Association of soil concentrations of Rhodococcus equi and incidence of pneumonia attributable to Rhodococcus equi in foals on farms in central Kentucky.
Abstract: To determine whether soil concentrations of total or virulent Rhodococcus equi differed among breeding farms with and without foals with pneumonia caused by R equi. Methods: 37 farms in central Kentucky. Procedures-During January, March, and July 2006, the total concentration of R equi and concentration of virulent R equi were determined by use of quantitative bacteriologic culture and a colony immunoblot technique, respectively, in soil specimens obtained from farms. Differences in concentrations and proportion of virulent isolates within and among time points were compared among farms. Results: Soil concentrations of total or virulent R equi did not vary among farms at any time point. Virulent R equi were identified in soil samples from all farms. Greater density of mares and foals was significantly associated with farms having foals with pneumonia attributable to R equi. Among farms with affected foals, there was a significant association of increased incidence of pneumonia attributable to R equi with an increase in the proportion of virulent bacteria between samples collected in March and July. Conclusions: Results indicated that virulent R equi were commonly recovered from soil of horse breeding farms in central Kentucky, regardless of the status of foals with pneumonia attributable to R equi on each farm. The incidence of foals with pneumonia attributable to R equi can be expected to be higher at farms with a greater density of mares and foals.
Publication Date: 2008-03-04 PubMed ID: 18312138DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.69.3.385Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research article investigates whether the concentration of the bacterium Rhodococcus equi in the soil of Kentucky horse-breeding farms was linked to the incidence of pneumonia in foals caused by the same bacterium. It concluded that the bacteria were commonly found in the soil and incidence of pneumonia was more likely to increase on farms with a larger population of horses.
Research Process
- The research was carried out on 37 horse-breeding farms located in central Kentucky.
- Sampling of the soil was conducted three times in the year 2006 (January, March, and July), to determine the total concentration, and the presence of virulent (disease causing) Rhodococcus equi.
- Testing was done using a quantitative bacteriologic culture to determine total concentrations and a colony immunoblot technique for identifying virulent strains.
- The concentration values and the proportion of virulent strains were then compared within and between each time period and between the farms.
Results
- Findings showed that there was no significant variation in the concentrations of total and virulent Rhodococcus equi among the farms, regardless of the sampling time.
- The virulent strains of the bacterium were identified in all the soil samples obtained from all the farms.
- Farms with a higher density of mares and foals were significantly associated with a higher incidence of Rhodococcus equi induced pneumonia in foals.
- On farms where foals were affected, researchers found a significant association between the increase in pneumonia cases and a proportionate increase in the virulent bacteria in soil samples collected between March and July.
Conclusions
- The study concluded that virulent Rhodococcus equi bacteria could be found commonly in the soil of horse breeding farms in central Kentucky, irrespective of whether the foals there suffered from Rhodococcus equi induced pneumonia.
- The research also indicated that a greater concentration of horses on a farm could be linked to a higher incidence of pneumonia cases among foals. This suggests that farm management practices, such as minimizing overcrowding, could help in managing the disease.
Cite This Article
APA
Cohen ND, Carter CN, Scott HM, Chaffin MK, Smith JL, Grimm MB, Kuskie KR, Takai S, Martens RJ.
(2008).
Association of soil concentrations of Rhodococcus equi and incidence of pneumonia attributable to Rhodococcus equi in foals on farms in central Kentucky.
Am J Vet Res, 69(3), 385-395.
https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.69.3.385 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Actinomycetales Infections / epidemiology
- Actinomycetales Infections / microbiology
- Actinomycetales Infections / veterinary
- Animals
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Immunoblotting / veterinary
- Incidence
- Kentucky / epidemiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / epidemiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / microbiology
- Pneumonia, Bacterial / veterinary
- Rhodococcus equi / growth & development
- Seasons
- Soil Microbiology
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Virulence Factors / analysis
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Knox A, Zerna G, Beddoe T. Current and Future Advances in the Detection and Surveillance of Biosecurity-Relevant Equine Bacterial Diseases Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP).. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 18;13(16).
- 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.
- Vail KJ, da Silveira BP, Bell SL, Cohen ND, Bordin AI, Patrick KL, Watson RO. The opportunistic intracellular bacterial pathogen Rhodococcus equi elicits type I interferon by engaging cytosolic DNA sensing in macrophages.. PLoS Pathog 2021 Sep;17(9):e1009888.
- Rakowska A, Cywinska A, Witkowski L. Current Trends in Understanding and Managing Equine Rhodococcosis.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Oct 18;10(10).
- Vázquez-Boland JA, Meijer WG. The pathogenic actinobacterium Rhodococcus equi: what's in a name?. Mol Microbiol 2019 Jul;112(1):1-15.
- Madrigal RG, Shaw SD, Witkowski LA, Sisson BE, Blodgett GP, Chaffin MK, Cohen ND. Use of Serial Quantitative PCR of the vapA Gene of Rhodococcus equi in Feces for Early Detection of R. equi Pneumonia in Foals.. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Mar-Apr;30(2):664-70.
- Shaw SD, Cohen ND, Chaffin MK, Blodgett GP, Syndergaard M, Hurych D. Estimating the Sensitivity and Specificity of Real-Time Quantitative PCR of Fecal Samples for Diagnosis of Rhodococcus equi Pneumonia in Foals.. J Vet Intern Med 2015 Nov-Dec;29(6):1712-7.
- McQueen CM, Dindot SV, Foster MJ, Cohen ND. Genetic Susceptibility to Rhodococcus equi.. J Vet Intern Med 2015 Nov-Dec;29(6):1648-59.
- 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.
- Kachroo P, Ivanov I, Seabury AG, Liu M, Chowdhary BP, Cohen ND. Age-related changes following in vitro stimulation with Rhodococcus equi of peripheral blood leukocytes from neonatal foals.. PLoS One 2013;8(5):e62879.
- Harris SP, Hines MT, Mealey RH, Alperin DC, Hines SA. Early development of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in neonatal foals following oral inoculation with Rhodococcus equi.. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2011 Jun 15;141(3-4):312-6.
- Clegg S, Wilson J, Johnson J. More than one way to control hair growth: regulatory mechanisms in enterobacteria that affect fimbriae assembled by the chaperone/usher pathway.. J Bacteriol 2011 May;193(9):2081-8.
- Kuskie KR, Smith JL, Wang N, Carter CN, Chaffin MK, Slovis NM, Stepusin RS, Cattoi AE, Takai S, Cohen ND. Effects of location for collection of air samples on a farm and time of day of sample collection on airborne concentrations of virulent Rhodococcus equi at two horse breeding farms.. Am J Vet Res 2011 Jan;72(1):73-9.
- Summer EJ, Liu M, Gill JJ, Grant M, Chan-Cortes TN, Ferguson L, Janes C, Lange K, Bertoli M, Moore C, Orchard RC, Cohen ND, Young R. Genomic and functional analyses of Rhodococcus equi phages ReqiPepy6, ReqiPoco6, ReqiPine5, and ReqiDocB7.. Appl Environ Microbiol 2011 Jan;77(2):669-83.
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