Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases that can be transmitted between animals and humans, with horses acting as potential hosts or vectors. These diseases can result from various pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, which can be transmitted through direct contact, vectors like mosquitoes, or environmental exposure. Horses can carry zoonotic pathogens such as Salmonella, West Nile Virus, and Leptospira, posing health risks to humans, particularly those working closely with equines. Understanding the transmission dynamics, prevention strategies, and control measures helps safeguard both equine and human health. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and management of zoonotic diseases associated with horses.
Bermúdez C S, Zaldívar Y, Domínguez A L, Hernández M, de Antinori MEB, Krawczak FS.Rickettsia amblyommatis is widely distributed in the Americas, and has been reported to infect different species of ticks within its distribution. In Panama, R. amblyommatis is the most common Rickettsia and its presence was molecularly detected in nine species of ticks and one flea species. This work described the isolation of R. amblyommatis in Vero cells by shell vial technique, from Amblyomma mixtum ticks collected from a captive tapir from Gamboa (Colon province), and a horse from El Valle de Antón (Cocle province). These represent the first isolations of R. amblyommatis in Panama.
Fuehrer HP, Alho AM, Kayikci FN, Shahi Barogh B, Rosa H, Tomás J, Rocha H, Harl J, Madeira de Carvalho L.Vector-borne diseases of zoonotic and/or veterinary relevance have been increasingly reported in horses globally, although data regarding working and military horses is lacking. Portuguese military horses may constitute a risk group for these pathogens, as they frequently work outdoors in various regions of the country. This study included 101 apparently healthy horses belonging to the Portuguese National Republican Guard. Blood samples were analyzed to determine the presence and prevalence of piroplasms, Anaplasmataceae, Rickettsia spp., and filarioid helminths. Overall 32.7% of the horses ga...
Abreu DC, Gomes AS, Tessler DK, Chiebao DP, Fava CD, Romaldini AHCN, Araujo MC, Pompei J, Marques GF, Harakava R, Pituco EM, Nassar AFC.Glanders is an equine zoonosis caused by Burkholderia mallei that is responsible for considerable economic loss. Complement fixation testing (CFT) using warm or cold incubation are recommended by the OIE, but many routinely used detection tests may present misleading results. To increase accuracy of glanders diagnosis and establish an appropriate protocol in collaboration with the National Equine Health Program, seven horses positive for glanders kept in isolation in Brazil were examined fortnightly by CFT, microbiological screening, and molecular testing. Warm and cold serologies with USDA an...
Schvartz G, Tirosh-Levy S, Erester O, Shenhar R, Levy H, Bazanow B, Gelman B, Steinman A.West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV) are arboviruses transmitted by mosquito vectors. Whereas WNV is endemic in Israel, the Middle East, Europe, and in the Americas, data regarding the prevalence of USUV in the Middle East is limited. While both viruses share similar reservoirs and vectors, exposure of horses in the area to USUV have never been assessed. The aim of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence and co-exposure of WNV and USUV in horses in Israel. A total of 327 serum samples from healthy unvaccinated horses in Israel collected in 2018 were tested for neutralizing antibo...
Daddy KK, Mwanza M, Oguttu JW, Ngoma L.Leptospirosis is one of the major emerging global economic and health problems affecting donkeys, thereby reducing their work output. Furthermore, the disease has public health importance because of its zoonotic nature. Despite the significant contribution donkeys make to the national economy, less attention is given to diseases that afflict donkeys and reduce their productivity and performance. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospira and identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of the disease among donkeys in the study area. Methods: A...
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...
Taylor K, Thomas S, Mendez D, Chicken C, Carrick J, Heller J, Durrheim D.Employees in the equine industry are at occupational risk of zoonoses such as Hendra virus and equine chlamydiosis through exposure to infected materials. This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the views and experiences of employees, and the key drivers of infection control and personal biosecurity (PB) practices in the Thoroughbred breeding industry. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in 2018 in New South Wales, Australia using interviews (9) and small group discussions (7). The 29 participants included veterinarians, veterinary nurses, foaling staff, stud man...
