Seasonal effects on the aerobic bacterial and fungal conjunctival flora of normal thoroughbred brood mares in Florida.
Abstract: To evaluate seasonal effects on the presence or absence of fungal and aerobic bacterial flora of the conjunctival fornix of normal Florida Thoroughbred horses. Methods: Both eyes of 100 horses. Methods: Horses with normal anterior segment ophthalmic examinations from three farms in north central Florida were included. Each animal had the ventral conjunctival fornix of each eye swabbed with sterile culturettes. Samples were taken in October, January, April, and July (1999-2000). Aerobic and fungal cultures were plated. Bacterial cultures were reviewed at 24 and 48 h. Fungal cultures were reviewed weekly for 4 weeks. Logistic regression analysis with season as a factor and age of the horse as a covariate was performed. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.01. Results: Horses ranged from 3 to 24 years of age, with a median age of 9 years. Twenty-four genera of bacteria and 35 genera of fungi were recovered. Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp. and Moraxella sp. were the bacteria most frequently isolated. Mold species, dematiaceous mold species, Chrysosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., and Aspergillus sp. were the most frequently recovered fungi. Season did not have a significant effect on the presence of microorganisms isolated for individual horses adjusted for age. Younger horses had an increased incidence of gram-negative rods and fungal isolates. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. Conclusions: There were no significant differences between the number or type of organisms cultured during the sampling seasons in normal Florida horses. A large range of normal bacterial and fungal flora were isolated from these horses. The number of bacteria and fungi isolated are not uniform across seasons. The likelihood of detecting an organism depends on the horses' age.
Publication Date: 2003-03-19 PubMed ID: 12641842DOI: 10.1046/j.1463-5224.2003.00265.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article is about a study that examined the seasonal changes in the bacterial and fungal flora in the conjunctival fornix (a part of the eye) of Thoroughbred horses in Florida, discovering that age, not season, largely determines the presence of microorganisms in these horses’ eyes.
Methodology
- The researchers conducted the study on 100 Thoroughbred horses from three farms in north-central Florida. Their ages ranged from 3 to 24 years.
- To collect samples, they swabbed the ventral conjunctival fornix (a part of the eye) of each horse with sterile culturettes.
- The study took place over four seasons: October (Fall), January (Winter), April (Spring), and July (Summer) of 1999-2000.
- Aerobic and fungal cultures were grown from these samples, with bacterial cultures being reviewed after 24 and 48 hours, and fungal cultures after weekly intervals for four weeks.
- Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the impact of season as a factor, with the age of the horse as a supporting variable.
Results
- A wide variety of bacteria and fungi were recovered from the samples, around 24 genera of bacteria and 35 genera of fungi.
- The most frequently found bacteria included Corynebacterium sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., and Moraxella sp., while the most frequently found fungi included mold species, dematiaceous mold species, Chrysosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., and Aspergillus sp.
- The study found that the season did not have a significant effect on the presence of microorganisms in individual horses, when adjusted for age. Younger horses had a higher incidence of gram-negative rods and fungal isolates.
- The numbers of bacteria and fungi found were not uniform across the seasons, despite having no major differences in seasonal recovery rates.
Conclusion
- Contrary to what might be expected, seasonal changes did not significantly affect the number or type of organisms cultured from the horses’ eyes. A broad range of normal bacterial and fungal flora were found in both younger and older horses.
- The significant factor affecting the diversity and abundance of these organisms was the age of the horses rather than the changing seasons.
- The likelihood of isolating a microorganism depended more on the age of the horse than on the time of year.
Cite This Article
APA
Andrew SE, Nguyen A, Jones GL, Brooks DE.
(2003).
Seasonal effects on the aerobic bacterial and fungal conjunctival flora of normal thoroughbred brood mares in Florida.
Vet Ophthalmol, 6(1), 45-50.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1463-5224.2003.00265.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and Clinical Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0126, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Conjunctiva / microbiology
- Female
- Florida
- Fungi / isolation & purification
- Gram-Negative Bacteria / isolation & purification
- Gram-Positive Bacteria / isolation & purification
- Horses / microbiology
- Male
- Seasons
Citations
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