Veterinary science and horses encompass the study and application of medical, surgical, and therapeutic practices to maintain and improve the health and welfare of equines. This field addresses a wide range of topics, including disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as nutrition, reproduction, and behavior. Research in veterinary science for horses often involves understanding the pathophysiology of equine-specific diseases, developing advanced diagnostic techniques, and improving treatment protocols. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into the latest advancements and methodologies in equine healthcare.
Faugier C, Snyder LBC, Hyun M, Schroeder C.To evaluate sedation in horses following pharmacopuncture with dexmedetomidine at acupoint Governing Vessel 24 (GV-24) compared to aquapuncture at GV-24 or an equivalent dose of dexmedetomidine administered via IV or SC routes. Unassigned: 10 adult mares received 4 treatments in a blinded, randomized, crossover design: (1) dexmedetomidine administered at GV-24 (DexmedGV24; 1 μg/kg); (2) saline administered at GV-24 (SalineGV24; 1.5 mL); (3) dexmedetomidine administered SC on the lateral neck (DexmedSC; 1 μg/kg); or (4) dexmedetomidine administered IV (DexmedIV; 1 μg/kg). Sedation scores (fa...
Teague P, Dark M, Verdugo D, Freeman D, McFarlane D.The equine pancreas remains understudied, particularly in the context of endocrine disease. This study aimed to characterize regional islet distribution and composition in the normal equine pancreas and investigate how hyperinsulinemia (HI) and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) influence pancreatic islet morphology and hormone expression. In the first experiment, pancreas samples from eight healthy horses were collected and analyzed across three anatomical locations: left lobe, body, and right lobe. The left lobe exhibited a greater relative islet area and perimeter compared to the ...
Kristensen JÅ, Buitenwerf R, Berti E, Hansen OLP, Schowanek SD, Ejrnæs R, Hansen MDD, Olsen K, Normand S, Svenning JC.Feral cattle (Bos taurus) and horses (Equus ferus caballus) are commonly introduced to European rewilding areas to halt vegetation succession and to conserve light-demanding species. Yet, we still do not understand how the habitat preference of animals shapes vegetation structure at the landscape scale. Here, we used spatial preference modeling to understand drivers of space-use based on GPS-collared horses and cattle in a 120-ha rewilding area in Denmark. Using a time series of a satellite-based vegetation productivity index, we tested the ability of animal space-use to explain changes in veg...
Karastoyanova N, Stamberov P, Nikolova S, Leshtakov P.To assess pathological lesions observed in an Early Iron Age (8th-century BCE) horse to gain insight into equine use and management in the past. Methods: The study is based on a nearly complete adult horse skeleton recovered from a pit at an archaeological site near Chirpan, Thracian Valley, southern Bulgaria. The assemblage is radiocarbon dated to the 8th century BCE and represents one of the few well-documented Early Iron Age equine skeletons from Bulgaria. Methods: Preserved skeletal elements were examined macroscopically following standard zooarchaeological and palaeopathological protocols...
Honkavaara JM, Karikoski NP, Palvas L, Pypendop BH, Rinne VM, Raekallio MR.The aim of the study was to determine the exposure to subcutaneously administered butorphanol in horses pre-treated with intravenous (IV) detomidine, with or without vatinoxan, a peripherally selective alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist. Five healthy, adult horses received three IV treatments 7 days apart, in a randomized, cross-over design: detomidine 20 μg/kg (DET-B), detomidine 20 μg/kg with vatinoxan 200 μg/kg (DETVAT-B) and saline (S-B), all followed by 0.1 mg/kg of butorphanol administered subcutaneously 30 min later. Venous samples were collected between 10 and 270 min after...
Palomino Lago E, Roberts SJ, Orriss IR, Lumsden ES, Guest DJ.Bone is a dynamic tissue that is maintained through the co-ordination of bone resorption and bone formation. An imbalance of these processes can lead to bone disease. In vitro studies of osteoblasts can help to understand bone formation, but primary cells have a limited lifespan in culture. Herein, we report the successful generation of equine immortalized osteoblasts through the stable overexpression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and Simian virus 40 (SV40) large T-antigen in osteoblasts isolated from trabecular bone taken from the third metacarpal of a two-year-old Thoroug...