Laroucau K, Aaziz R, Vorimore F, Varghese K, Deshayes T, Bertin C, Delannoy S, Sami AM, Al Batel M, El Shorbagy M, Almutawaa KAW, Alanezi SJ....Glanders is a contagious zoonotic disease caused by Burkholderia mallei. Following the detection of glanders positive horses using the OIE complement fixation test, the tissues of two horses were analysed by PCR. While PCR systems targeting the Burkholderia pseudomallei complex gave positive signals, the species-specific PCR systems targeting B. mallei (fliP-IS407A) and B. pseudomallei (orf11)-the OIE recommended targets-resulted in negative signals. However, the presence of B. mallei in these tissues was confirmed with a recently described B. mallei-specific real-time PCR system and genot...
Tapia D, Sanchez-Villamil JI, Torres AG.Burkholderia mallei (Bm) is a facultative intracellular pathogen and the etiological agent of glanders, a highly infectious zoonotic disease occurring in equines and humans. The intrinsic resistance to antibiotics, lack of specific therapy, high mortality, and history as a biothreat agent, prompt the need of a safe and effective vaccine. However, the limited knowledge of protective Bm-specific antigens has hampered the development of a vaccine. Further, the use of antigen-delivery systems that enhance antigen immunogenicity and elicit robust antigen-specific immune responses has been limited a...
Mera Y Sierra R, Neira G, Bargues MD, Cuervo PF, Artigas P, Logarzo L, Cortiñas G, Ibaceta DEJ, Lopez Garrido A, Bisutti E, Mas-Coma S.Fascioliasis is a zoonotic disease caused by liver flukes transmitted by freshwater lymnaeid snails. Donkey and horse reservoir roles have been highlighted in human endemic areas. Liver fluke infection in mules has received very limited research. Their role in disease transmission, epidemiological importance and Fasciola hepatica pathogenicity are studied for the first time. Prevalence was 39.5% in 81 mules from Aconcagua, and 24.4% in 127 from Uspallata, in high-altitude areas of Mendoza province, Argentina. A mean amount of 101,242 eggs/mule/day is estimated. Lymnaeids from Uspallata proved ...
Gharekhani J, Yakhchali M, Berahmat R.Knowledge on neosporosis and associated risk factors in different species of animals are so important for designing the control programs and reduce the economic losses globally. This literature review targeted for evaluating the infection rate of in animals in Iran. Until April 2020, all of published documents in the main English and Persian-language databases were searched. A total number of 110 documents (English = 85 and Persian = 25) were extracted. Most of reports were sero-epidemiological studies using ELISA in Iranian cattle population. The range of infection was 3.8-76.2% in ...
Tahoun A, Elnafarawy HK, Elmahallawy EK, Abdelhady A, Rizk AM, El-Sharkawy H, Youssef MA, El-Khodery S, Ibrahim HMM.Diagnosis and treatment of ocular fungal infection in equine seems very challenging for owners and clinicians. The present study aimed to identify and characterize fungal species isolated from the eyes of clinically healthy and diseased equines (N = 100) from Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. The work also involved morphological and molecular characterization of the major fungal species. In addition, correlations between the occurrence of isolated fungi and some of the potential risk factors were also investigated. Interestingly, the prevalence rate of ocular mycosis in all examined equines in the ...
Kutasi O, Fehér O, Sárdi S, Balogh N, Nagy A, Moravszki L, Bódai E, Szenci O.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes between wild birds (natural hosts) and other vertebrates. Horses and humans are incidental, dead-end hosts, but can develop severe neurological disorders. Owing to the close contact of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with the extracellular fluid of the brain, the analysis of CSF composition can reflect central nervous system (CNS) impairments enabling the diagnosis and understanding of various neurodegenerative CNS disorders. Our objective was to compare the findings from the CSF samples of horses with neuroinvasive WNV infectio...
