Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
A method for reproducing fatal idiopathic colitis (colitis X) in ponies and isolation of a clostridium as a possible agent.
Abstract: Severe colitis was induced in two ponies after oral pretreatment with clindamycin and lincomycin, followed by intestinal content from two horses which had died from naturally-occurring idiopathic colitis. Two ponies treated with antibiotic alone, and two ponies treated with intestinal content alone, were unaffected. In a further study, three ponies treated on separate occasions with lincomycin, administered orally, died or were destroyed 67 to 72 h after initial treatment. No established salmonella, yersinia or campylobacter pathogens were isolated from these ponies, but a clostridium closely resembling Clostridium cadaveris was isolated as the predominant clostridium from them all and from the colonic content of one of six horses which died from naturally-occurring idiopathic colitis. It was not isolated from six horses with non-fatal diarrhoea. This clostridium is a candidate as an agent of some cases of fatal colitis in horses.
Publication Date: 1988-11-01 PubMed ID: 3215166DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1988.tb01563.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This study explores a method of reproducing fatal idiopathic colitis in ponies and suggests a specific type of bacteria, Clostridium cadaveris, as a possible cause of the disease.
Introduction
The researchers hypothesized that a specific type of bacteria, known as Clostridium cadaveris, may be a possible cause of a severe intestinal disease in ponies known as idiopathic colitis. This disease is often fatal, and its exact cause is usually unknown, hence the term “idiopathic”.
Methodology
- In order to test their hypothesis, they treated two ponies with two specific antibiotics, clindamycin and lincomycin, and then exposed them to intestinal content from two horses that died from this disease.
- They also conducted control experiments where two ponies received only antibiotic treatment and two got only the intestinal content. These two groups didn’t show signs of colitis.
- In another experiment three ponies separately received lincomycin orally and were observed for between 67 and 72 hours.
Results
- What they found from these experiments is that the ponies that received both antibiotics and exposure to the diseased intestinal content developed severe colitis, indicating that the bacteria within the intestinal content, combined with the antibiotics, was causing the disease.
- The three ponies treated with lincomycin also developed the disease and either died or had to be euthanized.
- No common pathogens were isolated from these ponies. However, a clostridium that closely resembled Clostridium cadaveris was found in all of them and in the colon of one out of six horses that died from the naturally-occurring disease.
Conclusion
Based on this evidence, the researchers concluded that Clostridium cadaveris and possibly the effect of antibiotics could be a potential cause of some cases of fatal colitis in horses. This finding could have implications for treatment and prevention strategies of this disease in the future.
Cite This Article
APA
Prescott JF, Staempfli HR, Barker IK, Bettoni R, Delaney K.
(1988).
A method for reproducing fatal idiopathic colitis (colitis X) in ponies and isolation of a clostridium as a possible agent.
Equine Vet J, 20(6), 417-420.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1988.tb01563.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Clindamycin
- Clostridium / isolation & purification
- Clostridium Infections / etiology
- Clostridium Infections / pathology
- Clostridium Infections / veterinary
- Colitis / etiology
- Colitis / pathology
- Colitis / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / etiology
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Intestine, Large / microbiology
- Lincomycin
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Arroyo LG, Gomez DE, Martins C. Equine duodenitis-proximal jejunitis: A review. Can Vet J 2018 May;59(5):510-517.
- Staempfli HR, Townsend HG, Prescott JF. Prognostic features and clinical presentation of acute idiopathic enterocolitis in horses. Can Vet J 1991 Apr;32(4):232-7.
- Hathcock TL, Schumacher J, Wright JC, Stringfellow J. The prevalence of Aeromonas species in feces of horses with diarrhea. J Vet Intern Med 1999 Jul-Aug;13(4):357-60.
- Herholz C, Miserez R, Nicolet J, Frey J, Popoff M, Gibert M, Gerber H, Straub R. Prevalence of beta2-toxigenic Clostridium perfringens in horses with intestinal disorders. J Clin Microbiol 1999 Feb;37(2):358-61.
- Songer JG. Clostridial enteric diseases of domestic animals. Clin Microbiol Rev 1996 Apr;9(2):216-34.
- Staempfli HR, Prescott JF, Brash ML. Lincomycin-induced severe colitis in ponies: association with Clostridium cadaveris. Can J Vet Res 1992 Apr;56(2):168-9.
- Staempfli HR, Prescott JF, Carman RJ, McCutcheon LJ. Use of bacitracin in the prevention and treatment of experimentally-induced idiopathic colitis in horses. Can J Vet Res 1992 Jul;56(3):233-6.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
