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.
Anderson C, Baha H, Boghdeh N, Barrera M, Alem F, Narayanan A.Zoonotic pathogens that are vector-transmitted have and continue to contribute to several emerging infections globally. In recent years, spillover events of such zoonotic pathogens have increased in frequency as a result of direct contact with livestock, wildlife, and urbanization, forcing animals from their natural habitats. Equines serve as reservoir hosts for vector-transmitted zoonotic viruses that are also capable of infecting humans and causing disease. From a One Health perspective, equine viruses, therefore, pose major concerns for periodic outbreaks globally. Several equine viruses ha...
Ratzlaff FR, Osmari V, da Silva D, de Paula Vasconcellos JS, Pötter L, Fernandes FD, de Mello Filho JA, de Avila Botton S, Vogel FSF, Sangioni LA.Leishmaniasis is a zoonosis caused by protozoan species of the genus Leishmania. It generates different clinical manifestations in humans and animals, and it infects multiple hosts. Leishmania parasites are transmitted by sandfly vectors. The main objective of this systematic review was to identify the host, or reservoir animal species, of Leishmania spp., with the exception of domestic dogs, that were recorded in Brazil. This review included identification of diagnostic methods, and the species of protozoan circulating in the country. For this purpose, a literature search was conducted across...
Kropich-Grant JN, Wiley KE, Manyweathers J, Thompson KR, Brookes VJ.Hendra virus disease (HeVD) is an emerging zoonosis in Australia, resulting from the transmission of Hendra virus (HeV) to horses from Pteropus bats. Vaccine uptake for horses is low despite the high case fatality rate of HeVD in both horses and people. We reviewed evidence-based communication interventions to promote and improve HeV vaccine uptake for horses by horse owners and conducted a preliminary evaluation of potential drivers for HeV vaccine uptake using the Behavioural and Social Drivers of Vaccination (BeSD) framework developed by the World Health Organization. Six records were eligi...
Ricard RM, Burton J, Chow-Lockerbie B, Wobeser B.Chlamydiae are reported to cause abortion in several species, however the association between Chlamydia sp. and equine abortions is poorly understood. A zoonotic transfer event of C. psittaci from aborted equine tissues in Australia has emphasized the need to better understand the prevalence of this pathogen in equine populations. The prevalence of chlamydia in equine abortions in North America has not been investigated thoroughly. We examined 99 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded placental samples submitted between 2009 and 2020 from equine abortions in Western Canada using chlamydia-specific ...
Gothe LMR, Ganzenberg S, Ziegler U, Obiegala A, Lohmann KL, Sieg M, Vahlenkamp TW, Groschup MH, Hörügel U, Pfeffer M.Since 2018, autochthonous West Nile virus (WNV) infections have been regularly reported in eastern-central Germany. While clinically apparent infections in humans and horses are not frequent, seroprevalence studies in horses may allow the tracing of WNV and related flaviviruses transmission, such as tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and Usutu virus (USUV), and consequently help to estimate the risk of human infections. Hence, the aim of our study was to follow the seropositive ratio against these three viruses in horses in Saxony, Saxony Anhalt, and Brandenburg and to describe their geograp...
Pimenta J, Pinto AR, Saavedra MJ, Cotovio M.Horses are considered as reservoirs of multidrug resistant bacteria that can be spread through the environment and possibly to humans. The aim of this study was to characterize the oral Gram-negative microbiota of healthy horses and evaluate their antimicrobial susceptibility profile in a One Health approach. For this purpose, samples were collected from the gingival margin of healthy horses, free of antimicrobial therapy, cultured in selective mediums, identified, and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Fifty-five Gram-negative isolates were identified, with 89.5% being zoonotic and 62% ...
Dorneles EMS, Santana JA, Costa ACTRB, Junqueira DG, Heinemann MB, Lage AP.Brucellosis in equines, including horses, donkeys, and mules, is characterized by abscesses in tendons, bursae, and joints. Reproductive disorders, which are common in other animals, are rare in both males and females. Joint breeding of horses, cattle, and pigs was found as the main risk factor for equine brucellosis, with the transmission from equines to cattle or among equines possible, although unlikely. Hence, evaluation of the disease in equines can be considered an indirect indicator of the effectiveness of brucellosis control measures employed for other domestic species. Generally, the ...
