Association of airborne concentration of virulent Rhodococcus equi with location (stall versus paddock) and month (January through June) on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky.
Abstract: To determine whether the concentration of airborne virulent Rhodococcus equi varied by location (stall vs paddock) and month on horse farms. Methods: Air samples from stalls and paddocks used to house mares and foals on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky. Methods: Air samples from 1 stall and 1 paddock were obtained monthly from each farm from January through June 2009. Concentrations of airborne virulent R equi were determined via a modified colony immunoblot assay. Random-effects logistic regression was used to determine the association of the presence of airborne virulent R equi with location from which air samples were obtained and month during which samples were collected. Results: Of 180 air samples, virulent R equi was identified in 49 (27%) and 13 (7%) obtained from stalls and paddocks, respectively. The OR of detecting virulent R equi in air samples from stalls versus paddocks was 5.2 (95% confidence interval, 2.1 to 13.1). Of 60 air samples, virulent R equi was identified in 25 (42%), 18 (30%), and 6 (10%) obtained from stalls during January and February, March and April, and May and June, respectively. The OR of detecting virulent R equi from stall air samples collected during May and June versus January and February was 0.22 (95% confidence interval, 0.08 to 0.63). Conclusions: Foals were more likely to be exposed to airborne virulent R equi when housed in stalls versus paddocks and earlier (January and February) versus later (May and June) during the foaling season.
Publication Date: 2012-09-28 PubMed ID: 23013187DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.73.10.1603Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article explores the presence of airborne, disease-causing bacteria, Rhodococcus equi, in horse breeding farms in Kentucky. It finds that the location (stalls versus paddocks) and the time of year impacted the concentration of the airborne bacteria.
Methods Used in the Study
- The study was conducted on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky.
- Air samples were collected from both the stalls and paddocks that housed mares and foals.
- These air samples were collected each month from January through to June.
- The concentration of airborne, virulent R. equi in these samples was determined via a modified colony immunoblot assay, which is a procedure to detect specific proteins.
- To understand the relationship of the presence of this bacteria with both the location and the month, random-effects logistic regression was used.
Research Findings
- From the total of 180 air samples taken, the bacteria was identified in 49 (27%) of the samples taken from stalls, and in 13 (7%) of the samples taken from paddocks.
- The odds ratio (OR) of detecting this bacteria in samples from stalls rather than from paddocks was 5.2.
- A breakdown of the samples from stalls further revealed that the bacteria was present in 25 (42%) of the samples collected in January and February, 18 (30%) of those collected in March and April, and 6 (10%) of those collected in May and June.
- There was a lower OR of detecting the bacteria from samples collected in May and June versus those from January and February, at 0.22.
Conclusions
- The study concluded that foals are more likely to be exposed to airborne, virulent Rhodococcus equi bacteria when housed in stalls when compared to paddocks.
- Additionally, there was also a higher chance of exposure earlier in the year (during January and February) compared to later in the year (May and June).
Cite This Article
APA
Cohen ND, Kuskie KR, Smith JL, Slovis NM, Brown SE, Stepusin RS, Chaffin MK, Takai S, Carter CN.
(2012).
Association of airborne concentration of virulent Rhodococcus equi with location (stall versus paddock) and month (January through June) on 30 horse breeding farms in central Kentucky.
Am J Vet Res, 73(10), 1603-1609.
https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.73.10.1603 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Infectious Disease Laboratory, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. ncohen@cvm.tamu.edu
MeSH Terms
- Actinomycetales Infections / epidemiology
- Actinomycetales Infections / microbiology
- Air Microbiology
- Animal Husbandry
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Female
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Housing, Animal
- Immunoblotting / veterinary
- Incidence
- Kentucky / epidemiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / epidemiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / microbiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / veterinary
- Reproduction
- Rhodococcus equi / isolation & purification
- Rhodococcus equi / pathogenicity
- Seasons
- Virulence
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Cohen ND, Kahn SK, Bordin AI, Gonzales GM, da Silveira BP, Bray JM, Legere RM, Ramirez-Cortez SC. Association of pneumonia with concentrations of virulent Rhodococcus equi in fecal swabs of foals before and after intrabronchial infection with virulent R. equi. J Vet Intern Med 2022 May;36(3):1139-1145.
- Whitfield-Cargile CM, Cohen ND, Suchodolski J, Chaffin MK, McQueen CM, Arnold CE, Dowd SE, Blodgett GP. Composition and Diversity of the Fecal Microbiome and Inferred Fecal Metagenome Does Not Predict Subsequent Pneumonia Caused by Rhodococcus equi in Foals. PLoS One 2015;10(8):e0136586.
- McQueen CM, Doan R, Dindot SV, Bourquin JR, Zlatev ZZ, Chaffin MK, Blodgett GP, Ivanov I, Cohen ND. Identification of genomic loci associated with Rhodococcus equi susceptibility in foals. PLoS One 2014;9(6):e98710.
- Villalba-Orero M, Gómez CA, Valero-Gónzalez M, Venegas N, Criado G, Martín-Cuervo M. Blood parameters in neonatal foal and colostrum quality as possible early markers for increased risk of developing Rhodococcus equi pneumonia. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1654052.
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