Knickelbein KE.Numerous ocular diseases cause visual impairment and induce ocular pain that may be associated with undesired behaviors in horses. Horses with ocular pain, indicated by the presence of blepharospasm, blepharoedema, ocular discharge or rubbing the eye, should be rested from work to avoid worsening the ocular disease and to avoid undesired behaviors associated with pain or vision impairment. Horses with ocular disease are frequently head shy. Some stoic horses may not have obvious outward clinical signs despite significant visual impairment, and as such, undesired behaviors such as spooking, bal...
Tyrnenopoulou P, Kalatzis D, Kiouvrekis Y, Flouraki E, Folias L, Loukopoulos E, Starras A, Chalvatzis P, Tsioli V, Mavrogianni VS, Fthenakis GC.The objective of the present study was to apply supervised Machine Learning to predict severe complications after equine orchiectomy. A dataset of 612 cases of orchiectomies in stallions was used for the development of a computational model, among which in 8.5% of cases severe complications (colic, continued stallion-like behaviour, evisceration, funiculitis, haemorrhage, and scrotal infection) were diagnosed post-orchiectomy. Three supervised Machine Learning tools were employed: Logistic Regression (12 different models evaluated), Random Forest (64 models), and Gradient Boosting (8 models). ...
Vargas J.To describe the application of water treadmill exercise for equine fitness and/or rehabilitation in a scientific and clinically reasonable manner. Unassigned: Horses owned by Spy Coast Farm were used for video content. Unassigned: A literature review was performed and compiled in this brief video to provide veterinarians with a comprehensive, evidence-based guide for implementing water treadmill exercise within fitness and rehabilitation programs. Unassigned: Equine water treadmill exercise is an aerobic modality that increases distal limb flexion and range of motion, with no reported adverse ...
Schliewert EC, Hooijberg EH, Goddard A.African horse sickness (AHS), caused by the vector-borne African horse sickness virus (AHSV), is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and infection results in high mortality in naïve equine populations. Clinical signs include submucosal petechiae and prolonged bleeding post venepuncture indicative of hypocoagulation. Pathological activation of haemostasis may result from tissue factor expression as a result of vascular endothelial damage or dysfunction, the proposed pathologic mechanism in AHS, potentially resulting in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Objective: To describe haemostatic ...
Heilen LB, Roßgardt J, Dern-Wieloch J, Vogelsberg J, Staszyk C.Horses' hypsodont (high-crowned) teeth face permanent dental wear. This is compensated for by a continuous eruption, which requires a high adaptability of odontoblasts; otherwise, the dental pulp would be exposed. Here, we report on how equine odontoblasts respond to the challenge of maintaining a high production rate of dentin. We analyzed CD90, a marker of odontoblastic differentiation, and nestin, a marker of mature odontoblasts, in equine pulpal tissue via immunofluorescence. For comparison, we examined the hypselodont (ever-growing) incisors and brachydont (short-crowned) molars of rats. ...
Stöckle SD, Kannapin DA, Merle R, Lübke-Becker A, Gehlen H. The emergence and spread of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria pose a growing threat in veterinary medicine, particularly in equine hospitals. This study investigated the colonization and infection dynamics of horses undergoing emergency laparotomy with two distinct antibiotic protocols (single-shot versus 5-day protocol) during hospitalization. Nasal swabs and fecal samples were collected from 67 horses undergoing emergency laparotomy at clinic admission as well as on postoperative days 3 and 10. These were screened for multi-drug-resistant indicator pathogens. As multi-drug-resistant indi...
Young ND, Wang T, Ang CS, Lale D, Fuehrer HP, Sumanam SB, Korhonen PK, Chang BCH, Gasser RB. is the most prevalent and pathogenic tapeworm (cestode) of horses worldwide, yet it remains molecularly understudied. Here, we present the mitochondrial and chromosome-scale nuclear genomes and matched somatic proteome for this parasite, establishing the first high-resolution molecular resource for the family Anoplocephalidae. This parasite was first characterised morphologically and then by its mitochondrial genome (size: 13,776 bp). Its complete nuclear genome (size: 372.3 Mb) was assembled and characterised; it encodes 9,711 protein-coding genes, 78.2% of which were functionally annotate...