Ramin A, Abdollahpour G, Hosseinzadeh A, Azizzadeh F, Ramin P, Klalili Y, Sanajo D, Iran Nezhad S.Leptospirosis, a zoonotic disease, is characterized by fever, jaundice, abortion and hemo-globinuria. It is widespread and the determination of the dominant serotype in the animal species of each region accelerates the control and prevention program. 862 blood samples were prepared from ruminants and equines. Serum antibody of leptospira serovars were determined based on gender and age parameters. Sera were examined by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) with six live serotypes. The overall prevalence was 22.30%, with the highest (37.00%) and the lowest (6.60%) in Holsteins and mules, respect...
Laidoudi Y, Rousset E, Dessimoulie AS, Prigent M, Raptopoulo A, Huteau Q, Chabbert E, Navarro C, Fournier PE, Davoust B., also known as the causal agent of Q fever, is a zoonotic pathogen infecting humans and several animal species. Here, we investigated the epidemiological context of from an area in the Hérault department in southern France, using the One Health paradigm. In total, 13 human cases of Q fever were diagnosed over the last three years in an area comprising four villages. Serological and molecular investigations conducted on the representative animal population, as well as wind data, indicated that some of the recent cases are likely to have originated from a sheepfold, which revealed bacterial c...
Museux K, Arcari G, Rodrigo G, Hennart M, Badell E, Toubiana J, Brisse S.Corynebacteria of the diphtheriae species complex (CdSC) can cause diphtheria in humans and have been reported from companion animals. We aimed to describe animal infection cases caused by CdSC isolates. A total of 18,308 animals (dogs, cats, horses, and small mammals) with rhinitis, dermatitis, nonhealing wounds, and otitis were sampled in metropolitan France (August 2019 to August 2021). Data on symptoms, age, breed, and the administrative region of origin were collected. Cultured bacteria were analyzed for tox gene presence, production of the diphtheria toxin, and antimicrobial susceptibili...
Eichenberger EM, Dent A, Hayes T, Woc-Colburn L.Streptococcus equi is an opportunistic pathogen in horses that has rarely been transmitted to humans. Here we present a zoonotic S. equi meningitis case in a kidney transplant recipient with exposure to infected horses. We discuss the patient's risk factors, clinical presentation, and management in the context of the limited literature on S. equi meningitis.
Marzok M, Al-Jabr OA, Salem M, Alkashif K, Sayed-Ahmed M, Wakid MH, Kandeel M, Selim A. is classified as intracellular protozoa and is one of the major zoonotic parasites. Most warm-blooded intermediate hosts, including humans, are commonly infected by this parasite. The epidemiology of infection in Egyptian horses is currently poorly understood. Methods: 420 blood samples were randomly collected from horses raised in four governorates in Northern Egypt (110 each from Giza and Kafr El Sheikh, and 100 each from Qalyubia and Gharbia) to investigate the existence of antibodies against using a commercial ELISA kit, and to ascertain the risk factors for the infection. Results: the ...
Anderson T, Hamond C, Haluch A, Toot K, Nally JE, LeCount K, Schlater LK.Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease. Pathogenic leptospires colonize the renal tubules and genital tract of animals and are excreted via urine. Transmission occurs via direct contact or through contaminated water or soil. The microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is the gold standard for the serodiagnosis of leptospirosis. The present study aims to evaluate animal exposure to Leptospira in the U.S. and Puerto Rico during the period 2018-2020. The presence of antibodies against pathogenic Leptospira spp. was assessed with the MAT according to the standards of the World Organisation for...
Traversa D, Milillo P, Maggi R, Simonato G, Di Cesare A, Pezzuto C, Grillini M, Morelli S, Colombo M, Passarelli A, Grassano A, Serio P, Losurdo M....Equine and canine anaplasmosis and borreliosis are major tick-borne zoonotic diseases caused by and various species of (the most important being s.l.), respectively. This study evaluated the seroexposure to and in dogs and horses used in Animal-Assisted Interventions or living in contact with children, elderly people or immunocompromised persons. A total of 150 horses and 150 dogs living in Italy were equally divided into clinically healthy animals and animals with at least one clinical sign compatible with borreliosis and/or anaplasmosis (present at clinical examination or reported in th...
