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.
Camino E, Schmid S, Weber F, Pozo P, de Juan L, König M, Cruz-Lopez F.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has ...
Li Y, Wen X, Li M, Moumouni PFA, Galon EM, Guo Q, Rizk MA, Liu M, Li J, Ji S, Tumwebaze MA, Byamukama B, Chahan B, Xuan X.Ticks carry and transmit a wide range of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, and protozoa) that are of importance to humans and animals globally. However, information about the tick-borne pathogens harbored by ticks in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China, is scarce. This study investigated the occurrence of tick species of domestic animals and tick-borne pathogens by using morphological molecular identification and sequence analysis in Turpan, Qitai, Altay, Hejing, Nileke, and Zhaosu counties (XUAR). A total of 5822 adult ticks (females and males) from 12 tick species wer...
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 ...
Akter R, Legione A, Sansom FM, El-Hage CM, Hartley CA, Gilkerson JR, Devlin JM.Equine abortion is a cause of severe economic loss to the equine industry. Equine herpesvirus 1 is considered a primary cause of infectious abortion in horses, however other infectious agents can also cause abortion. Abortions due to zoonotic pathogens have implications for both human and animal health. We determined the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii, Leptospira spp. and Toxoplasma gondii in 600 aborted equine foetal tissues that were submitted to our diagnostic laboratories at the University of Melbourne from 1994 to 2019. Using qPCR we found that the prevalence of C. burnetii was 4%. The h...
Steyn J, Fourie I, Steyl J, Williams J, Stivaktas V, Botha E, van Niekerk S, Reininghaus B, Venter M.Alphaviruses from Africa, such as Middelburg virus (MIDV), and Sindbis virus (SINV), were detected in horses with neurologic disease in South Africa, but their host ranges remain unknown. We investigated the contribution of alphaviruses to neurologic infections and death in wildlife and domestic animals in this country. During 2010-2018, a total of 608 clinical samples from wildlife and nonequine domestic animals that had febrile, neurologic signs or unexplained deaths were tested for alphaviruses. We identified 32 (5.5%) of 608 alphavirus infections (9 SINV and 23 MIDV), mostly in neurotissue...
Mangombi JB, Roqueplo C, Sambou M, Dahmani M, Mediannikov O, Comtet L, Davoust B.Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne disease that can be contracted by direct contact with viremic animals or humans. In West Africa, recurrent CCHF outbreaks have been constantly observed in Mauritania and Senegal. Moreover, acquisition and epidemiology of the infection in humans are correlated with the occurrence and the seroprevalence of the virus in livestock. The main objective of this study is to provide updated information on the local spread of CCHF in animals in the northern region of Senegal. Out of a total of 283 animal sera collected, CCHF-specific antibodies were...
Wang H, Li X, Liu BT.Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) have been rapidly increasing among animals in many countries and have been a great threat to public health. Horse riding is becoming increasingly popular worldwide; however, reports of CRE producing NDM or KPC-2, two prevalent types of carbapenemases, from horses of equestrian club are extremely scarce and KPC-2-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in animals is still rarely characterized. In this study, we identified four NDM-5-producing Escherichia coli isolates from horses in equestrian club in Qingdao, China, and one horse possessing NDM-5-producin...
Can FK, Tekin E, Sezen S, Clutter P.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the demographic characteristics, exposure features, and prophylactic care aspects of cases that presented to the emergency department of 1 state hospital in Turkey between 2013 and 2017 because of the risk of rabies contact. Methods: Data from the retrospective cohort study were obtained from ED records of Erzurum Palandöken State Hospital between August 2013 and June 2017 regarding patients presenting to emergency service after the risk of rabies contact. Evaluation forms included demographic characteristics of the patients, contact type, contacte...
Kim HJ, Yong TS, Shin MH, Lee KJ, Park GM, Suvonkulov U, Kovalenko D, Yu HS.Echinococcosis occurs mainly in areas with heavy livestock farming, such as Central Asia, America, and Australia. Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) infection causes echinococcosis in intermediate hosts, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, and horses. Numerous cases of echinococcosis occur in Uzbekistan as stock farming is a primary industry. Epidemiological and genetic studies of E. granulosus s.l. are very important for mitigating its impact on public health and the economy; however, there are no such studies on E. granulosus s.l. in Uzbekistan. In the present study, to determine wh...