Maeda T, Inoue S, Ringhofer M, Hirata S, Yamamoto S.Encounters between competitive individuals or groups are common in social animals and can involve costly aggression; thus, animals often employ strategies to minimize direct conflict. However, research on whether and how animals adjust their group spatial structure when they encounter or spatially co-occur with a different group remains limited. We investigated how non-territorial units in feral horse multilevel societies manage spatial encounters with neighbouring units. We observed 25 reproductive units in northern Portugal, using drones, and employed statistical analyses to quantify spatial...
Bindi F, Cingottini D, Sorvillo B, Sala G, De Marchi L, Monni G, Celardo S, Bonelli F, Sgorbini M.During the perinatal period, neonates experience a sudden increase in oxygen exposure, predisposing them to oxidative stress. Objective: This prospective, in vivo study aimed to evaluate biomarkers of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence in healthy neonatal foals during the first 48 hours of life. Methods: Ten Standardbred foals were enrolled. Blood samples were collected at birth, 24 hours, and 48 hours after birth and analyzed for biomarkers using spectrophotometry assays. Statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric tests and linear regression. Results: The results revealed s...
Ursini TL, Clayton HM, Levine D, Richards J.To measure intersegmental movement in the sagittal, dorsal, and transverse planes of the cranial thoracic to caudal thoracic, caudal thoracic to lumbar, and lumbar to sacral segments using range of motion and angular velocity as measures of quality of movement. Unassigned: 6-degrees-of-freedom spinal motion was measured at the walk and trot in 3 sound Thoroughbred and Thoroughbred cross horses, and the data were pooled, giving a total of 54 gait cycles at walk and 33 at trot. These were compared against 8 cycles at walk and 13 at trot from 1 Thoroughbred horse that was confirmed as having mode...
Cortes D, Mendoza M, Raudsepp T, Ferrer M.Cervical duplication is a disorder of sexual development (DSD) that may be present in the absence of chromosomal aberrations. It is a rare cause of infertility in mares and is attributed to the failure of the Müllerian ducts to fuse properly, leading to the persistence of the median walls along the whole length of the cervix. This case report involves a 13-year-old American Quarter Horse mare with cervical duplication. Prior to this diagnostic, the mare was bred multiple times, but pregnancy was not achieved. The mare presented for a breeding soundness evaluation. During the examination an ab...
Stolle LM, Oltmanns H, Meißner J, Heun F, Schieder AK, Wolff HT, Ohnesorge B, Busse C.To determine the in vitro antimicrobial activity of specific antiseptics against common equine ocular surface pathogens. Methods: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (n = 12), Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) (n = 9), Enterobacter hormaechei (E. hormaechei) (n = 6), and Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) (n = 5) were collected from corneal samples of horses with ulcerative keratitis. Reference strains were included. Minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) of polyhexanide, povidone-iodine, and hypochlorous acid were tested using the microdilution method. ...
Riet-Correa F, Micheloud JF, Machado M, Mendonça FS, Schild AL, Uzal FA, Lemos RAA.The objective of this paper is to review the information on toxic plants for ruminants and horses in South America, a continent in which there are 237 plants known to be toxic for livestock. Predisposing factors for plant toxicity include parts or vegetative state of the plants consumed, sprouting after rains, toxic dose, social facilitation, palatability, hunger, thirst, naivete, ingestion period, susceptibility/resistance, transportation, climatic alterations, and environmental degradation. Toxic plants can be forage or non-forage species. The latter can be invasive plants from other regions...
So YM, Kwok WH, Yap C, Wong COL, Smalley SGR, Forbes BS, Chow DWY, Ho ENM.This paper describes the detection and longitudinal monitoring of cyclosporine in plasma and urine after subconjunctival implant administration in a horse. Sensitive liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) methods for detecting cyclosporine in horse plasma and urine have been developed and validated, with estimated limits of detection down to 1 pg/mL in both matrices. The developed methods enabled longitudinal monitoring of cyclosporine levels in blood and urine samples collected over 6 months from a horse that had received an ocular cyclosporine implant.