Bonilla-Aldana DK, Bonilla Carvajal CD, Moreno-Ramos E, Barboza JJ, Rodriguez-Morales AJ.Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) viruses are zoonotic pathogens affecting humans, particularly equines. These neuroarboviruses compromise the central nervous system and can be fatal in different hosts. Both have significantly influenced Colombia; however, few studies analyse its behaviour, and none develop maps using geographic information systems to characterise it. To describe the temporal-spatial distribution of those viruses in Colombia between 2008 and 2019. Retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study, based on weekly reports by ...
Wang H, Liu S, Lv Y, Wei W.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an emerging zoonotic virus in the alphavirus genus. It can be transmitted to humans due to spillover from equid-mosquito cycles. The symptoms caused by VEEV include fever, headache, myalgia, nausea, and vomiting. It can also cause encephalitis in severe cases. The evolutionary features of VEEV are largely unknown. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the codon usage pattern of VEEV by computing a variety of indicators, such as effective number of codons (ENc), codon adaptation index (CAI), relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU), on 130 VEEV ...
West Nile virus (WNV) is a member of the Japanese encephalitis serocomplex, which was first described in 1937 as neurotropic virus in Uganda in 1937. Subsequently, WNV was identified in the rest of the old-world and from 1999 in North America. Birds are the primary hosts, and WNV is maintained in a bird-mosquito-bird cycle, with pigs as amplifying hosts and humans and horses as incidental hosts. WNV transmission is warranted by mosquitoes, usually of the spp., with a tendency to spill over when mosquitoes' populations build up. Other types of transmissions have been described in endemic areas...
White RT, Jelocnik M, Klukowski N, Haque MH, Sarker S.Chlamydia psittaci is a zoonotic pathogen that infects birds, humans, and other mammals. Notably, recent studies suggested the human-to-human transmission of C. psittaci, and this pathogen also causes equine reproductive loss in Australia. Molecular studies in Australia to date have focused on and described clonal sequence type (ST)24 strains infecting horses, wild psittacine, and humans. In contrast, the genetic identity of C. psittaci strains from captive psittacine hosts is scarce. In 2022, C. psittaci was detected in the faeces of a healthy captive blue-fronted parrot (Amazona aestiva). Ge...
Tang Z, Li X, Wang X, Zhang C, Zou L, Ren H, Liu W. () is one of the foremost pathogens responsible for diarrhea in foals. As antibiotic resistance increases, phages that specifically lyse bacteria are of great interest to us with regard to . In this study, a novel phage DCp1 was isolated from the sewage of a donkey farm. Phage DCp1 had a non-contractile short tail (40 nm in length) and a regular icosahedral head (46 nm in diameter). Whole-genome sequencing indicated that phage DCp1 had a linear double-stranded DNA genome with a total length of 18,555 bp and a G + C content of 28.2%. A total of 25 ORFs were identified in the genome, 6 of whic...
Muniz APM, Tolesano-Pascoli G, Vieira RBK, Polli MG, Rodrigues VDS, Gonzaga HT, Mamede CCN, Da Cunha NC, Szabó MJP, Yokosawa J.Rickettsia rickettsii is the etiological agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is an important tick-borne zoonosis and, in Brazil, it causes Brazilian spotted fever, which has high lethality rate. This study aimed to evaluate a synthetic peptide corresponding to a segment of the outer membrane protein A (OmpA) as an antigen in a serological test for the diagnosis of rickettsial infections. The amino acid sequence of the peptide was selected by predicting B cell epitopes using B Cell Epitope Prediction (Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource) and Epitopia and OmpA sequences of Ric...
Ferreira PFA, Xavier JF, Nunes JF, Fonseca IP, de Mattos de Oliveira Coelho S, Soares de Souza MM, da Silva Coelho I.Livestock waste is widely used in agriculture. Although they provide benefits to the soil, and consequently to plants, they have the potential to contaminate the environment, as they contain pathogenic microorganisms and determinants of antimicrobial resistance, if not properly managed. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of composting horse bedding and poultry litter in organic and conventional production systems on the occurrence of bacteria in the Enterobacteriales order and to identify their antimicrobial resistance profiles. Bacterial strains were isolated from Salmonella-Sh...