Seo MG, Kwon OD, Kwak D.Lyme borreliosis is one of the most prevalent tick-borne infectious zoonotic diseases caused by spirochetes of the sensu lato group. The present study assessed the risk factors and prevalence of Lyme borreliosis in ticks parasitizing domestic and wild animals. A total of 589 ticks (329 tick pools) collected from animals were identified as , (85.7%), (10.0%), and (4.3%) using morphological and molecular methods in South Korea. In this study, the 5S-23S gene sequences of (6/329, 1.8%) were detected in ticks taken from mammals, including ticks from horses (2/147 pools, 1.4%), wild boar (1/19 ...
Álvarez-Narváez S, Giguère S, Berghaus LJ, Dailey C, Vázquez-Boland JA.Conjugation is one of the main mechanisms involved in the spread and maintenance of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations. We recently showed that the emerging macrolide resistance in the soilborne equine and zoonotic pathogen is conferred by the (46) gene carried on the 87-kb conjugative plasmid pRErm46. Here, we investigated the conjugal transferability of pRErm46 to 14 representative bacteria likely encountered by in the environmental habitat. mating experiments demonstrated conjugation to different members of the genus as well as to and spp. at frequencies ranging from ∼10...
Hii C, Dhand NK, Toribio JLML, Taylor MR, Wiethoelter A, Schembri N, Sawford K, Kung N, Moloney B, Wright T, Field H, Schemann K.Hendra virus (HeV) is an emerging bat-borne virus endemic in Australia that can be transmitted from horses to humans and has a high fatality rate for horses and people. Controversy surrounding HeV risk mitigation measures have strained the veterinarian-horse owner relationship. This study aimed to characterise the veterinarian-horse owner relationship in general and also in the context of HeV by analysing data derived from the 'Horse Owners and Hendra Virus: A Longitudinal Study to Evaluate Risk' (HHALTER) study. Australian horse owners were recruited via emails, social media and word-of-mouth...
Lhermie G, La Ragione RM, Weese JS, Olsen JE, Christensen JP, Guardabassi L.Among the measures taken to preserve the clinical efficacy of highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HP-CIAs), the WHO has recommended avoiding their use in food-producing animals. Little is known regarding the indications for which different antimicrobial classes are used in animals, even in countries where data on antimicrobial use are available. To outline, in a narrative review, the diseases for which HP-CIAs are used in veterinary medicine, highlighting incongruences with international guidelines and disease conditions where effective alternatives to HP-CIAs are missing. Sc...
Hordijk J, Farmakioti E, Smit LAM, Duim B, Graveland H, Theelen MJP, Wagenaar JA.A nationwide study on the occurrence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)/AmpC in nonhospitalized horses in the Netherlands was performed. Molecular characterization was done, and questionnaires were analyzed to identify factors associated with carriage. In total, 796 horse owners were approached; 281 of these submitted a fecal sample from their horse(s), resulting in 362 samples. All samples were cultured qualitatively in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth and subsequently on MacConkey agar, both supplemented with 1 mg/liter cefotaxime (LB+ and MC+). Positive samples were subsequently cultured qu...
Schulze V, Große R, Fürstenau J, Forth LF, Ebinger A, Richter MT, Tappe D, Mertsch T, Klose K, Schlottau K, Hoffmann B, Höper D, Mundhenk L....Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is the causative agent of Borna disease, an often fatal neurologic condition of domestic mammals, including New World camelids, in endemic areas in Central Europe. Recently, BoDV-1 gained further attention by the confirmation of fatal zoonotic infections in humans. Although Borna disease and BoDV-1 have been described already over the past decades, comprehensive reports of Borna disease outbreaks in domestic animals employing state-of-the-art diagnostic methods are missing. Here, we report a series of BoDV-1 infections in a herd of 27 alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in t...