Williamson KM, Wheeler S, Kerr J, Bennett J, Freeman P, Kohlhagen J, Peel AJ, Eby P, Merritt T, Housen T, Dalton C, Durrheim DN.In June 2019 the first equine case of Hendra virus in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia was detected. An urgent human and animal health response took place, involving biosecurity measures, contact tracing, promotion of equine vaccinations and investigation of flying fox activity in the area. No human or additional animal cases occurred. Equine vaccination uptake increased by over 30-fold in the surrounding region in the three months following the case. Black flying fox and grey-headed flying fox species were detected in the Valley. The incident prompted review of Hendra virus resou...
Bakhshi H, Beck C, Lecollinet S, Monier M, Mousson L, Zakeri S, Raz A, Arzamani K, Nourani L, Dinparast-Djadid N, Failloux AB.Recent expansion of arboviruses such as West Nile (WNV), Usutu (USUV), and tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV) over their natural range of distribution needs strengthening their surveillance. As common viral vertebrate hosts, birds and horses deserve special attention with routine serological surveillance. Here, we estimated the seroprevalence of WNV, USUV and TBEV in 160 migrating/resident birds and 60 horses sampled in Mazandaran, Golestan, North Khorasan, Kordestan provinces and Golestan province of Iran respectively. ELISA results showed that of 220 collected samples, 32 samples (14.54%), inclu...
Akter R, Stent AW, Sansom FM, Gilkerson JR, Burden C, Devlin JM, Legione AR, El-Hage CM.Chlamydia psittaci was detected by PCR in the lung and equine foetal membranes of two aborted equine foetuses and one weak foal from two different studs in Victoria, Australia. The abortions occurred in September 2019 in two mares sharing a paddock northeast of Melbourne. The weak foal was born in October 2019 in a similar geographical region and died soon after birth despite receiving veterinary care. The detection of C. psittaci DNA in the lung and equine foetal membranes of the aborted or weak foals and the absence of any other factors that are commonly associated with abortion or neonatal ...
Hussain A, Jamil T, Tareen AM, Melzer F, Hussain MH, Khan I, Saqib M, Zohaib A, Hussain R, Ahmad W, Iqbal M, Neubauer H.Brucellosis is an important zoonosis worldwide. Equines are susceptible to the infection when in close contact with infected animals. The objective of our study was to update the existing knowledge and detect and differentiate the causative agent of brucellosis in breeding equines in Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was designed to evaluate the occurrence and etiology of the infection in the equine population in three districts. A total of 448 equine sera were collected from three prefectures viz. Sahiwal, Khanewal, and Okara of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Ninety-six (21.4%) samp...
Chapman GE, Sherlock K, Hesson JC, Blagrove MSC, Lycett GJ, Archer D, Solomon T, Baylis M.There has been no evidence of transmission of mosquito-borne arboviruses of equine or human health concern to date in the UK. However, in recent years there have been a number of outbreaks of viral diseases spread by vectors in Europe. These events, in conjunction with increasing rates of globalisation and climate change, have led to concern over the future risk of mosquito-borne viral disease outbreaks in northern Europe and have highlighted the importance of being prepared for potential disease outbreaks. Here we assess several UK mosquito species for their potential to transmit arboviruses ...
Kim HH, Yang DK, Ji M, Lee SK, Hyun BH.Japanese encephalitis is one of the most important mosquito-borne and zoonotic diseases in Asia and the Pacific region. Although the dominant Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype has shifted from G3 to G1 in Korea since 1990, a G3 strain (Anyang 300) has been used in vaccines for horses for almost 40 years. This study aimed to investigate the seroconversion rates and geometric mean titers (GMTs) of virus-neutralizing antibodies (VNAs) against JEV G1 and G3 in horses immunized with the G3 vaccine. Methods: Serum samples of 1,231 horses immunized with the Anyang 300 vaccine were collected ...
