Association of perinatal exposure to airborne Rhodococcus equi with risk of pneumonia caused by R equi in foals.
Abstract: To determine whether the concentrations of airborne virulent Rhodococcus equi in stalls housing foals during the first 2 weeks after birth are associated with subsequent development of R equi pneumonia in those foals. Methods: Air samples collected from foaling stalls and holding pens in which foals were housed during the first 2 weeks after birth. Methods: At a breeding farm in Texas, air samples (500 L each) were collected (January through May 2011) from stalls and pens in which 121 foals were housed on day 1 and on days 4, 7, and 14 after birth. For each sample, the concentration of airborne virulent R equi was determined with an immunoblot technique. The association between development of pneumonia and airborne R equi concentration was evaluated via random-effects Poisson regression analysis. Results: Some air samples were not available for analysis. Of the 471 air samples collected from stalls that housed 121 foals, 90 (19%) contained virulent R equi. Twenty-four of 121 (20%) foals developed R equi pneumonia. Concentrations of virulent R equi in air samples from stalls housing foals that developed R equi pneumonia were significantly higher than those in samples from stalls housing foals that did not develop pneumonia. Accounting for disease effects, air sample concentrations of virulent R equi did not differ significantly by day after birth or by month of birth. Conclusions: Exposure of foals to airborne virulent R equi during the first 2 weeks after birth was significantly (and likely causally) associated with development of R equi pneumonia.
Publication Date: 2012-12-29 PubMed ID: 23270353DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.74.1.102Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research investigates the connection between the concentration of airborne virulent Rhodococcus equi bacteria in the stalls of newborn foals and the subsequent development of R equi pneumonia in these animals. The article reveals that a tangible link exists, suggesting that higher concentrations of airborne virulent R equi lead to an increased risk of the ailment.
Methods
- The study was conducted on a breeding farm in Texas, where they collected air samples from stalls and pens inhabited by 121 foals. These samples were taken on specific days after the birth of the foals: Day 1 and days 4, 7, and 14.
- A total volume of 500 L of air was sampled each time. The concentrations of airborne virulent R equi in these samples were measured using an immunoblot technique, a lab method to detect specific proteins.
- The relationship between the occurrence of pneumonia and the concentration of airborne R equi was examined using a statistical method referred to as random-effects Poisson regression analysis.
Results
- Out of the 471 air samples collected from the stalls housing the 121 foals, 90 (19%) were found to contain virulent R equi.
- The study disclosed that 24 out of 121 foals, which is approximately 20%, developed R equi pneumonia.
- Analysis established that the stalls containing foals that developed pneumonia had significantly higher concentrations of airborne R equi compared to those stalls where foals did not acquire the ailment.
- The concentrations of airborne R equi were found to have no significant change based on the day after birth or month of birth, after adjusting for the effects of the disease.
Conclusions
- The research concluded that exposure of foals to airborne R equi during their first two weeks after birth significantly increased the chances of developing R equi pneumonia.
- The findings also implied a causal relationship between the presence of this bacteria in the air and the development of the disease, suggesting important implications for preventative measures in breeding and raising of foals.
Cite This Article
APA
Cohen ND, Chaffin MK, Kuskie KR, Syndergaard MK, Blodgett GP, Takai S.
(2012).
Association of perinatal exposure to airborne Rhodococcus equi with risk of pneumonia caused by R equi in foals.
Am J Vet Res, 74(1), 102-109.
https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.74.1.102 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
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / epidemiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / microbiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / veterinary
- Rhodococcus equi / isolation & purification
- Rhodococcus equi / pathogenicity
- Seasons
- Texas / epidemiology
- Virulence
Citations
This article has been cited 11 times.- Rakowska A, Marciniak-Karcz A, Bereznowski A, Cywińska A, Żychska M, Witkowski L. Less Typical Courses of Rhodococcus equi Infections in Foals. Vet Sci 2022 Oct 31;9(11).
- Migliorisi A, Barger A, Austin S, Foreman JH, Wilkins P. Hyponatremia in horses with septic pneumopathy. J Vet Intern Med 2022 Sep;36(5):1820-1826.
- Sting R, Schwabe I, Kieferle M, Münch M, Rau J. Fatal Infection in an Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) Caused by Pathogenic Rhodococcus equi. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 19;12(10).
- 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.
- Cohen ND, Kahn SK, Cywes-Bentley C, Ramirez-Cortez S, Schuckert AE, Vinacur M, Bordin AI, Pier GB. Serum Antibody Activity against Poly-N-Acetyl Glucosamine (PNAG), but Not PNAG Vaccination Status, Is Associated with Protecting Newborn Foals against Intrabronchial Infection with Rhodococcus equi. Microbiol Spectr 2021 Sep 3;9(1):e0063821.
- Rakowska A, Cywinska A, Witkowski L. Current Trends in Understanding and Managing Equine Rhodococcosis. Animals (Basel) 2020 Oct 18;10(10).
- Álvarez-Narváez S, Berghaus LJ, Morris ERA, Willingham-Lane JM, Slovis NM, Giguere S, Cohen ND. A Common Practice of Widespread Antimicrobial Use in Horse Production Promotes Multi-Drug Resistance. Sci Rep 2020 Jan 22;10(1):911.
- 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.
- Valero-Rello A, Hapeshi A, Anastasi E, Alvarez S, Scortti M, Meijer WG, MacArthur I, Vázquez-Boland JA. An Invertron-Like Linear Plasmid Mediates Intracellular Survival and Virulence in Bovine Isolates of Rhodococcus equi. Infect Immun 2015 Jul;83(7):2725-37.
- Rakowska A, Czopowicz M, Bereznowski A, Witkowski L. Investigation of the relationship between pulmonary lesions based on lung ultrasound and respiratory clinical signs in foals with suspected pulmonary rhodococcosis. Sci Rep 2023 Nov 8;13(1):19401.
- Tsuzuki N, Maruko T, Takeyama A, Ikeda H, Mizuguchi Y. Evaluation of oxidative stress in foals with Rhodococcus equi infection-induced pneumonia for the judgment of therapeutic effect. J Vet Med Sci 2023 Dec 6;85(12):1277-1280.
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