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Home / Equine Research Bank / J Vet Intern Med / Influence of penicillin treatment of horses with strangles o...
Journal of veterinary internal medicine2019; 34(1); 294-299; doi: 10.1111/jvim.15668

Influence of penicillin treatment of horses with strangles on seropositivity to Streptococcus equi ssp. equi-specific antibodies.

Abstract: Antibiotic treatment of horses with strangles is reported to impair the development of immunity to subsequent exposure to Streptococcus equi ssp equi (S. equi). However, apart from a single clinical report, evidence-based studies for this hypothesis are lacking. Objective: To determine whether penicillin treatment during clinical strangles influences the development or persistence of seropositivity to S. equi-specific antibodies. Methods: A natural outbreak of strangles with 100% morbidity in 41 unvaccinated mature Icelandic horses. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study of acute clinical strangles from onset through full recovery approximately 10 months after the index case. Horses were monitored clinically 6 times for S. equi, as well as serologically for antibodies to antigens A and C of S. equi using an enhanced indirect ELISA. Seven horses received penicillin within 11 days of onset of fever (Group 1), 5 between 16 and 22 days after onset of fever (Group 2), and the remainder (Group 3, n = 29) received no antibiotics during clinical disease. The proportions of seropositive horses in each group were compared using an extension of Fisher's exact test with P < .05 as the level of significance. Results: Although all horses were seropositive to S. equi within 2 months of the index case, significantly fewer horses treated early (Group 1) remained seropositive by 4 to 6 months (P = .04 and .02, respectively). Conclusions: Findings support earlier suggestions that penicillin administered during acute strangles can interfere with persistence of humoral immunity to S. equi.
© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2019-11-26 PubMed ID: 31769122PubMed Central: PMC6979097DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15668Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Clinical Trial
  • Veterinary
  • 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 whether treating horses with strangles using antibiotics affects development or persistence of antibodies against the Streptococcus equi bacteria. It finds that early treatment with penicillin does indeed interfere with sustained immunity to the bacteria.

Objective of the Research

  • The objective of this research is to determine whether the use of penicillin in horses suffering from the strangles, a common equine bacterial disease caused by Streptococcus equi, influences the development or persistence of the antibodies specific to this bacterium.

Research Methods

  • The research takes the form of a prospective longitudinal study following 41 unvaccinated horses during an outbreak of strangles. The horses were monitored six times for presence of S. equi and for antibodies against two antigens of the bacteria.
  • The horses were split into three groups. Group 1 included seven horses that received penicillin within 11 days of fever onset; Group 2 had five horses that received the antibiotic between 16 and 22 days from fever onset; Group 3 included the 29 horses that received no antibiotics during the disease cycle.
  • The number of seropositive horses (those producing an immune response to the bacteria) in each group was compared using a statistical test.

Research Results

  • Every horse developed seropositivity to S. equi within two months of the first documented case in this study. However, significantly fewer horses that were treated with penicillin early on (Group 1) remained seropositive at the four- to six-month mark.

Conclusions of the Study

  • The results of this study support earlier suggestions that the administration of penicillin during acute strangles can interfere with the persistence of immunity (the ongoing and sustained production of antibodies) to the Streptococcus equi bacterium. This implies that while penicillin may treat the immediate symptoms of strangles, it may not support long-term immunity against the infection.

Cite This Article

APA
Pringle J, Storm E, Waller A, Riihimäki M. (2019). Influence of penicillin treatment of horses with strangles on seropositivity to Streptococcus equi ssp. equi-specific antibodies. J Vet Intern Med, 34(1), 294-299. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15668

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 34
Issue: 1
Pages: 294-299

Researcher Affiliations

Pringle, John
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Storm, Emma
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Waller, Andrew
  • Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, United Kingdom.
Riihimäki, Miia
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology
  • Horse Diseases / drug therapy
  • Horse Diseases / microbiology
  • Horses
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Penicillins / therapeutic use
  • Streptococcal Infections / drug therapy
  • Streptococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Streptococcal Infections / veterinary
  • Streptococcus / immunology

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 10 times.
  1. 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).
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  2. Rotinsulu DA, Ewers C, Kerner K, Amrozi A, Soejoedono RD, Semmler T, Bauerfeind R. Molecular Features and Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Streptococcus equi ssp. equi Isolates from Strangles Cases in Indonesia. Vet Sci 2023 Jan 10;10(1).
    doi: 10.3390/vetsci10010049pubmed: 36669050google scholar: lookup
  3. Frosth S, Morris ERA, Wilson H, Frykberg L, Jacobsson K, Parkhill J, Flock JI, Wood T, Guss B, Aanensen DM, Boyle AG, Riihimäki M, Cohen ND, Waller AS. Conservation of vaccine antigen sequences encoded by sequenced strains of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi. Equine Vet J 2023 Jan;55(1):92-101.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.13552pubmed: 35000217google scholar: lookup
  4. Pringle J, Venner M, Tscheschlok L, Waller AS, Riihimäki M. Markers of long term silent carriers of Streptococcus equi ssp. equi in horses. J Vet Intern Med 2020 Nov;34(6):2751-2757.
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