Khademi P, Ownagh A, Ataei B, Kazemnia A, Eydi J, Khalili M, M M, Mardani K.Coxiella burnetii is a zoonotic bacterium that can infect a wide range of animals including horses. However, its circulation dynamics in and through horses are still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence of C. burnetii and its genomic characteristics in horse sera samples in the North of Iran (Golestan Province). The samples were collected in 2018 and the age, sex, and breed of each animal were recorded. Nested-PCR was used to detect C. burnetii based on the presence of the transposable gene IS1111. The results showed that 7.50 % (P < 0.05; 95 % CI: 0.5 %-0.12 %) of the ...
Habarugira G, Suen WW, Hobson-Peters J, Hall RA, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H.West Nile virus (WNV) is an important zoonotic flavivirus responsible for mild fever to severe, lethal neuroinvasive disease in humans, horses, birds, and other wildlife species. Since its discovery, WNV has caused multiple human and animal disease outbreaks in all continents, except Antarctica. Infections are associated with economic losses, mainly due to the cost of treatment of infected patients, control programmes, and loss of animals and animal products. The pathogenesis of WNV has been extensively investigated in natural hosts as well as in several animal models, including rodents, lagom...
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,...
Dubey JP, Murata FHA, Cerqueira-Cézar CK, Kwok OCH.Toxoplasma gondii infections are common in humans and animals worldwide. The present review summarizes worldwide information on the prevalence of clinical and subclinical infections, epidemiology, and genetic diversity of T. gondii in horses, donkeys and other equids in the past decade. This review will be of interest to biologists, parasitologists, veterinarians, and public health workers.
Soza-Ossandón P, Rivera D, Tardone R, Riquelme-Neira R, García P, Hamilton-West C, Adell AD, González-Rocha G, Moreno-Switt AI. is a highly infectious microorganism responsible for many outbreaks reported in equine hospitals. Outbreaks are characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, nosocomial transmission to other patients, zoonotic transmission to hospital personnel, and even closure of facilities. In this study, 545 samples (environmental and hospitalized patients) were collected monthly during a 1-year period from human and animal contact surfaces in an equine hospital that received local and international horses. A total of 22 isolates were obtained from human contact surfaces (e.g., offices and pharmac...
Yildirim A, Okur M, Uslug S, Onder Z, Yetismis G, Duzlu O, Ciloglu A, Simsek E, Inci A.Horses might play an important role as reservoir hosts in the epidemiology of Enterocytozoon bieneusi, which is one of the most important zoonotic microsporidian pathogens, with a wide range of hosts. Nevertheless, limited information is available on the infection rates and genotypes of E. bieneusi in horses, and no data are available on the occurrence and molecular characteristics of E. bieneusi in horses in Turkey. We determined the prevalence of E. bieneusi among horses raised on farms from two provinces of Central Anatolia Region, by amplification of the partial small subunit ribosomal RNA...
Singha H, Shanmugasundaram K, Saini S, Tripathi BN.Glanders is a fatal bacterial infection of equids caused by Burkholderia mallei. The infection can be transmitted to humans through prolonged direct contact with glanderous equids. Recently, reemergence of equine glanders has been reported in many countries. To investigate zoonotic transmission of B mallei infection, sera were collected from 538 humans including equine handlers and veterinary professionals exposed to glanderous equids. Samples were tested by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and complement fixation test and found negative for B mallei-specific antibodies. Even though t...
Salat J, Ruzek D.Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a disease caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), represents a serious neural infection of humans in Europe and Asia. The main reservoir hosts of TBEV are ticks, rodents and insectivores, but domestic animals may also be infected with the virus. This review summarizes what is known about TBE in domestic species (e.g., dogs, horses), in which infection may manifest with clinical signs similar to those seen in severe human cases. We also focus on TBE in ruminants where TBE infections are typically asymptomatic and do not cause health problems in the infecte...