Sewgobind S, Johnson N, Mansfield KL.Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an infection that occurs predominantly in Asia and the Pacific Islands. It is transmitted by mosquito bites, with the main vector being Culex tritaeniorhynchus, and is maintained in enzootic cycles involving pigs, wild birds and mosquitoes. JE is caused by infection with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a zoonotic pathogen that also causes disease in mammals such as pigs and horses. In humans, most symptoms are mild or flu-like but can progress to encephalitis. Pigs are considered amplification hosts, and sows may have gestational complications. Horses may exhib...
Seo MG, Ouh IO, Kwak D.A clinical case of was reported for the first time in our previous study (2019) in a horse, a nondefinitive host. Although is a ruminant and not a zoonotic pathogen, it is responsible for persistent infections in horses. In this follow-up study, the prevalence of spp., including , was assessed in horse blood and lung tissue samples to fully understand spp. pathogen distribution and the potential risk factors of infection. Among 1696 samples, including 1433 blood samples from farms nationwide and 263 lung tissue samples from horse abattoirs on Jeju Island, a total of 29 samples (1.7%) teste...
Wang X, Wise JC, Stewart AJ.Hendra virus (HeV) emerged as a zoonotic pathogen in the 1990s, causing low morbidity but high mortality in humans and horses. Pteropid bats are the natural reservoir of HeV and other important zoonotic viruses such as Nipah and Ebola viruses. Equivac HeV, manufactured by Zoetis (Parkville, Victoria, Australia), is the only commercially available vaccine for horses. There is no commercial vaccine for humans. The epidemiology, clinical features, pathology, diagnosis, management, and prevention of HeV will be reviewed.
Kuttappan DA, Mooyottu S, Sponseller BA.The understanding of the pathogenesis of equine enteric clostridial organisms is an active, evolving field. Advances will improve our knowledge both from the animal welfare and human health perspectives. The zoonotic nature of this group of diseases makes them relevant in the age of One health, as a significant amount of close human-equine interactions occurs for business and pleasure. Economic and welfare reasons prompt a better understanding of enteric clostridial pathogenesis, treatment, and control of the infection in horses and ongoing efforts are needed to advance clinical outcomes.
García-Romero C, Carrillo Bilbao GA, Navarro JC, Martin-Solano S, Saegerman C.Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) are a diverse group of ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses, with the exception of African swine fever virus, that are transmitted by hematophagous arthropods to a vertebrate host. They are the important cause of many diseases due to their ability to spread in different environments and their diversity of vectors. Currently, there is no information on the geographical distribution of the diseases because the routes of transmission and the mammals (wild or domestic) that act as potential hosts are poorly documented or unknown. We conducted a systematic review fro...
Luethy D.The continued recognition and emergence of alphavirus and flavivirus diseases is a growing veterinary and public health concern. As the global environment continues to change, mosquito-borne diseases will continue to evolve and expand. Continued development of readily available vaccines for the prevention of these diseases in humans and animals is essential to controlling epizootics of these diseases. Further research into effective antiviral treatments is also sorely needed. This article describes equine encephalitis viruses with a focus on clinical and public health considerations.
Azócar-Aedo L.Leptospirosis is an important zoonosis worldwide. This disease affects numerous animal species, some of them are classified as "maintenance hosts", and others are categorized as "incidental hosts". Humans are at risk of becoming infected by having contact with domestic and wild animals. In this paper, general aspects of the etiology and transmission of leptospirosis are addressed, data regarding the clinical presentation of the pathology in humans and animals are also presented, and the results of some epidemiological studies on leptospirosis carried out in Chile in different animal species an...
Lee YR, Lee K, Byun JW, Kim H, So B, Ku BK, Kim HY, Moon BY.Clostridioides difficile is an etiological agent of enteric diseases in humans and animals. Animals are considered a potential reservoir due to the genetic and antimicrobial resistance similarities between human and animal C. difficile isolates. In this study, we evaluated the genetic characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles of C. difficile isolated from 942 fecal samples collected from horses in South Korea during 2019-2020. Methods: The C. difficile isolates were tested for toxin genes including tcdA (A), tcdB (B), and cdtAB (CDT) and deletions of the tcdC gene by PCR. In add...
