EHV-4 data in Spain, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the seroprevalence of EHV-1/EHV-4 and to identify potential horse-level and stud farm-level factors associated with EHV-1/EHV-4 in the breeding Spanish Purebred (SP) horse population in central Spain. Serum samples from 334 SP unvaccinated horses, collected between September 2011 and November...
Gennari SM, Pena HF, Lindsay DS, Lopes MG, Soares HS, Cabral AD, Vitaliano SN, Amaku M.Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi are coccidian protozoa that can cause neurological illness in horses in America. In this study we report seroprevalence of Neospora spp. andS. neurona in sera of 333 donkeys from the northeastern region of Brazil. Antibodies to Neospora spp. were detected in 2% (7 donkeys) of 333 sera tested by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) with a cut-off dilution of 1:40. Antibodies to S. neurona were found in 3% (10 donkeys) of the samples tested by IFAT (cut-off ≥50) and 21% (69 donkeys) by the direct agglutination test (SAT ≥50). The SAT and IFAT...
Kumar R, Kumar S, Khurana SK, Yadav SC.The importance of Trypanosoma evansi as the etiological agent for surra is often overlooked due to difficulty in accurate diagnosis of the disease. In the present study, an antibody-ELISA was developed using whole cell lysate antigen prepared from purified trypanosomes and used for seroprevalence study of T. evansi in equids. A total of 3695 equids were surveyed and blood samples were collected from each animal during September 2009 to August 2011. Out of these, 420 serum samples were found positive for presence of antibodies against T. evansi collected from equids of six agro-climatic zones o...
Kligler EB, Shkap V, Baneth G, Mildenberg Z, Steinman A.Sera from 800 asymptomatic horses were examined for the presence of antibodies to Neospora caninum by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). The presence of antibodies to N. caninum was also tested in sera from 52 mares that had aborted and 40 horses exhibiting neurological signs. A total of 95 (11.9%) of the 800 sera had antibodies for Neospora. Significantly higher seropositivity was obtained from horses that had neurological signs (21.2%) and from aborted mares (37.5%). There was significant linear-by-linear association between age and seropositivity. This is the first serologic survey fo...
Laamari A, Azzag N, Tennah S, Derdour SY, China B, Boꯚllah R, Ghalmi F.Horses (Equus caballus) are susceptible to tick-borne diseases. Two of them, Lyme borreliosis due to Borrelia burgdorferi and granulocytic anaplasmosis due to Anaplasma phagocytophilum were investigated in Algerian horses. The diseases have been less extensively studied in horses and results pertinent to Algeria have not been published. Methods: Blood samples were obtained from 128 horses. IgG antibodies directed against Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi were detected by an indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and ELISA. The potential effects of age, gender, breed,...
Figueiredo AS, Lampe E, do Espírito-Santo MP, Mello FC, de Almeida FQ, de Lemos ER, Godoi TL, Dimache LA, Dos Santos DR, Villar LM.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), as described in horses, is the virus most genetically related to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Although detected worldwide, limited data on genomic variability and distribution of NPHV are available in Latin America. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity and prevalence of equine NPHV in Brazil. Thirteen percent of 202 equines from three Brazilian states were positive for NPHV genome by reverse transcriptase PCR. Nucleotide sequences of the partial NS5B genome presented the greatest diversity described to date (25.6%), which is comparable to t...
Barbosa Costa G, Marinho PES, Vilela APP, Saraiva-Silva AT, Crispim APC, Borges IA, Dutra AGS, Lobato ZIP, Dos Reis JKP, de Oliveira DB, Drumond BP....Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that occurs throughout the Americas, and is considered a public health threat. In Brazil, SLEV has been detected from human cases associated with dengue-like disease, but no neurological symptoms were reported. Furthermore, the epidemiology of SLEV in human populations is still poorly explored in the country. We reported serological and molecular detection of SLEV in a healthy population of equids and humans from rural areas in Southeast Brazil. A plaque reduction neutralization test was applied, and neutralizing antibodies w...
Elia G, Lanave G, Lorusso E, Parisi A, Cavaliere N, Patruno G, Terregino C, Decaro N, Martella V, Buonavoglia C.Viruses similar to human hepatitis C virus, hepaciviruses, have been identified in various animal species. Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) is the closest relative of human hepaciviruses. Although detected worldwide, information on EqHV epidemiology, genetic diversity and pathogenicity is still limited. In this study we investigated the prevalence and genetic diversity of EqHV in Italian equids. The RNA of EqHV was detected in 91/1932 sera (4.7%) whilst it was not detectable in 134 donkey sera screened by a TaqMan-based quantitative assay. Upon sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of genomic portions...