Friend MM, McGaffigan EM, Hall SM, Staniar WB, Smarsh DN.Equine blood samples are often collected in uncontrolled, distant environments and stored for later analysis. Objective: This study aimed to determine how sample storage methods influence complete blood count (CBC) parameters, hypothesizing that temperature and time elapsed from collection to analysis would affect CBC parameters. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 10 healthy Quarter Horse mares (age: 13 ± 4.5 years old) and stored in EDTA tubes at room temperature (22°C), above ice (8°C), refrigerated (4°C), or in contact with ice (2°C). The IDEXX ProcyteDx was used to obtain CBCs...
Ver Goltz L, Gomes SP, Schimming BC, Abdala FCM, Miglino MA, de Castro Sasahara TH.The equine ovary exhibits unique structural and developmental features that distinguish it from those of other domestic species, including the presence of an ovulation fossa and an inversion of cortical and medullary layers. This study aimed to investigate the morphostructural development of the equine fetal ovary, with particular emphasis on the formation of the ovulation fossa. Fourteen female equine fetuses, ranging from 70 to 200 days of gestation, were collected from a commercial abattoir. Results revealed a progressive increase in ovarian volume and marked histological changes througho...
Ganbaatar O, Batbaatar V, Kimura T, Ganzorig S, Tseren-Ochir EO, Suzuki Y, Takai S.ELISA antibody titers against Rhodococcus equi strain ATCC 6939 were measured in serum samples collected from 644 horses aged 1-21 years at 13 provinces and the capital of Mongolia, of which 631 (98%) samples showed values of approximately zero. The mean antibody titers in the 14 areas ranged from -0.08 to -0.01. Nine samples (1.4%) exhibited titers of 0.1-0.2, and surprisingly, four horses (0.6%) each aged 2, 5, 8, and 9 years demonstrated positive values in the range of 0.3-0.8. Considering the age resistance characteristic of this disease, the positive horses were hypothesized to exhibit no...
Konstantinović N, Gotić J, Baban M, Csik G, Listeš E, Gagović E, Jurković Žilić D, Arežina I, Šubara G, Čulina FE, Delić N, Višal D....Hemotropic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) are uncultivable, cell wall-less bacteria that parasitizeon the surface of red blood cells of mammals, potentially causing anemia and other systemic signs. While widely distributed among domestic and wild animals, their occurrence in equids remains poorly understood, and no species has been identified as host-specific to horses or donkeys. This study presents the first systematic survey of hemoplasmas in equids from southeastern Europe and only the second molecularly confirmed case in horses in Europe. A total of 843 equids (817 horses and 26 donkeys) from ...
Jardat P, Destrez A, Damon F, Tanguy-Guillo N, Lainé AL, Parias C, Reigner F, Ferreira VHB, Calandreau L, Lansade L.Olfaction is the most widespread sensory modality animals use to communicate, yet much remains to be discovered about its role. While most studies focused on intraspecific interactions and reproduction, new evidence suggests chemosignals may influence interspecific interactions and emotional communication. This study explores this possibility, investigating the potential role of olfactory signals in human-horse interactions. Cotton pads carrying human odours from fear and joy contexts, or unused pads (control odour) were applied to 43 horses' nostrils during fear tests (suddenness and novelty ...
Ramsaran LN, Byron M, Parry S, Lection J, Back B, Grenier J, Cheong SH, Diel de Amorim M.Real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a technique that allows for the semi-quantification of mRNA transcripts present within a tissue of interest. Differences in the relative abundance of mRNA between samples detected by RT-qPCR require normalization with a reference gene or genes whose transcript abundance is stable within the tissue of interest independent of experimental conditions. In the field of equine reproductive studies, ACTB, GAPDH and B2M genes are the most widely used as reference genes for the normalization of RT-qPCR results. However,...
