Intradermal testing of horses with and without insect bite hypersensitivity in The Netherlands using an extract of native Culicoides species.
Abstract: Intradermal tests using a Culicoides nubeculosus extract have proven unreliable for diagnosis of equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) in the Netherlands. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of an extract derived from the Dutch species C. obsoletus and C. pulicaris. Thirteen pairs of horses were tested, each pair consisting of one horse with IBH and the other a healthy control. Each horse was injected intradermally with 0.1 mL of three concentrations of Culicoides whole body extract (1 : 1000 w/v, 1 : 10,000 w/v and 1 : 25,000 w/v), histamine solution (0.01 mg/mL, positive control) and phosphate-buffered saline (negative control). Skin responses were evaluated after 30 min and at 1, 4 and 24 h. At all time points the absolute wheal diameter elicited by Culicoides extract 1 : 1000 w/v was significantly larger (P < 0.01) in the IBH horses than in the control horses. Using the 1 : 10,000 w/v extract the difference was significant at 1, 4 and 24 h and using the 1 : 25,000 w/v extract only at 24 h. The relative wheal diameter was greater in IBH than in control horses at all concentrations and time points except at 0.5 h for the 1 : 10,000 w/v and 1 : 25,000 w/v concentrations. At the 1 : 1000 w/v concentration, the sensitivity and specificity was 92% using the relative wheal diameter. These results indicate that intradermal testing using 1 : 1000 w/v concentration Culicoides extracts relevant to the locality provides useful support for a clinical diagnosis of equine insect hypersensitivity.
Publication Date: 2010-02-25 PubMed ID: 20178501DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3164.2009.00832.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research explores the reliability of a skin test using specific extracts from the Culicoides insect species to diagnose equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) in horses in the Netherlands. The test proved significant in distinguishing horses suffering from IBH from those who don’t.
Objective of the Study
- The primary objective of this study was to assess the reliability of a skin test, or intradermal test, for diagnosing horse insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) in the Netherlands, using extracts from the local Culicoides species.
- The researchers wanted to examine whether the Culicoides extract showed distinguishable reactions between the horses suffering from IBH and the control group of healthy horses.
Procedure and Methodology
- A total of thirteen pairs of horses were tested in this research. Each pair included one horse with IBH and one healthy horse as a control.
- Each horse was injected with three varying concentrations of Culicoides body extract, a histamine solution as a positive control, and a phosphate-buffered saline as a negative control.
- The skin responses of the horses were evaluated multiple times—after 30 minutes, and at 1, 4, and 24 hours after the administration of the injections.
Main Findings
- The researchers found that the IBH-affected horses showed a significantly larger wheal diameter (a measure of skin reaction) in response to the Culicoides extract than the control group of horses. This difference was significant for all concentrations at all time points, except at the half-hour mark for certain concentrations.
- At the 1:1000 w/v concentration, which elicited the biggest response, the sensitivity and specificity of the test were 92% when using relative wheal diameter as a measure. This suggests a high diagnostic value for the test at this concentration.
Implications
- The results of this study suggest that the intradermal testing using Culicoides extracts that are correlated to the local species can provide valuable support in clinically diagnosing equine insect hypersensitivity.
- This may lead to improved diagnostic methods for treating equine IBH in the Netherlands and potentially other regions where similar Culicoides species exist.
Cite This Article
APA
Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, van Poppel M, de Raat IJ, van den Boom R, Savelkoul HF.
(2010).
Intradermal testing of horses with and without insect bite hypersensitivity in The Netherlands using an extract of native Culicoides species.
Vet Dermatol, 20(5-6), 607-614.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3164.2009.00832.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. m.sloet@uu.nl
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antigens / immunology
- Ceratopogonidae / immunology
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horses
- Hypersensitivity / diagnosis
- Hypersensitivity / veterinary
- Immunologic Tests / veterinary
- Insect Bites and Stings / immunology
- Intradermal Tests / methods
- Intradermal Tests / veterinary
- Netherlands / epidemiology
- Skin Diseases / diagnosis
- Skin Diseases / immunology
- Skin Diseases / veterinary
- Time Factors
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Pessoa VC, Branco-Ferreira M, Jónsdóttir S, Marti E, Tilley P. Comparison of Skin Prick Tests (SPT), Intradermal Tests (IDT) and In Vitro Tests in the Characterization of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH) in a Population of Lusitano Horses: Contribution for Future Implementation of SPT in IBH Diagnosis. Animals (Basel) 2023 Aug 28;13(17).
- François L, Hoskens H, Velie BD, Stinckens A, Tinel S, Lamberigts C, Peeters L, Savelkoul HFJ, Tijhaar E, Lindgren G, Janssens S, Ducro BJ, Buys N, Schurink AA. Genomic Regions Associated with IgE Levels against Culicoides spp. Antigens in Three Horse Breeds. Genes (Basel) 2019 Aug 8;10(8).
- Kaufmann C, Steinmann IC, Hegglin D, Schaffner F, Mathis A. Spatio-temporal occurrence of Culicoides biting midges in the climatic regions of Switzerland, along with large scale species identification by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Parasit Vectors 2012 Oct 31;5:246.
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