Selim A, Radwan A, Arnaout F.West Nile Virus (WNV) is a flavivirus, mosquito-borne infection and have public health importance worldwide. WNV infection have highly significant impact on animal and human health. The virus has been detected serologically in Egypt among equids. Therefore, the aim of the present study to investigate the serological situation of WNV among horse in north of Egypt and identification of WNV in vector. The serological survey was conducted on 500 serum samples that collected from horses from four governorates at north of Egypt. The infection rate was non-significant differed between four localities...
Guzmán C, Calderón A, Oviedo T, Mattar S, Castañeda J, Rodriguez V, Moraes Figueiredo LT.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an alphavirus that causes encephalitis with a high impact on public health in Latin America. However, only in Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Mexico have found antibodies in VEEV in bats, using immunohistochemistry, the sensitivity and specificity are improved; thus, it is better for demonstrating natural infection in bats as potential hosts. This study aimed to determine the presence of VEEV in tissues of frugivorous bats. Methods: A prospective descriptive cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sampling was carried out in 12 localiti...
Lönker NS, Fechner K, Wahed AAE.One Health (OH) is a crucial concept, where the interference between humans, animals and the environment matters. This review article focusses on the role of horses in maintaining the health of humans and the environment. Horses' impact on environmental health includes their influence on soil and the biodiversity of animal and plant species. Nevertheless, the effect of horses is not usually linear and several factors like plant-animal coevolutionary history, climate and animal density play significant roles. The long history of the relationship between horses and humans is shaped by the servic...
Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Worldwide, horses play critical roles in recreation, food production, transportation, and as working animals. Horses' roles differ by geographical region and the socioeconomic status of the people, but despite modern advances in transportation, which have in some ways altered humans contact with horses, potential risks for equine zoonotic pathogen transmission to humans occur globally. While previous reports have focused upon individual or groups of equine pathogens, to our knowledge, a systematic review of equine zoonoses has never been performed. Using PRISMA's systematic review guidelines...
de Oliveira Filho EF, Carneiro IO, Ribas JRL, Fischer C, Marklewitz M, Junglen S, Netto EM, Franke CR, Drexler JF.An orthobunyavirus termed Fort Sherman virus (FSV) was isolated in 1985 from a febrile US soldier in Panama, yet potential animal reservoirs remained unknown. We investigated sera from 192 clinically healthy peri-domestic animals sampled in northeastern Brazil during 2014-2018 by broadly reactive RT-PCR for orthobunyavirus RNA, including 50 cattle, 57 sheep, 35 goats and 50 horses. One horse sampled in 2018 was positive (0.5%; 95% CI, 0.01-3.2) at 6.2 × 103 viral RNA copies/mL. Genomic comparisons following virus isolation in Vero cells and deep sequencing revealed high identity of translat...
Li F, Wang R, Guo Y, Li N, Feng Y, Xiao L.Limited data are available on infection rates and genetic identity of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Giardia duodenalis in horses and donkeys. In this study, 865 fecal specimens were collected from donkeys (n = 540) and horses (n = 325) in three provinces and autonomous regions in northern China during 2015-2019. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected and genotyped by PCR and sequence analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and G. duodenalis was detected and genotyped by PCR and sequence analyses of the β-giardin, glutamate dehydrogenase, and triosephosphate isomerase g...
Singha H, Shanmugasundaram K, Tripathi BN, Saini S, Khurana SK, Kanani A, Shah N, Mital A, Kanwar P, Bhatt L, Limaye V, Khasa V, Arora R, Gupta S....Equine glanders is an infectious and notifiable bacterial disease caused by Burkholderia mallei. The disease has been reported in South American, African and Asian countries including India. Here, we present the outcome of glanders serosurveillance carried out between January 2015 and December 2018 to know the status of equine glanders among different states in India. A total of 102,071 equid sera from 299 districts of twenty-one states and one union territory were tested for glanders. Samples were screened with Hcp1 indirect ELISA followed by confirmatory diagnosis by CFT. During this four-ye...