DiBello D, Cassel N, Granacka V, Beard L, Rosado SC, Hill-Thimmesch K, Avellar H.Equine sarcoidosis is an uncommon disease characterized by granulomatous inflammation presenting in a spectrum of body system involvement and severity. Musculoskeletal manifestations are sporadically reported but without correlation between imaging and pathologic findings. In a mature Quarter Horse mare eventually diagnosed with a progressive form of sarcoidosis, phalangeal osteolysis discovered on radiography prompted further evaluation, revealing diffuse, discrete osteolysis throughout the axial skeleton. Due to disease progression, humane euthanasia was elected, and computed tomography and ...
de Chaisemartin C, Belluco S, Nottrott K.Dental masses such as odontogenic masses, heterotopic polydontia, or ectopic supernumerary teeth have been documented in the equine head. This is the first case report of a large maxillary sinus mass with 3 ectopic teeth in an adult horse. A 14-year-old warmblood gelding was presented for evaluation of chronic right-sided nasal discharge. After imaging exploration, surgery was performed on the standing horse with a conchofrontal sinus trephination and a large maxillary bone (MB) sinusotomy. The examinations revealed a sinusal mass in the right maxillary sinus covered by sinusal mucosa and surr...
Qiu Y, Lei Y, Yi X, Tang X, Zhang B, Wang S, Sun X.This study investigated three donkey breeds-Guanzhong, Jiami, and Northern Shaanxi-to characterize the structural organization and diversification mechanisms of the immunoglobulin light-chain (IgL) loci and to conduct both intra-breed and interspecies comparisons with horses. The donkey IGλ locus is located on chromosome 8 and arranged in a Vλ-(Jλ-Cλ)-Vλ configuration. It contains 7 Cλ genes, each preceded by a corresponding Jλ gene to form a Jλ-Cλ cluster. Upstream of this cluster, 156 Vλ genes were identified, including 29 potential functional genes; downstream, 98 Vλ genes were d...
Rodrigues MF, Neves AP, Ferreira R, Pessoa GA, Araujo DN, de Souza GV.Melatonin has demonstrated beneficial effects in regulating inflammatory processes in various tissues, but its role in mare uterine physiology remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the effects of melatonin on the gene expression of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α) in equine uterine explants cultured for 6, 12, or 24 hours. Methods: The study was divided into two experiments. Part 1 aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of melatonin at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mM on endometrial cells. Part 2 aimed to determine the expression of inflammatory cytokines in uterin...
Visser EK, van Reenen CG, van der Werf JT, Schilder MB, Knaap JH, Barneveld A, Blokhuis HJ.Forty-one Dutch Warmblood immature horses were used in a study to quantify temperamental traits on the basis of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measures. Half of the horses received additional training from the age of 5 months onwards; the other half did not. Horses were tested at 9, 10, 21 and 22 months of age in a novel object and a handling test. During the tests, mean HR and two heart variability indices, e.g. standard deviation of beat-to-beat intervals (SDRR) and root mean square of successive beat-to-beat differences (rMSSD), were calculated and expressed as response va...
Takasuga A.A recent progress on stature genetics has revealed simple genetic architecture in livestock animals in contrast to that in humans. PLAG1 and/or NCAPG-LCORL, both of which are known as a locus for adult human height, have been detected for association with body weight/height in cattle and horses, and for selective sweep in dogs and pigs. The findings indicate a significant impact of these loci on mammalian growth or body size and usefulness of the natural variants for selective breeding. However, association with an unfavorable trait, such as late puberty or risk for a neuropathic disease, was ...
Leroy G, Mary-Huard T, Verrier E, Danvy S, Charvolin E, Danchin-Burge C.Effective population sizes of 140 populations (including 60 dog breeds, 40 sheep breeds, 20 cattle breeds and 20 horse breeds) were computed using pedigree information and six different computation methods. Simple demographical information (number of breeding males and females), variance of progeny size, or evolution of identity by descent probabilities based on coancestry or inbreeding were used as well as identity by descent rate between two successive generations or individual identity by descent rate. Results: Depending on breed and method, effective population sizes ranged from 15 to 133 ...
Pelkonen S, Lindahl SB, Suomala P, Karhukorpi J, Vuorinen S, Koivula I, Väisänen T, Pentikäinen J, Autio T, Tuuminen T.Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus) is a zoonotic pathogen for persons in contact with horses. In horses, S. zooepidemicus is an opportunistic pathogen, but human infections associated with S. zooepidemicus are often severe. Within 6 months in 2011, 3 unrelated cases of severe, disseminated S. zooepidemicus infection occurred in men working with horses in eastern Finland. To clarify the pathogen's epidemiology, we describe the clinical features of the infection in 3 patients and compare the S. zooepidemicus isolates from the human cases with S. zooepidemicus isolates...
