Effect of prophylactic administration of hyperimmune plasma to prevent Rhodococcus equi infection on foals from endemically affected farms.
Abstract: The effect on foals of prophylactic administration of hyperimmune plasma to prevent R. equi infection was investigated on three farms at which R. equi infection was endemic. Sixteen foals between 10 and 39 days of age were intravenously given 1-21 of hyperimmune plasma. ELISA antibody titres against R. equi were significantly increased and maintained at high levels for over 30 days in most of the recipient foals. The prevalence of R. equi infection was 6.3% (1/16) in the foals that received the immune plasma, and 26.3% (5/19) in the control foals not given the immune plasma on the three farms. For 2 years before and after this field trial on the three farms, 18 of 64 foals (28.1%) showed clinical signs of respiratory tract infection and four of them died of R. equi pneumonia. Heavy contamination of horses and their environment with virulent R. equi was detected by colony blotting, and plasmid profiles also suggested that foals on the three farms were constantly exposed to virulent R. equi. The results of this field trial support previous observations by some researchers that the administration of hyperimmune plasma to foals in the early days of life promotes prevention of R. equi infection on endemic farms; however, the mechanism of hyperimmune plasma protection remains unclear.
Publication Date: 1999-12-22 PubMed ID: 10605374DOI: 10.1046/j.1439-0450.1999.00284.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Antibodies
- Clinical Findings
- Disease Prevalence
- Disease Prevention
- Endemic Disease
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Equine Health
- Field Study
- Foals
- Horse Breeds
- Immune Response
- Immunoglobulins
- Infection
- Intravenous Administration
- Plasma
- Pneumonia
- Prophylaxis
- Respiratory Disease
- Rhodococcus equi
- Veterinary Medicine
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 research tried to identify if foals, receiving big amounts of hyperimmune plasma, would be less likely to get an infection from Rhodococcus equi, a harmful bacterium often present on farms where the foals lived. It discovered that foals who received the plasma were in fact less likely to contract the infection.
Methods and Trial Design
- A trial was conducted across three farms known to have an endemic presence of R. equi.
- A total of sixteen foals, aged between 10 and 39 days old, were given large amounts (1-21 litres) of hyperimmune plasma intravenously.
- The results were analysed by comparing the incidence of R. equi infection in the plasma-receiving group to a control group of 19 foals that did not receive the plasma. Additionally, data from two years before and after the trial were included.
- The presence of R. equi was detected using colony blotting – a method that allows bacterium detection and quantification on surfaces and in environmental samples. Plasmid profiles were also used to further confirm the constant exposure of the foals to the bacterium.
Results
- ELISA antibody titres (a measure of the foals’ immune response) against R. equi significantly increased in the foals that received the hyperimmune plasma and remained high for over 30 days. This indicates that the foals’ immune systems actively responded to the administered plasma.
- The prevalence of R. equi infection was lower in the foals given the immune plasma (6.3%) compared to control foals who did not receive the immune plasma (26.3%) across the three farms.
- Data from the previous and following two years indicated a significant presence of R. equi on the farms. 28.1% of the 64 foals showed clinical signs of respiratory infection, and four of them died of R. equi pneumonia. Thus demonstrating a substantial risk and impact of R. equi.
Conclusions and Further Research
- The results strengthen the idea that hyperimmune plasma can be used prophylactically in foals to prevent R. equi infection in endemic locations.
- However, the exact mechanism through which the hyperimmune plasma provides protection against R. equi remains unclear, indicating a need for further research into this area.
Cite This Article
APA
Higuchi T, Arakawa T, Hashikura S, Inui T, Senba H, Takai S.
(1999).
Effect of prophylactic administration of hyperimmune plasma to prevent Rhodococcus equi infection on foals from endemically affected farms.
Zentralbl Veterinarmed B, 46(9), 641-648.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0450.1999.00284.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Hidaka Agriculture Mutual Aid Association, Hokkaido, Japan.
MeSH Terms
- Actinomycetales Infections / immunology
- Actinomycetales Infections / prevention & control
- Actinomycetales Infections / veterinary
- Animals
- Antibodies, Bacterial / administration & dosage
- Antibodies, Bacterial / biosynthesis
- Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology
- Blood Cell Count / veterinary
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
- Female
- Fibrinogen / analysis
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horses
- Immunization, Passive / veterinary
- Rhodococcus equi / immunology
- Rhodococcus equi / pathogenicity
- Serum Globulins / analysis
- Virulence
Citations
This article has been cited 8 times.- Kahn SK, Cywes-Bentley C, Blodgett GP, Canaday NM, Turner-Garcia CE, Flores-Ahlschwede P, Metcalfe LL, Nevill M, Vinacur M, Sutter PJ, Meyer SC, Bordin AI, Pier GB, Cohen ND. Randomized, controlled trial comparing Rhodococcus equi and poly-N-acetyl glucosamine hyperimmune plasma to prevent R equi pneumonia in foals.. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Nov;35(6):2912-2919.
- Kahn SK, Cywes-Bentley C, Blodgett GP, Canaday NM, Turner-Garcia CE, Vinacur M, Cortez-Ramirez SC, Sutter PJ, Meyer SC, Bordin AI, Vlock DR, Pier GB, Cohen ND. Antibody activities in hyperimmune plasma against the Rhodococcus equi virulence -associated protein A or poly-N-acetyl glucosamine are associated with protection of foals against rhodococcal pneumonia.. PLoS One 2021;16(8):e0250133.
- 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.
- Álvarez-Narváez S, Huber L, Giguère S, Hart KA, Berghaus RD, Sanchez S, Cohen ND. Epidemiology and Molecular Basis of Multidrug Resistance in Rhodococcus equi.. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2021 May 19;85(2).
- Harvey AB, Bordin AI, Rocha JN, Bray JM, Cohen ND. Opsonization but not pretreatment of equine macrophages with hyperimmune plasma nonspecifically enhances phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Rhodococcus equi.. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Jan;35(1):590-596.
- Mourenza Á, Gil JA, Mateos LM, Letek M. A Novel Screening Strategy Reveals ROS-Generating Antimicrobials That Act Synergistically against the Intracellular Veterinary Pathogen Rhodococcus equi.. Antioxidants (Basel) 2020 Jan 28;9(2).
- Folmar CN, Cywes-Bentley C, Bordin AI, Rocha JN, Bray JM, Kahn SK, Schuckert AE, Pier GB, Cohen ND. In vitro evaluation of complement deposition and opsonophagocytic killing of Rhodococcus equi mediated by poly-N-acetyl glucosamine hyperimmune plasma compared to commercial plasma products.. J Vet Intern Med 2019 May;33(3):1493-1499.
- Erganis O, Sayin Z, Hadimli HH, Sakmanoglu A, Pinarkara Y, Ozdemir O, Maden M. The effectiveness of anti-R. equi hyperimmune plasma against R. equi challenge in thoroughbred Arabian foals of mares vaccinated with R. equi vaccine.. ScientificWorldJournal 2014;2014:480732.
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