Zhao A, Zhang Y, Wang W, Jing B, Xing J, Tao D, Zhao W, Qi M.Enterocytozoon bieneusi, a zoonotic pathogen, has the potential to infect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent humans. It is found in large number of animals; however, not much is known regarding its prevalence in equine animals, particularly donkeys. This is the first molecular epidemiological evaluation of E. bieneusi in 178 free-ranging donkeys from five countrysides; and 502 farmed donkeys from 18 farms in 12 cities of Xinjiang, China by Nested PCR. Results: E. bieneusi was detected in 2.5% (17/680) donkeys, with 2.6% (13/502) in farmed and 2.2% (4/178) in free-ranging ones. Sequence...
Annand EJ, Reid PA, Johnson J, Gilbert GL, Taylor M, Walsh M, Ward MP, Wilson A, Degeling C.Hendra virus (HeV) is endemic in Australian flying foxes, posing a threat to equine and human health. Equine vaccination remains the most effective risk mitigation strategy. Many horses remain unvaccinated - even in higher-risk regions. Debate surrounding the vaccine's use is characterised by conflicting perspectives, misunderstanding and mistrust. Private veterinary practitioners are critical to early identification of public health risk through recognition, sampling and management of suspect-equine-HeV-cases. However, managing such cases can be burdensome, with some veterinarians opting not ...
Baumann S, Gurtner C, Marti H, Borel N.Species of genus are important pathogens of animals, with a worldwide distribution and broad host range. Some species, such as , also pose a zoonotic disease risk. Abortion is one of the many diseases that has been associated with chlamydial infections in animals, with most attention focused on the economic impacts to sheep production. The role of chlamydia in equine abortions is unknown. Using the family-specific 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) real-time PCR, we tested 169 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded fetal membrane samples from 162 equine abortion cases collected between 2000 and 2018 in Swi...
Jakobsen L, Bortolaia V, Bielak E, Moodley A, Olsen SS, Hansen DS, Frimodt-Møller N, Guardabassi L, Hasman H.CTX-M-1 is a common extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) in Escherichia coli from animals and is often detected among human clinical isolates. The objective of this study was to investigate the epidemiological relationship between CTX-M-1-producing E. coli isolated from patients and animals in Denmark between 2006 and 2010. In total, 65 CTX-M-1-producing isolates from patients (n=22), pigs (n=21), cattle (n=4), organic poultry layers (n=3) and horses (n=15) were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Plasmids harbouring bla were characterised by S1 PFGE, PCR-based replicon typing, ...
Malik P, Singha H, Khurana SK, Kumar R, Kumar S, Raut AA, Riyesh T, Vaid RK, Virmani N, Singh BK, Pathak SV, Parkale DD, Singh B, Pandey SB....Glanders, a bacterial disease of equines caused by Burkholderia mallei, is a fatal infectious disease of equines and has zoonotic significance. The disease has been eradicated from many countries by statutory testing, elimination of infected animals and import restrictions. However, it is still endemic in parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Central and South America. In India, major glanders outbreaks were reported from different parts of the country between 1976 and 1982. Later, sporadic cases of the disease were reported in 1988, 1990 and 1998. The country remained free of glanders fo...
Shi N, Qiu X, Cao X, Mai Z, Zhu X, Li N, Zhang H, Zhang J, Li Z, Shaya N, Lu H, Jin N.The Getah virus (GETV), a mosquito-borne RNA virus, is widely distributed in Oceania and Asia. GETV is not the only pathogenic to horses, pigs, cattle, foxes and boars, but it can also cause fever in humans. Since its first reported case in Chinese mainland in 2017, the number of GETV-affected provinces has increased to seventeen till now. Therefore, we performed an epidemiologic investigation of GETV in the Xinjiang region, located in northwestern China, during the period of 2017-2020. ELISA was used to analyze 3299 serum samples collected from thoroughbred horse, local horse, sheep, goat, ca...
Escobar TA, Dowich G, Dos Santos TP, Zuravski L, Duarte CA, Lübeck I, Manfredini V.Leishmaniosis, zoonosis that produces significant public health impacts, is caused by Leishmania infantum. Canines are the main domestic reservoir and, besides humans, other species of mammals could be infected when living in endemic areas. In this study, we detected equine Leishmania infantum infections in a canine visceral leishmaniosis transmission area and evaluated the clinical, haematological, biochemical and oxidative stress disorders. This study was conducted in Uruguaiana, Rio Grande do Sul, south of Brazil. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 124 animals (98 horses and 26 do...