Journal of medical entomologyOctober 5, 2006
Volume 43, Issue 5 936-946 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2006)43[936:hbahba]2.0.co;2
Balenghien T, Fouque F, Sabatier P, Bicout DJ.After 35 yr of disease absence, West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) circulation has been regularly detected in the Camargue region (southern France) since 2000. WNV was isolated from Culex modestus Ficalbi, which was considered the main vector in southern France after horse outbreaks in the 1960s. Recent WNV transmissions outside of the Cx. modestus distribution suggested the existence of other vectors. To study potential WNV vectors, horse- and bird-baited traps and human landing collections of mosquitoes were carried out weekly from May to October 2004 at two Camargu...
Arrigo NC, Adams AP, Weaver SC.The eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) complex consists of four distinct genetic lineages: one that circulates in North America (NA EEEV) and the Caribbean and three that circulate in Central and South America (SA EEEV). Differences in their geographic, pathogenic, and epidemiologic profiles prompted evaluation of their genetic diversity and evolutionary histories. The structural polyprotein open reading frames of all available SA EEEV and recent NA EEEV isolates were sequenced and used in evolutionary and phylogenetic analyses. The nucleotide substitution rate per year for SA EEEV (1.2 x 10(-4...
Ericsson AC, Johnson PJ, Lopes MA, Perry SC, Lanter HR.Horses are exquisitely sensitive to non-specific gastrointestinal disturbances as well as systemic and extraintestinal conditions related to gut health, yet minimal data are available regarding the composition of the microbiota present in the equine stomach, small intestine, and cecum and their relation to fecal microbiota. Moreover, there is minimal information regarding the concordance of the luminal and mucosal microbial communities throughout the equine gut. Illumina-based 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of the luminal and mucosal microbiota present in seven regions of the gastrointestin...
Warmuth V, Eriksson A, Bower MA, Barker G, Barrett E, Hanks BK, Li S, Lomitashvili D, Ochir-Goryaeva M, Sizonov GV, Soyonov V, Manica A.Despite decades of research across multiple disciplines, the early history of horse domestication remains poorly understood. On the basis of current evidence from archaeology, mitochondrial DNA, and Y-chromosomal sequencing, a number of different domestication scenarios have been proposed, ranging from the spread of domestic horses out of a restricted primary area of domestication to the domestication of numerous distinct wild horse populations. In this paper, we reconstruct both the population genetic structure of the extinct wild progenitor of domestic horses, Equus ferus, and the origin and...
Fernandes KA, Kittelmann S, Rogers CW, Gee EK, Bolwell CF, Bermingham EN, Thomas DG.The effects of abrupt dietary transition on the faecal microbiota of forage-fed horses over a 3-week period were investigated. Yearling Thoroughbred fillies reared as a cohort were exclusively fed on either an ensiled conserved forage-grain diet ("Group A"; n = 6) or pasture ("Group B"; n = 6) for three weeks prior to the study. After the Day 0 faecal samples were collected, horses of Group A were abruptly transitioned to pasture. Both groups continued to graze similar pasture for three weeks, with faecal samples collected at 4-day intervals. DNA was isolated from the faeces and microbial 16S ...
Cupp EW, Zhang D, Yue X, Cupp MS, Guyer C, Sprenger TR, Unnasch TR.Uranotaenia sapphirina, Culex erraticus, and Cx. peccator were collected in an enzootic eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus focus in central Alabama (Tuskegee National Forest) from 2001 to 2003 and analyzed for virus as well as host selection. EEE virus was detected in each species every year except 2003, when pools of Cx. peccator were negative. Most (97%) of the 130 Cx. peccator blood meals identified were from ectothermic hosts; 3% were from birds. Among blood meals from reptiles (approximately 75% of the total), 81% were from Agkistrodon piscivorus (cottonmouth); all amphibian blo...
Cappelli K, Felicetti M, Capomaccio S, Spinsanti G, Silvestrelli M, Supplizi AV.Adequate stress response is a critical factor during athlete horses' training and is central to our capacity to obtain better performances while safeguarding animal welfare. In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying this process, several studies have been conducted that take advantage of microarray and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) technologies to analyse the expression of candidate genes involved in the cellular stress response. Appropriate application of qRT-PCR, however, requires the use of reference genes whose level of expression is not affected by the test, by ge...