Kohnen AB, Wiedenheft AM, Traub-Dargatz JL, Short DM, Cook KL, Lantz K, Morningstar-Shaw B, Lawrence JP, House S, Marshall KL, Rao S.Several studies have investigated antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli isolated from hospitalized horses, but studies conducted on community-based populations of equids are limited. The factors associated with AMR in these bacteria in the general horse population are not well understood. The primary objective of our study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella and describe antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella and E. coli from equids across the United States. The second objective was to identify associations between health management and biosecurity...
Donadieu E, Bahuon C, Lowenski S, Zientara S, Coulpier M, Lecollinet S.West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that cycles between mosquitoes and birds but that can also infect humans, horses, and other vertebrate animals. In most humans, WNV infection remains subclinical. However, 20%-40% of those infected may develop WNV disease, with symptoms ranging from fever to meningoencephalitis. A large variety of WNV strains have been described worldwide. Based on their genetic differences, they have been classified into eight lineages; the pathogenic strains belong to lineages 1 and 2. Ten years ago, Beasley et al. (2002) found that dramatic differences exist...
Gimenez C, Casado N, Criado-Fornelio A, de Miguel FA, Dominguez-Peñafiel G.This study reports a molecular survey of Hepatozoon species and of the order Piroplasmida in the Province of Burgos, northern Spain. The diagnostic techniques employed included PCR and the sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene. Eighty-nine blood samples from domestic animals plus 138 blood/coagulated blood samples from wild mammals were examined. Theilerid protozoa were found at relatively high frequencies in bovines (14.6%) and horses (36%). Theileria buffeli, T. sergenti and T. annulata were diagnosed in cows. T. equi was common in horses and T. annae was found in a donkey for the first time. A ne...
Ripoll CM, Remondegui CE, Ordonez G, Arazamendi R, Fusaro H, Hyman MJ, Paddock CD, Zaki SR, Olson JG, Santos-Buch CA.Between November 1993 and March 1994, a cluster 6 pediatric patients with acute febrile illnesses associated with rashes was identified in Jujuy Province, Argentina. Immunohistochemical staining of tissues confirmed spotted fever group rickettsial infection in a patient with fatal disease, and testing of serum of a patient convalescing from the illness by using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) demonstrated antibodies reactive with spotted fever group rickettsiae. A serosurvey was conducted among 16 households in proximity to the index case. Of 105 healthy subjects evaluated by IFA, 1...
Arroyo LG, Kruth SA, Willey BM, Staempfli HR, Low DE, Weese JS.Molecular typing of Clostridium difficile isolates from animals and humans may be useful for evaluation of the possibility for interspecies transmission. The objective of this study was to evaluate C. difficile isolates from domestic animals and humans using PCR ribotyping. Isolates were also tested using PCR for the presence of genes encoding toxins A and B. One hundred and thirty-three isolates of C. difficile from dogs (n = 92), horses (n = 21) and humans (n = 20), plus one each from a cat and a calf, were evaluated. Overall, 23 ribotypes were identified. Of these, nine were identified from...
Beck C, Leparc Goffart I, Franke F, Gonzalez G, Dumarest M, Lowenski S, Blanchard Y, Lucas P, Lamballerie X, Grard G, Durand GA, Zientara S....Since 2015, annual West Nile virus (WNV) outbreaks of varying intensities have been reported in France. Recent intensification of enzootic WNV circulation was observed in the South of France with most horse cases detected in 2015 ( = 49), 2018 ( = 13), and 2019 ( = 13). A WNV lineage 1 strain was isolated from a horse suffering from West Nile neuro-invasive disease (WNND) during the 2015 episode in the Camargue area. A breaking point in WNV epidemiology was achieved in 2018, when WNV lineage 2 emerged in Southeastern areas. This virus most probably originated from WNV spread from Northern Ital...
Vasconcelos PF, Da Rosa JF, Da Rosa AP, Dégallier N, Pinheiro Fde P, Sá Filho GC.An overview of ecological, epidemiological and clinical findings of potential arthropod-borne encephalitis viruses circulating in the Amazon Region of Brazil are discussed. These viruses are the Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE), St. Louis Encephalitis (SLE), Mucambo (MUC) and Pixuna (PIX). These last two are subtypes (III and IV) of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus. The areas of study were the highways and projects of development, as well as places where outbreaks of human diseases caused by arboviruses had been detected. These viruses are widespread in ...
