Foaling-management practices associated with the occurrence of enterocolitis attributed to Clostridium perfringens infection in the equine neonate.
Abstract: Enterocolitis associated with Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) infection in neonatal foals is often severe and has been associated with a high case-mortality risk. We designed a premises-based survey to evaluate the associations of regional foaling practices, premises environmental management, periparturient foal and brood-mare management, and periparturient brood-mare ration with the occurrence of neonatal enterocolitis attributed to C. perfringens infection. Potential risk factors individually associated with enterocolitis were breed type, housing type at foaling and in the first three days of life, ground/floor surface type at foaling and in the first three days of life, brood-mare ration before and after foaling, and the presence of livestock other than horses on the premises in the past. From the multivariable-logistic regression models, six variables were significantly associated with an increased risk of the outcome of interest (p<0.05): foals of the stock horse type, housing in a stall or drylot in the first three days of life, other livestock present on the premises in the past, foal born on dirt, sand or gravel surface, and low amounts of grass hay and grain fed post-partum. Low grain amounts fed pre-partum represented a decreased risk of the outcome of interest.
Publication Date: 2000-06-16 PubMed ID: 10854936DOI: 10.1016/s0167-5877(00)00131-8Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- 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.
The research investigates the relationship between foaling-management practices and the occurrence of severe intestinal infection in newborn foals caused by Clostridium perfringens, specifically enterocolitis. Findings indicated breed type, housing circumstances, food rationing and the presence of non-equine livestock as significant risk factors for neonatal foals to develop this condition.
Study Design
- The researchers designed a survey study that focused on various factors in foaling management practices and their possible association with the incidence of C. perfringens caused enterocolitis in neonatal foals.
- Various factors evaluated included regional foaling practices, premises environmental management, periparturient (around the time of birth) management of the mare and the foal, and feeding routines of the mare before and after birth.
Risk Factors for Enterocolitis
- The study found various factors to be independently associated with the incidence of enterocolitis, including horse breed type, type of housing at foaling and during the first three days of life, ground surface type during the same period, the food given to the broodmare before and after foaling, and the presence of other livestock on the premises in the past.
Significant Associations
- The researchers used multivariable logistic regression models to further investigate and found significant associations between these variables and an increased risk of the investigated outcome.
- Stock horse type foals, housing in a stall or drylot in first three days, presence of other livestock in the past, birth on dirt, sand or gravel surface, and low amounts of grass hay and grain given after giving birth were all associated with an increased likelihood of C. perfringens caused enterocolitis.
- Interestingly, feeding the mare low grain amounts before birth was associated with a decreased risk of the occurrence of the condition in the foals.
Cite This Article
APA
East LM, Dargatz DA, Traub-Dargatz JL, Savage CJ.
(2000).
Foaling-management practices associated with the occurrence of enterocolitis attributed to Clostridium perfringens infection in the equine neonate.
Prev Vet Med, 46(1), 61-74.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-5877(00)00131-8 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, 300 West Drake Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. sleast@coinet.com
MeSH Terms
- Animal Husbandry
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Clostridium perfringens / isolation & purification
- Colorado
- Databases, Factual
- Enterocolitis / etiology
- Enterocolitis / microbiology
- Enterocolitis / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / etiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Logistic Models
- Risk Factors
- Surveys and Questionnaires
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Freitas NFQR, Otaka DY, Galvão CC, de Almeida DM, Ferreira MRA, Moreira Júnior C, Hidalgo MMMH, Conceição FR, Salvarani FM. Humoral Immune Response Evaluation in Horses Vaccinated with Recombinant Clostridium perfringens Toxoids Alpha and Beta for 12 Months.. Toxins (Basel) 2021 Aug 13;13(8).
- Mehdizadeh Gohari I, Unterer S, Whitehead AE, Prescott JF. NetF-producing Clostridium perfringens and its associated diseases in dogs and foals.. J Vet Diagn Invest 2020 Mar;32(2):230-238.
- Finley A, Gohari IM, Parreira VR, Abrahams M, Staempfli HR, Prescott JF. Prevalence of netF-positive Clostridium perfringens in foals in southwestern Ontario.. Can J Vet Res 2016 Jul;80(3):242-4.
- Mehdizadeh Gohari I, Parreira VR, Nowell VJ, Nicholson VM, Oliphant K, Prescott JF. A novel pore-forming toxin in type A Clostridium perfringens is associated with both fatal canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and fatal foal necrotizing enterocolitis.. PLoS One 2015;10(4):e0122684.
- Cohen ND, Bourquin JR, Bordin AI, Kuskie KR, Brake CN, Weaver KB, Liu M, Felippe MJ, Kogut MH. Intramuscular administration of a synthetic CpG-oligodeoxynucleotide modulates functional responses of neutrophils of neonatal foals.. PLoS One 2014;9(10):e109865.
- Magdesian KG. Neonatal foal diarrhea.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2005 Aug;21(2):295-312, vi.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