Qi M, Ji X, Zhang Y, Wei Z, Jing B, Zhang L, Lin X, Karim MR, Wang H, Sun M.Giardia duodenalis is a zoonotic intestinal parasite infecting humans and mammals worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of G. duodenalis in racehorses in China and genetically characterized it. In total, 621 fecal samples were collected from racehorses at 17 equestrian clubs in 15 cities in China. Forty-eight (7.7%) animals from 11 equestrian clubs were positive for G. duodenalis of assemblages A (n = 10), B (n = 36), and E (n = 2), based on the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of this parasite were...
Niller HH, Angstwurm K, Rubbenstroth D, Schlottau K, Ebinger A, Giese S, Wunderlich S, Banas B, Forth LF, Hoffmann D, Höper D, Schwemmle M, Tappe D....In 2018-19, Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1), the causative agent of Borna disease in horses, sheep, and other domestic mammals, was reported in five human patients with severe to fatal encephalitis in Germany. However, information on case frequencies, clinical courses, and detailed epidemiological analyses are still lacking. We report the occurrence of BoDV-1-associated encephalitis in cases submitted to the Institute of Clinical Microbiology and Hygiene, Regensburg University Hospital, Regensburg, Germany, and provide a detailed description of newly identified cases of BoDV-1-induced encephali...
Verma A, Beigel B, Smola CC, Kitts-Morgan S, Kish D, Nader P, Morgan J, Roberson J, Christmann U, Gruszynski K, Brandt L, Cho E, Murphy K, Goss R.Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease that causes reproductive losses and/or hepatorenal failure in a number of animal species. Wild reservoirs of the disease, such as rodents, harbor the causative bacterium, Leptospira spp., in their kidneys and contaminate the environment by excreting infected urine. In this study, we tested small wild mammals, environmental water, and livestock in the Cumberland Gap region of southeastern Appalachia for the presence of pathogenic Leptospira or leptospiral antibodies. Small wild mammals (n = 101) and environmental water samples (n = 89) were screene...
Tarazona AM, Ceballos MC, Broom DM.Excessive human population growth, uncontrolled use of natural resources, including deforestation, mining, wasteful systems, biodiversity reduction by agriculture, and damaging climate change affect the existence of all animals, including humans. This discussion is now urgent and people are rethinking their links with the animals we use for clothing, food, work, companionship, entertainment, and research. The concepts of one health, one welfare, and one biology are discussed as a background to driving global change. Nothing should be exploited without considering the ethics of the action and t...
Ouslimani SF, Tennah S, Azzag N, Derdour SY, China B, Ghalmi F.The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence of the in horses in different parts of Algeria and to determine risk factors for the infection. Methods: A total of 736 blood samples were collected from horses of various breeds, gender, coat colors, and ages. All horses came from various farms, racecourses, and equestrian centers. The seroprevalence was investigated by three different methods: Indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) as reference method, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and latex agglutination test (LAT). Results: Out of the 736 sera, 178 (24.18%) were positi...
Plata-Hipólito CB, Cedillo-Rosales S, Obregón-Macías N, Hernández-Luna CE, Rodríguez-Padilla C, Tamez-Guerra RS, Contreras-Cordero JF.Despite the uncontrolled distribution of the Influenza A virus through wild birds, the detection of canine influenza virus and equine influenza virus in Mexico was absent until now. Recently, outbreaks of equine and canine influenza have been reported around the world; the virus spreads quickly among animals and there is potential for zoonotic transmission. Methods: Amplification of the Influenza A virus matrix gene from necropsies, nasal and conjunctival swabs from trash service horses and pets/stray dogs was performed through RT-PCR. The seroprevalence was carried out through Sandwich enzyme...
Aguilar CM, Fernández E, de Fernández R, Deane LM.During an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a locality (Las Rosas, Cojedes State, Venezuela) previously non-endemic, 12.9% of humans, 7% of dogs and 21.4% of donkeys (Equus asinus) had lesions with parasites. The agent in the three hosts was identified as Leishmania braziliensis, subspecies braziliensis at least in man and donkey. The probable vector was Lutzomyia panamensis. No infection was found in a small sample of wild mammals examined. The outbreak was apparently linked with the importation of donkeys with ulcers, from endemic areas. The authors call attention to the fact that not o...