Traversa D, Otranto D, Milillo P, Latrofa MS, Giangaspero A, Di Cesare A, Paoletti B.In order to evaluate infection occurrence and the potential zoonotic role of horse isolates of Giardia duodenalis, 431 individual fecal samples were genetically characterized by PCR tests -coupled sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Thirty-seven (8.6%) animals resulted infected by different Assemblage. The presence of sub-Assemblage was assessed by characterizing the β-giardin gene for 16 of the 37 positive horses. Ten isolates showed 99.6% to 100% homology with the sub-Assemblage described as B1-2 and B1-6, three Assemblage A showed 99.8% homology with sub-Assemblage A1, while one Assembla...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Apanaskevich DA, Mumcuoglu KY, Steinman A.Ticks are important ectoparasites of horses that can affect animal welfare and vector several infectious, including zoonotic, diseases. In order to investigate the species distribution, epidemiology and seasonal dynamics of ticks infesting horses in Israel, 3267 ticks were collected from 396 horses in 24 farms across the country from July 2014 to June 2015. Results: Ticks were found on 50% of the farms and on 25% of the horses, with Hyalomma being the most prevalent genus (70% of ticks). Pasture was the most prominent risk factor for tick infestation (99% of ticks, P < 0.001), and is repres...
Soza-Ossandón P, Rivera D, Tardone R, Riquelme-Neira R, García P, Hamilton-West C, Adell AD, González-Rocha G, Moreno-Switt AI. is a highly infectious microorganism responsible for many outbreaks reported in equine hospitals. Outbreaks are characterized by high morbidity and mortality rates, nosocomial transmission to other patients, zoonotic transmission to hospital personnel, and even closure of facilities. In this study, 545 samples (environmental and hospitalized patients) were collected monthly during a 1-year period from human and animal contact surfaces in an equine hospital that received local and international horses. A total of 22 isolates were obtained from human contact surfaces (e.g., offices and pharmac...
Desjardins I, Joulié A, Pradier S, Lecollinet S, Beck C, Vial L, Dufour P, Gasqui P, Legrand L, Edouard S, Sidi-Boumedine K, Rousset E, Jourdain E....Coxiella burnetii can infect many animal species, but its circulation dynamics in and through horses is still unclear. This study evaluated horse exposure in an area known to be endemic for ruminants and humans. We assessed antibody prevalence in horse serum by ELISA, and screened by qPCR horse blood, ticks found on horses and dust from stables. Horse seroprevalence was 4% (n = 335, 37 stables) in 2015 and 12% (n = 294, 39 stables) in 2016. Of 199 horses sampled both years, 13 seroconverted, eight remained seropositive, and one seroreverted. Seropositive horses were located close to re...
Khusro A, Aarti C, Pliego AB, Cipriano-Salazar M.Hendra virus (HeV) is a zoonotic paramyxovirus which causes acute and deadly infection in horses (Equus caballus). It is a rare and unmanaged emerging viral infection in horses which is harbored by bats of the genus Pteropus (Australian flying foxes or fruit bats). The virus is pleomorphic in shape and its genome contains nonsegmented negative-stranded RNA with 18234 nucleotides in length. The virus is transmitted from flying foxes to horses, horse to horse, and horse to humans. Human-to-human transmission of HeV infection is not reported yet. The infection of HeV in horses is highly variable ...
Rajasekhar A, Clancy CJ.Group C streptococci (GCS) are common causes of veterinary diseases and may colonize humans. Human diseases due to GCS are uncommon and generally occur in the elderly and persons exposed to animals or animal products. We report a case of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus meningitis in a horse trainer and review 36 cases of GCS meningitis reported in the literature. The median age was 48 y and the majority of patients were previously healthy. Thirty-one percent (11/36) of the reported cases followed equine exposure and 19% (7/36) ingestion of dairy products. Sixty-seven percent (24/36) we...