Lindgren G, Backström N, Swinburne J, Hellborg L, Einarsson A, Sandberg K, Cothran G, Vilà C, Binns M, Ellegren H.Genetic studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have identified extensive matrilinear diversity among domestic horses. Here, we show that this high degree of polymorphism is not matched by a corresponding patrilinear diversity of the male-specific Y chromosome. In fact, a screening for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 14.3 kb of noncoding Y chromosome sequence among 52 male horses of 15 different breeds did not identify a single segregation site. These observations are consistent with a strong sex-bias in the domestication process, with few stallions contributing genetically to the do...
Nedland H, Wollman J, Sreenivasan C, Quast M, Singrey A, Fawcett L, Christopher-Hennings J, Nelson E, Kaushik RS, Wang D, Li F.Influenza D virus (IDV) is a newly described influenza type of the Orthomyxoviridae virus family that was first isolated from diseased swine in 2011 and has subsequently been detected in cattle around the world in 2014. In addition, serological evidence for IDV infection in humans has been recently established. Despite all the progress, the full range of susceptible hosts for this novel virus has yet to be determined, but includes swine, bovine, small ruminants and human. This study was designed to determine if equine is a possible host to this newly emerging influenza virus. Three hundred and...
Marfin AA, Gubler DJ.In 1999, an epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) encephalitis occurred in New York City (NYC) and 2 surrounding New York counties. Simultaneously, an epizootic among American crows and other bird species occurred in 4 states. Indigenous transmission of WNV had never been documented in the western hemisphere until this epidemic. In 2000, the epizootic expanded to 12 states and the District of Columbia, and the epidemic continued in NYC, 5 New Jersey counties, and 1 Connecticut county. In addition to these outbreaks, several large epidemics of WNV have occurred in other regions of the world where t...
Carbone L, Nergadze SG, Magnani E, Misceo D, Francesca Cardone M, Roberto R, Bertoni L, Attolini C, Francesca Piras M, de Jong P, Raudsepp T....Centromere repositioning (CR) is a recently discovered biological phenomenon consisting of the emergence of a new centromere along a chromosome and the inactivation of the old one. After a CR, the primary constriction and the centromeric function are localized in a new position while the order of physical markers on the chromosome remains unchanged. These events profoundly affect chromosomal architecture. Since horses, asses, and zebras, whose evolutionary divergence is relatively recent, show remarkable morphological similarity and capacity to interbreed despite their chromosomes differing co...
Mahalingam S, Herrero LJ, Playford EG, Spann K, Herring B, Rolph MS, Middleton D, McCall B, Field H, Wang LF.Hendra virus, first identified in 1994 in Queensland, is an emerging zoonotic pathogen gaining importance in Australia because a growing number of infections are reported in horses and people. The virus, a member of the family Paramyxoviridae (genus Henipavirus), is transmitted to horses by pteropid bats (fruit bats or flying foxes), with human infection a result of direct contact with infected horses. Case-fatality rate is high in both horses and people, and so far, more than 60 horses and four people have died from Hendra virus infection in Australia. Human infection is characterised by an a...
Hardefeldt LY, Gilkerson JR, Billman-Jacobe H, Stevenson MA, Thursky K, Bailey KE, Browning GF.Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs are yet to be widely implemented in veterinary practice and medical programs are unlikely to be directly applicable to veterinary settings. Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence effective AMS in veterinary practices in Australia. Methods: A concurrent explanatory mixed methods design was used. The quantitative phase of the study consisted of an online questionnaire to assess veterinarians' attitudes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use in animals, and the extent to which AMS currently is implemente...
Paz S, Malkinson D, Green MS, Tsioni G, Papa A, Danis K, Sirbu A, Ceianu C, Katalin K, Ferenczi E, Zeller H, Semenza JC.In the summer of 2010, Europe experienced outbreaks of West Nile Fever (WNF) in humans, which was preceded by hot spells. The objective of this study was to identify potential drivers of these outbreaks, such as spring and summer temperatures, relative humidity (RH), and precipitation. Methods: Pearson and lag correlations, binary and multinomial logistic regressions were used to assess the relationship between the climatic parameters and these outbreaks. Results: For human morbidity, significant (<0.05) positive correlations were observed between a number of WNF cases and temperature, with...