Benavides JA, Salgado-Caxito M, Opazo-Capurro A, González Muñoz P, Piñeiro A, Otto Medina M, Rivas L, Munita J, Millán J.Antibiotic-resistant bacteria of critical importance for global health such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamases-producing (ESBL)- have been detected in livestock, dogs, and wildlife worldwide. However, the dynamics of ESBL- between these animals remains poorly understood, particularly in small-scale farms of low and middle-income countries where contact between species can be frequent. We compared the prevalence of fecal carriage of ESBL- among 332 livestock (207 cows, 15 pigs, 60 horses, 40 sheep, 6 goats, 4 chickens), 82 dogs, and wildlife including 131 European rabbits, 30 rodents, and 12 ...
Walter S, Rasche A, Moreira-Soto A, Pfaender S, Bletsa M, Corman VM, Aguilar-Setien A, García-Lacy F, Hans A, Todt D, Schuler G....The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major human pathogen. Genetically related viruses in animals suggest a zoonotic origin of HCV. The closest relative of HCV is found in horses (termed equine hepacivirus [EqHV]). However, low EqHV genetic diversity implies relatively recent acquisition of EqHV by horses, making a derivation of HCV from EqHV unlikely. To unravel the EqHV evolutionary history within equid sister species, we analyzed 829 donkeys and 53 mules sampled in nine European, Asian, African, and American countries by molecular and serologic tools for EqHV infection. Antibodies were found in...
Beck C, Lowenski S, Durand B, Bahuon C, Zientara S, Lecollinet S.West Nile Fever is a zoonotic disease caused by a mosquito-borne flavivirus, WNV. By its clinical sensitivity to the disease, the horse is a useful sentinel of infection. Because of the virus' low-level, short-term viraemia in horses, the primary tools used to diagnose WNV are serological tests. Inter-laboratory proficiency tests (ILPTs) were held in 2010 and 2013 to evaluate WNV serological diagnostic tools suited for the European network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for equine diseases. These ILPTs were designed to evaluate the laboratories' and methods' performances in detectin...
Almazán C, Scimeca RC, Reichard MV, Mosqueda J.Babesia and Theileria are apicomplexan parasites that cause established and emerging diseases in humans, domestic and wild animals. These protozoans are transmitted by Ixodid ticks causing babesiosis or theileriosis, both characterized by fever, hemolytic anemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly. In North America (NA), the most common species affecting humans is B. microti, which is distributed in the Northeastern and Upper Midwestern United States (US), where the tick vector Ixodes scapularis is established. In livestock, B. bovis and B. bigemina are the most important pathogens causing bovine babe...
Friedman E, Krause-Parello CA.There is ample evidence that human-animal interaction (HAI) is associated with health. Studies encompass three general categories: those that compare companion animal owners with individuals who do not own companion animals, those examining brief, 'one-off' contacts with animals, and those that review animal-assisted interventions. The health benefits demonstrated typically include reductions in depression and loneliness, while enhancing social interaction or social skills, and decreasing anxiety and arousal. Other health benefits associated with companion animals include the promotion of exer...
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...
Ergunay K, Gunay F, Erisoz Kasap O, Oter K, Gargari S, Karaoglu T, Tezcan S, Cabalar M, Yildirim Y, Emekdas G, Alten B, Ozkul A.West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus with significant impact on human and animal health, has recently demonstrated an expanded zone of activity globally. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency and distribution of WNV infections in potential vectors and several mammal and avian species in Turkey, where previous data indicate viral circulation. The study was conducted in 15 provinces across Turkey during 2011-2013. In addition, the entomological study was extended to 4 districts of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. WNV exposure was determined in humans, horses...
Lin Y, Barker E, Kislow J, Kaldhone P, Stemper ME, Pantrangi M, Moore FM, Hall M, Fritsche TR, Novicki T, Foley SL, Shukla SK.Not much is known about the zoonotic transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in companion animals in the United States. We report the rate of prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA recovered from clinical samples of animals requiring treatment at veterinary clinics throughout the upper midwestern and northeastern United States. Methods: We compared phenotypes, genotypes, and virulence profiles of the MRSA isolates identified in companion animals, such as cats, dogs, horses, and pigs, with typical human nosocomial and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) genotypes to assess ...