McNabb L, Barr J, Crameri G, Juzva S, Riddell S, Colling A, Boyd V, Broder C, Wang LF, Lunt R.Hendra and Nipah viruses (HeV and NiV) are closely related zoonotic pathogens of the Paramyxoviridae family. Both viruses belong to the Henipavirus genus and cause fatal disease in animals and humans, though only HeV is endemic in Australia. In general and due to the acute nature of the disease, agent detection by PCR and virus isolation are the primary tools for diagnostic investigations. Assays for the detection of antibodies against HeV are fit more readily for the purpose of surveillance testing in disease epidemiology and to meet certification requirements in the international movement of...
Barbić L, Listeš E, Katić S, Stevanović V, Madić J, Starešina V, Labrović A, Di Gennaro A, Savini G.West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with rapid global expansion. The virus circulation is confirmed in many countries of Mediterranean Basin and Southern and Central Europe. In our study detection of specific WNV antibodies was performed in horses and cattle sera samples collected from October 2010 to April 2011. Serum samples were randomly taken from different parts of Croatia and tested by IgG and IgM ELISA. Positive serological results were confirmed by virus neutralization assay (VN-assay) and plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT). Results showed that WNV antibodie...
Mhadhbi M, Sassi A.Infection of equids by Leishmania (L.) parasites was previously described in both the Old and New World, particularly in Central and South America. Equine cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is caused by the Leishmania species, L. Viannia (V.) braziliensis and L. infantum, previously identified in humans and other parasite hosts living in the same geographic endemic areas. Sporadic autochthonous clinical cases, with no travel history, were documented in several countries including Germany, Portugal, Spain, Texas and Brazil; L. infantum and L. (Mundinia) martiniquensis were the infectious species....
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...
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...
Jelocnik M, Jenkins C, O'Rourke B, Barnwell J, Polkinghorne A.Chlamydia psittaci is an important avian pathogen with spillover from infected wild and domesticated birds also posing a risk to human health. We recently reported a case of C. psittaci equine placentitis associated with further spillover to humans. Molecular typing of this case revealed it belonged to the 6BC clade of C. psittaci, a globally distributed highly virulent set of strains, typically linked to infection spillover from parrots. Equine chlamydiosis associated with C. psittaci infection has previously been reported elsewhere in countries where parrots are not endemic, however, rais...
Álvarez-Narváez S, Giguère S, Anastasi E, Hearn J, Scortti M, Vázquez-Boland JA.Antibiotic use has been linked to changes in the population structure of human pathogens and the clonal expansion of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains among healthcare- and community-acquired infections. Here we present a compelling example in a veterinary pathogen, , the causative agent of a severe pulmonary infection affecting foals worldwide. We show that the (46) gene responsible for emerging macrolide resistance among equine isolates in the United States is part of a 6.9-kb transposable element, Tn, actively mobilized by an IS family transposase. Tn is carried on an 87-kb conjugative pla...
Peel MM, Hornidge KA, Luppino M, Stacpoole AM, Weaver RE.We describe the isolation of Actinobacillus lignieresii and an A. equuli-like bacterium from an infected horse-bite wound in a 22-year-old stable foreman and A. suis from a bite injury in a 35-year-old man who had been attacked by a horse. A. lignieresii was also isolated in pure culture from an infected sheep-bite wound in a rural worker. These species of the genus Actinobacillus are primarily associated with animals and animal diseases and are rarely isolated from humans. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of the possible occurrence of Actinobacillus spp. in bite wounds inflict...
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...
Câmara RJF, Bueno BL, Resende CF, Balasuriya UBR, Sakamoto SM, Reis JKPD.Donkeys () and mules represent approximately 50% of the entire domestic equine herd in the world and play an essential role in the lives of thousands of people, primarily in developing countries. Despite their importance, donkeys are currently a neglected and threatened species due to abandonment, indiscriminate slaughter, and a lack of proper sanitary management. Specific knowledge about infectious viral diseases that affect this group of is still limited. In many cases, donkeys and mules are treated like horses, with the physiological differences between these species usually not taken into...