Kaufman L, Mendoza L, Standard PG.Culture filtrate antigens of Basidiobolus ranarum and Conidiobolus coronatus were analyzed by immunodiffusion (ID) with homologous rabbit antisera. B. ranarum and C. coronatus were each found to have five specific antigens. Results of tests with heterologous antisera indicated that all of the species shared at least one antigen. ID tests incorporating the specific precipitin bands as references were developed for detection of basidiobolomycosis and conidiobolomycosis. These tests were performed with sera from humans and horses with proven basidiobolomycosis and conidiobolomycosis as well as wi...
Barba M, Fairbanks EL, Daly JM.Members of several different virus families cause equine viral encephalitis, the majority of which are arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) with zoonotic potential. The clinical signs caused are rarely pathognomonic; therefore, a clinical diagnosis is usually presumptive according to the geographical region. However, recent decades have seen expansion of the geographical range and emergence in new regions of numerous viral diseases. In this context, this review presents an overview of the prevalence and distribution of the main viral causes of equine encephalitis and discusses their impact an...
Kung N, McLaughlin A, Taylor M, Moloney B, Wright T, Field H.Hendra virus is a highly pathogenic novel paramyxovirus causing sporadic fatal infection in horses and humans in Australia. Species of fruit-bats (genus Pteropus), commonly known as flying-foxes, are the natural host of the virus. We undertook a survey of horse owners in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia to assess the level of adoption of recommended risk management strategies and to identify impediments to adoption. Survey questionnaires were completed by 1431 respondents from the target states, and from a spectrum of industry sectors. Hendra virus knowledge varied with ...
Niczyporuk JS, Samorek-Salamonowicz E, Lecollinet S, Pancewicz SA, Kozdruń W, Czekaj H.Serum samples of 474 wild birds, 378 horses, and 42 humans with meningitis and lymphocytic meningitis were collected between 2010 and 2014 from different areas of Poland. West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies were detected using competition enzyme linked immunosorbent assays: ELISA-1 ID Screen West Nile Competition, IDvet, ELISA-2 ID Screen West Nile IgM Capture, and ELISA-3 Ingezim West Nile Compac. The antibodies were found in 63 (13.29%) out of 474 wild bird serum samples and in one (0.26%) out of 378 horse serum samples. Fourteen (33.33%) out of 42 sera from patients were positive against WNV a...
Burton AJ, Nydam DV, Dearen TK, Mitchell K, Bowman DD, Xiao L.To date, little is known about the prevalence, genotypes and zoonotic potential of Cryptosporidium spp. affecting horses, especially in North America. A cross-sectional study was conducted in New York, USA between February 25th and May 1st 2009. Fecal samples were collected from three hundred and forty nine 1-10-week-old foals and their dams on 14 different broodmare farms. All fecal samples were screened for Cryptosporidium spp. using a direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA). DNA extraction and PCR-RFLP analysis of the small-subunit (SSU) rRNA gene were performed on all the foal samples. PCR-p...
Azmi K, Tirosh-Levy S, Manasrah M, Mizrahi R, Nasereddin A, Al-Jawabreh A, Ereqat S, Abdeen Z, Lustig Y, Gelman B, Schvartz G, Steinman A.West Nile virus (WNV) epidemiological situation in Israel and Palestine, due to their unique location, draws attention following to the global spread of West Nile fever (WNF). Although much information is available from Israel on clinical cases and prevalence of WNV, clinical cases are rarely reported in Palestine, and prevalence is not known. The objectives of this study were to determine WNV seroprevalence in various domestic animals in Palestine and to reevaluate current seroprevalence, force of infection, and risk factors for WNV exposure in horses in Israel. Sera samples were collected fr...