Suminda GGD, Bhandari S, Won Y, Goutam U, Kanth Pulicherla K, Son YO, Ghosh M.Increasing globalization, agricultural intensification, urbanization, and climatic changes have resulted in a significant recent increase in emerging infectious zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are becoming more common, so innovative, effective, and integrative research is required to better understand their transmission, ecological implications, and dynamics at wildlife-human interfaces. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) methodologies have enormous potential for unraveling these contingencies and improving our understanding, but they are only now beginning to be realized in livestock resea...
Birhanu H, Fikru R, Said M, Kidane W, Gebrehiwot T, Hagos A, Alemu T, Dawit T, Berkvens D, Goddeeris BM, Büscher P.African animal trypanosomosis, transmitted cyclically by tsetse flies or mechanically by other biting flies, causes serious inflictions to livestock health. This study investigates the extent of non-tsetse transmitted animal trypanosomosis (NTTAT) by Trypanosoma (T.) evansi and T. vivax in domestic animals in the tsetse-free regions of Northern Ethiopia, Afar and Tigray. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 754 dromedary camels, 493 cattle, 264 goats, 181 sheep, 84 donkeys, 25 horses and 10 mules. The microhaematocrit centrifugation technique was used as parasitological test. Plas...
Qi M, Wang R, Wang H, Jian F, Li J, Zhao J, Dong H, Zhu H, Ning C, Zhang L.In present study, 262 fecal specimens were collected from 12 groups of grazing horses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. The specimens were subjected to PCR and sequencing analyses of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). The overall prevalence of E. bieneusi in horses was 30.9% (81/262). No significant differences in prevalence were observed between horses of different ages or sexes. Nineteen genotypes were identified: 15 known genotypes (BEB6, CHG19, CM6, CM7, CM8, CS-1, CS-4, D, EpbA, EbpC, G, horse1, horse2, O, and Peru8) and four new genotypes (XJH1-XJH4). Six ...
McCarthy AJ, Lindsay JA, Loeffler A.Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to pose a major threat to human health. In animals, MRSA has become established as a veterinary pathogen in pets and horses; in livestock, it presents a concern for public health as a reservoir that can infect humans and as a source of transferrable resistance genes. Genetic analyses have revealed that the epidemiology of MRSA is different in different animal hosts. While human hospital-associated MRSA lineages are most commonly involved in pet infection and carriage, horse-specific MRSA most often represent 'traditional' equine S. au...
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...
Bermúdez CS, Zaldívar AY, Spolidorio MG, Moraes-Filho J, Miranda RJ, Caballero CM, Mendoza Y, Labruna MB.The present research evaluated the presence of Rickettsia spp. on ectoparasites of horses and dogs (using PCR techniques), and their sera (using immunofluorescence assay) in El Valle de Antón town in Panama. A total of 20 horses and 20 dogs were sampled, finding four species of ectoparasites on dogs (the ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma oblongoguttatum, and the flea Ctenocephalides felis), and two tick species on horses (Amblyomma cajennense and Dermacentor nitens). DNA of Rickettsia amblyommii was found in pools of A. cajennense, D. nitens, and R. sanguineus, while ...
Cuny C, Witte W.MRSA infections in equine clinics were reported from Northern America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. The majority of nosocomial infections in horses is obviously associated with particular MRSA clonal lineages. As already observed for epidemic MRSA in human hospitals more than 10 years ago, a dynamics of MRSA clonal lineages is also observed in European equine clinics: clonal lineages belonging to clonal complex (CC) 8 are on the retreat whereas MRSA attributed to CC398 become increasingly prevalent. The majority of CC398 isolates belong to a subpopulation which is particularly associated with...
Sharma M, Nunez-Garcia J, Kearns AM, Doumith M, Butaye PR, Argudín MA, Lahuerta-Marin A, Pichon B, AbuOun M, Rogers J, Ellis RJ, Teale C, Anjum MF.In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 recovered from S. aureus isolated animals in the UK. To determine possible origins of 12 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates collected after screening more than a thousand S. aureus animal isolates from the UK between 2013 and 2015, whole genome sequences (WGS) of CC398 European, including UK, and non-European isolates from diverse animal hosts were compared. Phylogenetic reconstruction applied to WGS data to assess genetic relatedness of all 89 iso...