Apt W, Aguilera X, Vega F, Alcaíno H, Zulantay I, Apt P, González V, Retamal C, Rodríguez J, Sandoval J.This study sought to estimate for the first time the prevalence of fascioliasis among the rural population in the Chilean provinces of Curico, Talca, and Linares, while also determining the disease's prevalence among horses and wild rabbits in Curico and Talca and among pigs in Talca. From January 1986 to December 1990 a randomly selected sample of 5,861 persons in the three provinces was given intradermal, complement-fixation, double-diffusion, and immunoelectrophoresis tests to detect antibody to Fasciola hepatica. In addition, the ELISA test was used in Talca and Linares. Fecal specimens fr...
Linde HJ, Kobuch R, Jayasinghe S, Reischl U, Lehn N, Kaulfuss S, Beutin L.We report the first case of a postoperative wound infection caused by Vibrio metschnikovii on the lower right leg of a patient after saphenectomy. Compared to the healing of an uninfected site, that of the right leg was delayed, and a cure was achieved by intensified wound care. Several swabs taken from the infected site grew a gram-negative rod in pure culture that was identified as V. metschnikovii by the VITEK 2 system. The source of the infection was not detected; however, the absence of putative risk factors (exposure to water or shellfish or an episode of diarrhea), the profession of the...
Kumaratilake LM, Thompson RC, Eckert J.Echinococcus granulosus of equine origin from different countries possess uniform morphological characteristics. International Journal for Parasitology16: 529–540. Detailed comparative studies on isolates of larval and adult Echinococcus granulosus of equine origin from England, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, South Africa and New Zealand demonstrated the morphological uniformity of the equine parasite. The morphological features of the equine strain of E. granulosus were fully characterized and it was found that on the basis of morphology alone, this strain could be differentiated ...
Hernández-Mora G, Bonilla-Montoya R, Barrantes-Granados O, Esquivel-Suárez A, Montero-Caballero D, González-Barrientos R, Fallas-Monge Z....Brucellosis has been an endemic disease of cattle and humans in Costa Rica since the beginning of XX century. However, brucellosis in sheep, goats, pigs, water buffaloes, horses and cetaceans, has not been reported in the country. We have performed a brucellosis survey in these host mammal species, from 1999-2016. In addition, we have documented the number of human brucellosis reported cases, from 2003-2016. The brucellosis seroprevalence in goat and sheep herds was 0.98% and 0.7% respectively, with no Brucella isolation. Antibodies against Brucella were not detected in feral or domestic pigs....
Birtles RJ, Laycock G, Kenny MJ, Shaw SE, Day MJ.Between October 1999 and February 2000, 691 blood samples examined routinely for either haematological or virological assessment were screened by culture for the presence of Bartonella species. They came from 615 animals: 360 cats, 211 dogs, 27 horses, 16 cattle and a gorilla. The samples were incubated for long periods on 10 per cent horse blood agar at 37 degrees C in an atmosphere containing 5 per cent carbon dioxide. Isolates were obtained from 35 samples from 34 (9.4 per cent) of the cats, but not from any of the other animals. Comparison of citrate synthase gene sequences from the isolat...
Sule WF, Oluwayelu DO, Adedokun RA, Rufai N, McCracken F, Mansfield KL, Johnson N.To investigate exposure of Nigerian horses to West Nile virus (WNV), we determined the seroprevalence rate of anti-WNV antibody in a cohort of 145 horses. Serum samples were collected from three locations in southwestern Nigeria between October, 2011, and July, 2012. The horses were asymptomatic and unvaccinated against WNV at the time of sampling. All sera were tested using a competition enzyme-linked immmunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by an immunoglobulin M (IgM)-specific ELISA. High rates of anti-WNV antibody prevalence were observed in all locations with a mean level of 90.3% (95% confidence...