Westbury HA.The author provides an account of the discovery of a previously undescribed disease of horses and a description of the studies involved in determining the aetiology of the disease. The causative virus, now named Hendra virus (HeV), is the reference virus for a proposed new genus within the virus family Paramyxoviridae. The virus is a lethal zoonotic agent able to cause natural disease in humans and horses and experimentally induced disease in cats, guinea-pigs and mice. The virus also naturally infects species of the family Megachiroptera, mainly subclinically, and such animals are the natural...
Chevalier V, Lancelot R, Diaité A, Mondet B, Sall B, De Lamballerie X.The Ferlo area (north-central Senegal) is characterized by a system of temporary ponds favorable to arboviruses among which West Nile fever (WNF) was already identified. During the rainy season in 2003, a serological study was undertaken on horses to assess the activity of the WNF virus (WNFV) in Barkedji (Ferlo). The observed serological prevalence rate was 78.3% for neutralizing antibodies, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [64.0, 92.7]. This prevalence rate significantly increased with age (P = 10(-5)). This study confirmed that WNF was endemic in the Ferlo. The transmission risks depe...
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.
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...
Jorge RS, Ferreira F, Ferreira Neto JS, Vasconcellos Sde A, Lima Ede S, Morais ZM, Souza GO.Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease affecting most mammals and is distributed throughout the world. Several species of domestic and wild animals may act as reservoirs for this disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the exposure of free-ranging wild carnivores, horses and domestic dogs on a private reserve located in the northern Pantanal (Brazil) and the surrounding areas to Leptospira spp from 2002-2006, 75 free-ranging wild carnivores were captured in the Pantanal and serum samples were collected. In addition, samples from 103 domestic dogs and 23 horses in the region were collecte...
López-Ruiz N, Montaño-Remacha MDC, Durán-Pla E, Pérez-Ruiz M, Navarro-Marí JM, Salamanca-Rivera C, Miranda B, Oyonarte-Gómez S....In Andalusia, Spain, West Nile virus (WNV) surveillance takes place from April to November, during the active vector period. Within this area seroconversion to this virus was evidenced in wild birds in 2004, affecting horses and two humans for the first time in 2010. Since 2010, the virus has been isolated every year in horses, and national and regional surveillance plans have been updated with the epidemiological changes found. WNV is spreading rapidly throughout southern Europe and has caused outbreaks in humans. Here we describe the second WNV outbreak in humans in Andalusia, with three con...
Kostopoulou D, Casaert S, Tzanidakis N, van Doorn D, Demeler J, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Saratsis A, Voutzourakis N, Ehsan A, Doornaert T....Faecal samples were collected from foals between the age of 1 week and 6 months in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Greece. A quantitative direct immunofluorescence assay based on the commercial MERIFLUOR Cryptosporidium/Giardia kit was performed to evaluate the presence of (oo) cysts. Parasite positive samples were genotyped, based on the 18S ribosomal DNA gene and the heat shock protein (HSP70) gene for Cryptosporidium and on the β-giardin gene and the triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) gene for Giardia. In total, 134 foals from Belgium, 44 foals from The Netherlands, 30 foals from Germa...
Pan L, Zhang L, Fan D, Zhang X, Liu H, Lu Q, Xu Q.Q fever is the most widespread zoonosis, and domestic animals are the most common sources of transmission. It is not only difficult to distinguish from other febrile diseases because of the lack of specific clinical manifestations in humans, but it is also difficult to identify the disease in C. burnetii-carrying animals because of the lack of identifiable features. Conventional serodiagnosis requires sera from the acute and convalescent stages of infection, which are unavailable at early diagnosis. Nested PCR and real-time PCR require equipment. In this study, we developed a Loop-Mediated Iso...
Manyweathers J, Field H, Jordan D, Longnecker N, Agho K, Smith C, Taylor M.Hendra virus was identified in horses and humans in 1994, in Queensland, Australia. Flying foxes are the natural host. Horses are thought to acquire infection by direct or indirect contact with infected flying fox urine. Humans are infected from close contact with infected horses. To reduce risk of infection in horses and humans, Australian horse owners are encouraged to vaccinate horses against the virus and adopt property risk mitigation practices that focus on reducing flying fox horse contact and contamination of horses' environment with flying fox bodily fluids. This study investigates up...
