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Journal of equine veterinary science2020; 87; 102906; doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102906

Equine Coronavirus-Associated Colitis in Horses: A Retrospective Study.

Abstract: Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is a known cause of fever, anorexia, and lethargy in adult horses. Although there are multiple reports of ECoV outbreaks, less is known about the clinical presentation of individual horses during a nonoutbreak situation. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation of horses diagnosed with ECoV infection that were not associated with an outbreak. Medical records of all horses admitted to Washington State University, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, during an 8-year period were reviewed (2010-2018). The five horses included in this study were older than 1 year of age, were diagnosed with colitis, tested positive for ECoV using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and were negative to other enteric pathogens. Interestingly, 4 of 5 horses had moderate to severe diarrhea, 3 had abnormal large colon ultrasonography, 2 had transient ventricular tachycardia and 2 had clinicopathologic evidence of liver dysfunction. ECoV should be included as a differential diagnosis for individual horses presenting with anorexia, fever, lethargy, and colitis. Early identification of ECoV cases is key to implement appropriate biosecurity measures to prevent the potential spread of this disease.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2020-01-03 PubMed ID: 32172908PubMed Central: PMC7126555DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102906Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

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 paper is a retrospective study on horses diagnosed with equine coronavirus (ECoV) that were not associated with any outbreak. The study analyzed medical records of such cases in Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 2010 to 2018.

Objective of the Research

  • The primary objective of the study was to fill the gap in understanding the clinical presentation of individual horses diagnosed with ECoV infection, which were not part of any known ECoV outbreaks.

Methodology

  • The researchers collected and reviewed medical records of horses admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Washington State University over an eight-year period (2010-2018).
  • Out of these, five horses were selected for the study. The selection criteria were: horses should be older than one year, diagnosed with colitis, tested positive for ECoV using real-time polymerase chain reaction, and negative for other enteric pathogens.

Findings

  • Among those five horses, four had moderate to severe diarrhea and three had abnormal large colon ultrasonography.
  • Two of the horses showed transient ventricular tachycardia (a heart condition where the heart beats faster than normal while at rest), and two others exhibited clinicopathologic evidence of liver dysfunction.
  • An interesting observation was that the symptoms like fever, anorexia, and lethargy were common across all five horses, which led to ECoV being a differential diagnosis in such cases.

Conclusion

  • The study concluded that ECoV should be considered as a possible diagnosis for individual horses presenting with symptoms like anorexia, fever, lethargy, and colitis.
  • Furthermore, it emphasized the importance of early identification of ECoV cases to implement appropriate biosecurity measures, which is crucial to prevent the potential spread of this disease.

Cite This Article

APA
Mattei DN, Kopper JJ, Sanz MG. (2020). Equine Coronavirus-Associated Colitis in Horses: A Retrospective Study. J Equine Vet Sci, 87, 102906. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102906

Publication

Journal of equine veterinary science
ISSN: 0737-0806
NlmUniqueID: 8216840
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 87
Pages: 102906

Researcher Affiliations

Mattei, Debora N
  • Equine Veterinary Medical Center, Member of Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar.
Kopper, Jamie J
  • Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA.
Sanz, Macarena G
  • Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. Electronic address: macarena@wsu.edu.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Betacoronavirus 1
  • Colitis / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases
  • Horses
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Washington

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Citations

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