Brem S, Gerhards H, Wollanke B, Meyer P, Kopp H.130 vitreous samples, systematically collected in 1998 from 117 horses during vitrectomy, were cultured for the presence of leptospires. All horses suffered from equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), also known as periodic ophthalmia or moon blindness, and were treated surgically to combat painful attacks, and to preserve vision. In 35 out of 130 vitreous samples (35/130 = 26.9%), leptospires could be isolated. These isolates belong to the grippotyphosa serogroup (n = 31) and to the australis serogroup (n = 4). So, for the first time, leptospires were recovered from eyes in vivo in a large number of...
Tizard IR, Harmeson J, Lai CH.The prevalence of seropositive reactions to Toxoplasma gondii was studied in farm animals, companion animals, wild rodents and birds. Of the animals tested, 17% of cattle, 65% of sheep, 45% of pigs, 9% of horses, 33% of dogs and 20% of cats were seropositive by the Sabin-Feldman dye test. In addition 11% of mice (Mus musculus), 5% of deer mice (Peromyscus), 3% of rats (Rattus norvegicus) and less than 2% of sparrows (Passer domestcus) were seropositive. All samples from short-tailed field mice (Microtus pennsylvanicus), squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), chipmunks (Tamias striatus), meadow jump...
Colling A, Lunt R, Bergfeld J, McNabb L, Halpin K, Juzva S, Newberry K, Morrissy C, Loomes C, Warner S, Diallo I, Kirkland P, Broder CC, Carlile G....Obtaining statistically sound numbers of sera from Hendra virus (HeV)-infected horses is problematic because affected individuals usually die or are euthanized before developing a serum antibody response. As a consequence, test validation becomes a challenge. Our approach is an extension of OIE principles for provisional recognition and included 7 validation panels tested across multiple laboratories that provided estimates for test performance characteristics. At a 0.4 S/P cutoff, 16 of 19 sera from HeV-infected horses gave positive results in the HeV soluble G, indirect ELISA (HeVsG iELISA; ...
Junqueira DG, Dorneles EM, Gonçalves VS, Santana JA, Almeida VM, Nicolino RR, Silva MX, Mota AL, Veloso FP, Stynen AP, Heinemann MB, Lage AP.The present survey aimed at estimating the seroprevalence of brucellosis in working equines of cattle farms from Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and investigating risk factors associated with the infection. Serum samples from 6439 animals, including 5292 horses, 1037 mules and 110 donkeys, were collected from 1936 herds, between September 2003 and March 2004, in 848 municipalities from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The prevalence of antibodies against smooth Brucella spp. found in equines from Minas Gerais State was 1.37% (95% CI: 0.97-1.78), resulting in a prevalence of herds with infected a...
Eddy GA, Martin DH, Reeves WC, Johnson KM.A series of field studies using strain TC-83 attenuated Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis vaccine in horses was made to determine the rate of seroconversions, the postvaccination viremia, and the possibility of adverse reactions to the vaccine. The rate of seroconversions varied from 50% in one study to 91 and 100% in two others. The highest level of viremia measured was 7 x 10(3) to 8 x 10(3) plaqueforming units per ml. No adverse reactions to the vaccine were observed in any horses, including 42 pregnant mares and their resulting foals.
James KE, Smith WA, Packham AE, Conrad PA, Pusterla N.While toxoplasmosis is not commonly considered a clinical disease of equines, previous seroprevalence studies have reported differing background rates of Toxoplasma gondii infection in horses globally. The objective of this study was to evaluate possible associations between T. gondii seroprevalence and clinical signs of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses. Using a case-control study design, 720 Californian horses with neurologic signs compatible with EPM were compared to healthy, non-neurologic horses for the presence of T. gondii antibodies (using indirect fluorescent antibody...
Phoutrides E, Jusino-Mendez T, Perez-Medina T, Seda-Lozada R, Garcia-Negron M, Davila-Toro F, Hunsperger E.After the isolation of West Nile virus (WNV) from humans, mosquitoes, and chickens in 2007, an analysis of animal surveillance involving multiple species (horses, monkeys, sheep, dogs, and birds) used to track WNV transmission from 2006 to 2008 was performed. During this period 13.4% of all the animal samples collected were seropositive by blocking ELISA for WNV. The most complete island-wide sampling was obtained from horses of which 22% were serologically positive and 96% were confirmed as WNV infections by plaque-reduction neutralization test. Our conclusion from this 3-year study is that a...