Vieira RF, Vieira TS, Nascimento Ddo A, Martins TF, Krawczak FS, Labruna MB, Chandrashekar R, Marcondes M, Biondo AW, Vidotto O.The aims of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of Ehrlichia spp. and risk factors for exposure in a restricted population of dogs, horses, and humans highly exposed to tick bites in a Brazilian rural settlement using a commercial ELISA rapid test and two indirect immunofluorescent assays (IFA) with E. canis and E. chaffeensis crude antigens. Serum samples from 132 dogs, 16 horses and 100 humans were used. Fifty-six out of 132 (42.4%) dogs were seropositive for E. canis. Dogs > one year were more likely to be seropositive for E. canis than dogs ≤ one year (p = 0.0051). Ten/16 (62...
Blanton JD, Krebs JW, Hanlon CA, Rupprecht CE.During 2005, 49 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,417 cases of rabies in nonhuman animals and 1 case in a human being to the CDC, representing a 6.2% decrease from the 6,836 cases in nonhuman animals and 8 cases in human beings reported in 2004. Approximately 92% of the cases were in wildlife, and 8% were in domestic animals. Relative contributions by the major animal groups were as follows: 2,534 raccoons (39.5%), 1,478 skunks (23%), 1,408 bats (21.9%), 376 foxes (5.9%), 269 cats (4.2%), 93 cattle (1.5%), and 76 dogs (1.2%). Compared with numbers of reported cases in 2004, cases in 2005 decre...
Songsermsakul P, Sontag G, Cichna-Markl M, Zentek J, Razzazi-Fazeli E.The paper describes a method for the sensitive and selective determination of zearalenone and its metabolites in urine, plasma and faeces of horses by high performance liquid chromatography and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) mass spectrometry (MS). While only one step sample clean-up by an immunoaffinity column (IAC) was sufficient for plasma samples, urine and faeces samples had to be prepared by a combination of a solid-phase extraction (SPE) and an immunoaffinity column. The method allows the simultaneous determination of zearalenone and all of its metabolites; alpha-zearal...
Efforts to detect West Nile virus (WNV) in the Vojvodina province, northern Serbia, commenced with human and mosquito surveillance in 2005, followed by horse (2009) and wild bird (2012) surveillance. The knowledge obtained regarding WNV circulation, combined with the need for timely detection of virus activity and risk assessment resulted in the implementation of a national surveillance programme integrating mosquito, horse and bird surveillance in 2014. From 2013, the system showed highly satisfactory results in terms of area specificity (the capacity to indicate the spatial distribution of t...
Bouzalas IG, Diakakis N, Chaintoutis SC, Brellou GD, Papanastassopoulou M, Danis K, Vlemmas I, Seuberlich T, Dovas CI.During the summer of 2010, an outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV) infections attributed to a lineage 2 WNV strain was reported among humans and horses in Central Macedonia, Northern Greece. Here, the clinical and laboratory investigation of horses that showed severe neurological signs due to WNV infection is being described. Specifically, between August and September 2010, 17 horses with neurological signs were detected. WNV infection was confirmed in all 17 clinical cases by applying laboratory testing. The duration of WNV-specific IgM antibodies in sera obtained from seven of the clinically af...
Tsegay K, Potts AD, Aklilu N, Lötter C, Gummow B.Little work has been done on diseases of horses in Ethiopia or tropical regions of the world. Yet, Ethiopia has the largest horse population in Africa and their horses play a pivotal role in their economy as traction animals. A serological and questionnaire survey was therefore conducted to determine the circulating serovars of Leptospira and their association with potential risk factors in the cart horse population of Central and Southern Ethiopia. A total of 184 out of 418 cart horses from 13 districts had antibody titres of 1:100 or greater to at least one of 16 serovars of Leptospira speci...