Rizzo C, Napoli C, Venturi G, Pupella S, Lombardini L, Calistri P, Monaco F, Cagarelli R, Angelini P, Bellini R, Tamba M, Piatti A, Russo F, Palù G....In Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillance systems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillance systems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to de...
Alberti A, Zobba R, Chessa B, Addis MF, Sparagano O, Pinna Parpaglia ML, C뻝u T, Pintori G, Pittau M.The presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a tick-transmitted zoonotic pathogen, was investigated in Sardinia using a molecular approach. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Sardinian strains are genetically distinct from the two lineages previously described in Europe and are closely related to strains isolated in different areas of the United States.
Kaplan RM, Denwood MJ, Nielsen MK, Thamsborg SM, Torgerson PR, Gilleard JS, Dobson RJ, Vercruysse J, Levecke B.The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) remains the method of choice for establishing the efficacy of anthelmintic compounds in the field, including the diagnosis of anthelmintic resistance. We present a guideline for improving the standardization and performance of the FECRT that has four sections. In the first section, we address the major issues relevant to experimental design, choice of faecal egg count (FEC) method, statistical analysis, and interpretation of the FECRT results. In the second section, we make a series of general recommendations that are applicable across all animals ad...
Khan I, Wieler LH, Melzer F, Elschner MC, Muhammad G, Ali S, Sprague LD, Neubauer H, Saqib M.Glanders or farcy, caused by Burkholderia mallei, is an infectious and zoonotic disease of solipeds. Horses, donkeys and mules are the only known natural reservoir of B. mallei. Although glanders has been eradicated from most countries, it has regained the status of a re-emerging disease because of the numerous recent outbreaks. Pre-symptomatic or carrier animals are the potential source of infection for the healthy equine population and play a crucial role in the spreading of the infectious agent. Glanders is characterized by ulcerating nodular lesions of the skin and mucous membrane. Genera...
Ewers C, Stamm I, Pfeifer Y, Wieler LH, Kopp PA, Schønning K, Prenger-Berninghoff E, Scheufen S, Stolle I, Günther S, Bethe A.To investigate the clinical relevance and molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella species in animals. Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibilities and presence of ESBLs were examined among Klebsiella spp. (n = 1519) from clinical samples (>1200 senders from Germany and other European countries) mainly from companion animals and horses from October 2008 to March 2010. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and PFGE were performed including human isolates for comparative purposes. Results: The overall ESBL rate was 8% for Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pne...
Proops L, McComb K.Recent research has shown that domestic dogs are particularly good at determining the focus of human attention, often outperforming chimpanzees and hand-reared wolves. It has been suggested that the close evolutionary relationship between humans and dogs has led to the development of this ability; however, very few other domestic species have been studied. We tested the ability of 36 domestic horses to discriminate between an attentive and inattentive person in determining whom to approach for food. The cues provided were body orientation, head orientation or whether the experimenters' eyes we...
Lees P, Landoni MF, Giraudel J, Toutain PL.This review summarises selected aspects of the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It is not intended to be comprehensive, in that it covers neither minor species nor several important aspects of NSAID PD. The limited objective of the review is to summarise those aspects of NSAID PK and PD, which are important to an understanding of PK-PD integration and PK-PD modelling (the subject of the next review in this issue). The general features of NSAID PK are: usually good bioavailability from oral, intramuscular and subcutaneous administ...
Schaefer RJ, Schubert M, Bailey E, Bannasch DL, Barrey E, Bar-Gal GK, Brem G, Brooks SA, Distl O, Fries R, Finno CJ, Gerber V, Haase B, Jagannathan V....To date, genome-scale analyses in the domestic horse have been limited by suboptimal single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) density and uneven genomic coverage of the current SNP genotyping arrays. The recent availability of whole genome sequences has created the opportunity to develop a next generation, high-density equine SNP array. Using whole genome sequence from 153 individuals representing 24 distinct breeds collated by the equine genomics community, we cataloged over 23 million de novo discovered genetic variants. Leveraging genotype data from individuals with both whole genome sequence, ...