Wilkins PA, Glaser AL, McDonnell SM.Horses naturally exposed to West Nile Virus (WNV) or vaccinated against WNV develop humoral immunity thought to be protective against development of clinical disease in exposed or infected animals. No reports evaluate the efficacy of passive transfer of naturally acquired specific WNV humoral immunity from dam to foal. The purpose of this study was to investigate passive transfer of naturally acquired immunity to WNV to foals born in a herd of semi-feral ponies, not vaccinated against WNV, in an endemic area, with many dams having seroconverted because of natural exposure. Microwell serum neut...
Haridy FM, Shoukry NM, Hassan AA, Morsy TA.Toxoplasma gondii is one of the important zoonotic parasites of worldwide. In this paper the seroprevalence of T. gondii in draught horses (3-15 years) including 90 males and 10 females in the first half of the year 2009 was studied. The result showed that the overall ELISA-T. gondii antibodies were 25% of the horses in Greater Cairo, 50% (females) and 22.2% (males).
Ellis JA, Konoby C, West KH, Allan GM, Krakowka S, McNeilly F, Meehan B, Walker I.Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a recently recognized agent that is consistently associated with postweaning multisystemic wasting disease in swine. There are conflicting data concerning the ability of this virus to infect and cause disease in other species. To determine if normal cattle, cattle affected with various illnesses, and normal horses in endemic areas of PCV2 infection in swine have had PCV2 infections, 100 randomly selected bovine sera, 100 equine sera, and 100 colostrum samples from clinically normal dairy cattle were examined for the presence of antibodies to porcine circovir...
Takahashi H, Nakaya T, Nakamura Y, Asahi S, Onishi Y, Ikebuchi K, Takahashi TA, Katoh T, Sekiguchi S, Takazawa M, Tanaka H, Ikuta K.It is believed that Borna disease virus (BDV), an etiological agent of progressive polioencephalomyelitis in horses and sheep, is closely associated with psychiatric disorders in humans since the prevalence of BDV is higher in psychiatric patients than in blood donors. We investigated whether or not BDVs in humans are derived from infected domestic animals, by characterizing the BDVs in blood donors and horses derived from the same region of Hokkaido island, Japan. The seroprevalences (2.6 to 14.8%) of BDV were significantly higher in the blood donors from four regions where most horse farms a...
Schäfer I, Silaghi C, Fischer S, Marsboom C, Hendrickx G, Gehlen H, Müller E.Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) is a tick-borne disease caused by Anaplasma (A.) phagocytophilum. In Germany, this pathogen is transmitted primarily by Ixodes ricinus. There is limited knowledge about its prevalence in horses in Germany. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the results of serological and molecular testing for A. phagocytophilum in horses which were done in a commercial laboratory in Germany over fourteen years. Additionally, risk factors were evaluated, and hematological abnormalities were addressed in horses with positive PCR results. Methods: This retros...
Oliveira FG, Cook RF, Naves JHF, Oliveira CHS, Diniz RS, Freitas FJC, Lima JM, Sakamoto SM, Leite RC, Issel CJ, Reis JKP.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Although the virus infects all members of the Equidae the vast majority of studies have been conducted in horses (Equus caballus) with comparatively little information available for other equid species. Brazil has one of the most abundant donkey (E. asinus) populations of any nation although the economic importance of these animals is declining as transportation becomes increasingly mechanized. As a result, considerable numbers of donkeys especially in the Northeast of the country have ...
Ybañez AP, Ybañez RHD, Talle MG, Arreglo RMT, Geens MJC, Villas JGI, Villar SR, Laruga CL, Cao S, Moumouni FPA, Liu M, Igarashi I, Xuan X.Theileria equi and Babesia caballi are tick-borne protozoan parasites that can cause anemia in horses. In the Philippines, serological detection of these parasites has only been reported in the Northern area (Luzon). In this study, 105 horses from Cebu and Bohol, Philippines were tested using peripheral blood smear examination (PBSE), immunochromatographic test (ICT) strips, and PCR. Clinical history, presenting clinical signs and complete blood count were obtained. Results revealed that although all horses were negative using PBSE, 23 (21.9%) were positive (12 for T. equi, and 11 for B. cabal...