Del Piero F, Wilkins PA, Dubovi EJ, Biolatti B, Cantile C.Natural eastern equine encephalitis alphavirus (EEEV) infection was diagnosed in two adult horses with anorexia and colic, changes in sensorium, hyperexcitability, and terminal severe depression. Myocardium, tunica muscularis of stomach, intestine, urinary bladder, and spleen capsule had coagulative necrosis and perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate. Central nervous system (CNS) lesions were diffuse polioencephalomyelitis with leptomeningitis characterized by perivascular T lymphocyte cuffing, marked gliosis, neuronophagia, and multifocal microabscesses. Lesions were more prominent within cerebr...
Wagner B, Glaser A, Hillegas JM, Erb H, Gold C, Freer H.West Nile virus (WNV) is a zoonotic pathogen of global importance. In horses with neurological signs, detection of WNV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) in serum is widely used to identify clinical cases of WNV encephalitis. Here, we describe the development of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to equine IgM which were used in a WNV IgM-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Their performance was compared to an established assay based on polyclonal anti-IgM. Check test serum samples from the National Veterinary Service Laboratory (NVSL) were used to evaluate the performance of the th...
Bourély C, Cazeau G, Jarrige N, Haenni M, Gay E, Leblond A.Horses are one of the potential reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants that could be transferred to human subjects. Objective: To describe the AMR patterns of major bacteria isolated from diseased horses in France. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Data collected between 2012 and 2016 by RESAPATH, the French national surveillance network for AMR, were analysed. Only antimicrobials relevant in veterinary and human medicine for the isolated bacteria were considered. Mono- and multidrug resistance were calculated. The resistance proportions of major equine di...
Gill GS, Singh BB, Dhand NK, Aulakh RS, Sandhu BS, Ward MP, Brookes VJ.Rabies is a devastating zoonotic disease of mammals that causes encephalitis and death. It is endemic in India, with an estimated annual 20,000 human deaths (one-third of the global rabies burden). The magnitude of animal rabies incidence is unknown. In four sub-districts of Punjab, India, we monitored canine and livestock populations from August 15, 2016 to August 14, 2017. Demographic, clinical and rabies diagnostic laboratory (RDL) data were collected from suspected cases of rabies. The annual incidence rate / 10,000 animal years at risk (95% CI) in each sub-district was estimated for each ...
Kim HJ, Yong TS, Shin MH, Lee KJ, Park GM, Suvonkulov U, Kovalenko D, Yu HS.Echinococcosis occurs mainly in areas with heavy livestock farming, such as Central Asia, America, and Australia. Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (s.l.) infection causes echinococcosis in intermediate hosts, such as sheep, cattle, goats, camels, and horses. Numerous cases of echinococcosis occur in Uzbekistan as stock farming is a primary industry. Epidemiological and genetic studies of E. granulosus s.l. are very important for mitigating its impact on public health and the economy; however, there are no such studies on E. granulosus s.l. in Uzbekistan. In the present study, to determine wh...
McFrederick QS, Haselkorn TS, Verocai GG, Jaenike J.Parasites in the genus Onchocerca infect humans, ruminants, camels, horses, suids, and canids, with effects ranging from relatively benign to debilitating. In North America, Onchocerca cervipedis is the sole species known to infect cervids, while at least 5 Onchocerca species infect Eurasian cervids. In this study, we report the discovery of a cervid-parasitizing Onchocerca only distantly related to O. cervipedis. To reconstruct the phylogenetic history of the genus Onchocerca, we used newly acquired DNA sequence from O. cervipedis (from moose in Northwest Territories, Canada) and from the new...
Vincze S, Brandenburg AG, Espelage W, Stamm I, Wieler LH, Kopp PA, Lübke-Becker A, Walther B.Increasing numbers of companion animals suffering from infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been reported in the recent past. These infections are of particular concern because of the limited treatment options for MRSA and their transferability to humans. Since MRSA lineages isolated from infected companion animals often mirror typical human epidemic strains circulating in the same region, successful strategies to combat MRSA need strong and coordinated efforts from both, the human and the veterinary field according to the "One Health" concept. Hence, to iden...