Chan J, Doyle B, Branley J, Sheppeard V, Gabor M, Viney K, Quinn H, Janover O, McCready M, Heller J.In November 2014, New South Wales Health was notified of a cluster of respiratory illness in a veterinary school. Active case finding identified another case at a local equine stud. All cases had exposure to the equine fetal membranes of Mare A. This tissue subsequently tested positive for Chlamydia psittaci using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. We conducted a cohort study of the university and stud farm staff to determine risk factors for disease. Nine people were exposed to the fetal membranes of Mare A. Of these, five cases of psittacosis were identified. Two required hosp...
Conte A, Candeloro L, Ippoliti C, Monaco F, De Massis F, Bruno R, Di Sabatino D, Danzetta ML, Benjelloun A, Belkadi B, El Harrak M, Declich S....West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-transmitted Flavivirus belonging to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the Flaviviridae family. Its spread in the Mediterranean basin and the Balkans poses a significant risk to human health and forces public health officials to constantly monitor the virus transmission to ensure prompt application of preventive measures. In this context, predictive tools indicating the areas and periods at major risk of WNV transmission are of paramount importance. Spatial analysis approaches, which use environmental and climatic variables to find suitable habit...
Scott Weese J.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging problem in companion animals, because of difficult-to-treat infections, possible pressure to use antimicrobials that are important in human medicine, and potential zoonotic transmission. The extent and importance of AMR in companion animals are poorly understood, in part because of limited surveillance; however, it is clear that resistance is problematic in many pathogens and commensals, including staphylococci, enterococci, Escherichia coli and Salmonella.
Ali A, Zahid H, Zeb I, Tufail M, Khan S, Haroon M, Tufail M, Bilal M, Hussain M, Alouffi AS, Muñoz-Leal S, Labruna MB.Studies on ticks infesting equids are lacking in various parts of the world, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of ticks infesting equids, associated risk factors and rickettsial detection in ticks from equids in KP. Methods: Inspection of 404 equid hosts from November 2018 to October 2019 resulted in the collection of 550 ticks. Data on tick-associated risk factors were collected from equid owners by means of a questionnaire. After morphological identification, partial DNA sequences of the tick mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were u...
Wagnerová P, Sak B, Květoňová D, Buňatová Z, Civišová H, Maršálek M, Kváč M.Faecal samples were collected from 377 horses on 23 farms with varying management systems in the Czech Republic. Microsporidia were found on 16 farms and the overall prevalence of Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Encephalitozoon cuniculi was 17.3% (66/377) and 6.9% (26/377), respectively. The prevalence of E. cuniculi in horses over 3 years of age was significantly higher (10.0%) compared to younger horses (4.0%). No significant differences in prevalence were observed among stallions, geldings, and mares for both microsporidia. Significantly higher infection rates of E. bieneusi and E. cuniculi wer...
van Niekerk S, Human S, Williams J, van Wilpe E, Pretorius M, Swanepoel R, Venter M.Old World alphaviruses were identified in 52 of 623 horses with febrile or neurologic disease in South Africa. Five of 8 Sindbis virus infections were mild; 2 of 3 fatal cases involved co-infections. Of 44 Middelburg virus infections, 28 caused neurologic disease; 12 were fatal. Middelburg virus likely has zoonotic potential.
Field H, Crameri G, Kung NY, Wang LF.Hendra virus, a novel and fatally zoonotic member of the family Paramyxoviridae, was first described in Australia in 1994. Periodic spillover from its natural host (fruit bats) results in catastrophic disease in horses and occasionally the subsequent infection of humans. Prior to 2011, 14 equine incidents involving seven human cases (four fatal) were recorded. The year 2011 saw a dramatic departure from the sporadic incidents of the previous 16 years, with a cluster of 18 incidents in a single 3-month period. The fundamental difference in 2011 was the total number of incidents, the geographic ...
Li B, Wang H, Liang G.Getah virus (GETV) is a zoonotic virus transmitted by mosquitoes, belonging to the family, genus. It was first isolated from mosquitoes in Malaysia in 1955, being widespread in island countries in the South Pacific region. Since the beginning of the 21st century, GETV expanded its range and geographical distribution from low-latitude tropical regions to 60° north latitude, being isolated from 17 different species of mosquitoes belonging to five genera of Culicidae (, , , and ), as well as from midges in Eurasia. Molecular genetic evolution analysis revealed large molecular differences betw...