Weber MN, Mosena ACS, Baumbach LF, da Silva MS, Canova R, Dos Santos DRL, Budaszewski RDF, de Oliveira LV, Soane MM, Saraiva NB, Bellucco FT....Flaviviruses as West Nile virus (WNV), Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), Ilhéus virus (ILHV), and Rocio virus (ROCV) are previously reported in different Brazilian regions, but studies in Southern Brazil are still scarce. To improve the information regarding flaviviruses in Southern Brazil, horse serum samples were analyzed using RT-qPCR and a commercial ELISA-Ab against WNV followed by PRNT. All 1000 samples analyzed by real-time RT-PCR resulted negative. The 465 subsampled samples were analyzed by a commercial ELISA-Ab against WNV, and the 18.5% (86/465) positive samples were further a...
Ciaramella P, Corona M, Cortese L, Piantedosi D, Santoro D, Di Loria A, Rigato R.One hundred and fifty horses from Italy were tested for serum antibodies to Neospora caninum by indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Antibodies were present in 42 horses (28%). The positive titres were: 1:50 (16/150-10.5%), 1:100 (26/150-17%), 1:200 (8/150-5.3%) and 1:800 (1/150-0.6%). No neurological anomalies were observed in the seropositive horses. This is the first serologic survey for Neospora spp. antibodies performed on horses born and raised in Italy.
Atuman YJ, Kudi CA, Abdu PA, Okubanjo OO, Wungak Y, Ularamu HG, Abubakar A.Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an arthropod-borne zoonotic disease responsible for severe outbreaks in livestock and humans with concomitant economic losses in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The study, therefore, investigated the seroprevalence of the Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) among wild and domestic animals. Blood samples were collected between 2013 and 2015 from 106 wild animals, 300 cattle (), and 200 horses (), respectively, in Yankari Game Reserve (YGR) and Sumu Wildlife Park (SWP) in Bauchi state, Nigeria. Harvested sera from blood were evaluated for the presence of anti-RVFV IgM...
Topp AK, Springer A, Mischke R, Rieder J, Feige K, Ganter M, Nagel-Kohl U, Nordhoff M, Boelke M, Becker S, Pachnicke S, Schunack B, Dobler G, Strube C.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a tick-transmitted flavivirus, which can infect humans and animals, sometimes even with a fatal outcome. Since many decades, TBEV is endemic in southern Germany, while only sporadic occurrence has been noted in northern parts of the country so far. Nevertheless, autochthonous human clinical cases are increasing in the federal state of Lower Saxony in north-western Germany, and several natural foci of TBEV transmission have recently been detected in this federal state. In order to shed more light on the current distribution of TBEV in Lower Saxony, the pr...
Sentsui H, Kono Y.During the autumn of 1978 a disease characterised by fever and occasionally by exanthema and/or oedema of the limbs was seen in approximately 13 per cent of horses in a training stable in the Kanto district of Japan. A virus was isolated by the intracerebral inoculation of one-day-old mice from blood and nasal swabs taken from naturally and experimentally infected horses. The virus was subsequently passaged in two monkey kidney cell lines in which it produced complete cytopathic changes. Infected horses developed neutralising, complement fixing and haemagglutinin inhibiting antibodies to the v...
Praskova I, Bezdekova B, Zeman P, Jahn P.Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the aetiological agent of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA). The aim of this survey was to assess the prevalence of anti-A. phagocytophilum antibodies in the horse population of the Czech Republic (CZ) and to investigate possible links between seropositivity and the geographic origin, age, and/or sex of the tested horses. Antibodies against A. phagocytophilum were screened using an indirect fluorescent antibody method (IFA). Serum samples from 96 healthy horses from 8 localities (7 within the CZ and one control upland/tick-free locality in Ukraine) were examin...
Tijjani AO, Junaidu AU, Salihu MD, Farouq AA, Faleke OO, Adamu SG, Musa HI, Hambali IU.A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted to determine seroprevalence and risk factors influencing the presence of Brucella antibodies in donkeys of Borno State, north-eastern Nigeria. The study aimed at providing baseline information that may be used in planning a control policy against equine brucellosis. Blood samples were collected from 601 donkeys, comprised of 374 males and 227 females from the six agricultural zones of the state between March 2013 and September 2014. The sera obtained were tested for Brucella antibodies using Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and competitive enz...
