FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / BMC Vet Res / Spatial and temporal distribution of incidence of acquired e...
BMC veterinary research2014; 10; 265; doi: 10.1186/s12917-014-0265-9

Spatial and temporal distribution of incidence of acquired equine polyneuropathy in Norway and Sweden, 1995-2012.

Abstract: Acquired equine polyneuropathy (AEP) is an emerging disease in horses in Sweden, Norway and Finland since 1995. Affected horses show bilateral pelvic limb knuckling and weakness, sometimes progressing to recumbency and euthanasia. The aetiology is unknown but is thought to be non-infectious and non-genetic, though possibly toxic or toxico-infectious. The objectives of this study were to describe the spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal features of AEP in Norway and Sweden for the period of 1995 to 2012. Data from all documented case farms (n = 136) were used. Space-time interaction clustering of case farms was investigated with a retrospective space-time scan statistic with a space-time permutation model, the space-time K-function and the Jacquez k nearest neighbour (kNN) test. Results: There was a clear seasonality in disease occurrence, as 123 case farms presented their first case from January to May. However, there was large variation in the number of case farms between years. Case farms were more numerous in certain regions. Despite the larger horse population in Sweden, 120 of the case farms were in Norway. Space-time clustering was supported by the K-function and partly by the space-time scan, but not by the Jacquez k nearest neighbour (kNN) test. Conclusions: The results suggest an aetiology for AEP where the exposure is not consistent in time, but varies during and between years, assuming that the incubation period does not vary greatly. The results further suggest that the exposure varies between regions as well. Two out of three different analytical methods supported spatio-temporal clustering of case farms, which rendered inconclusive results. The negative result in the kNN test might be explained by lack of power, which is due to the small number of outbreaks in relation to the size of the study area and length of the study period, and further by the low to moderate power of methods to detect space-time clustering when the background population is unknown. Further research is needed to study how management, meteorological variables and other factors with local or regional differences may explain outbreaks of AEP.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2014-11-15 PubMed ID: 25398211PubMed Central: PMC4234854DOI: 10.1186/s12917-014-0265-9Google 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.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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 investigates the occurrence and clustering of Acquired Equine Polyneuropathy (AEP) in horses in Norway and Sweden, providing insights on the spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal patterns from 1995 to 2012. The results indicate fluctuations in the disease’s manifestations across locations and periods.

Objective of the Research

  • The research aims to uncover the spatial, temporal, and spatio-temporal attributes of AEP in Norway and Sweden for the period between 1995 and 2012.
  • By better understanding these characteristics, the researchers hope to shed light on the disease’s etiology, or cause, which is currently under debate.

Methodology Utilized

  • The study analyzed data from documented 136 case farms.
  • Researchers used a retrospective space-time scan statistic with a space-time permutation model, the space-time K-function, and the Jacquez k nearest neighbor (kNN) test for investigating the clustering of case farms in space and time.

Key Findings

  • The analysis revealed a clear seasonality in disease occurrence, with 123 case farms experiencing their first case from January to May.
  • There was a significant variation in the number of case farms between years, indicating that the disease occurrence is not consistent over time.
  • Despite a larger horse population in Sweden, most of the cases (120 out of 136) were in Norway, showing a regional difference in disease occurence.
  • Two out of three different analytical methods supported space-time clustering of case farms.

Conclusions and Further Expectations

  • The results suggest an aetiology for AEP where exposure varies both in time (across and between years) and by region.
  • The inconclusive results from the three analytical methods used for cluster analysis point to the need for further research with perhaps more refined methodologies considering the size of the study area and the length of the study period.
  • Further research is recommended to investigate the impact of management practices, meteorological variables, and any other factors with local or regional differences that may explain outbreaks of AEP.

Cite This Article

APA
Wolff C, Egenvall A, Hanche-Olsen S, Gröndahl G. (2014). Spatial and temporal distribution of incidence of acquired equine polyneuropathy in Norway and Sweden, 1995-2012. BMC Vet Res, 10, 265. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-014-0265-9

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 10
Pages: 265
PII: 265

Researcher Affiliations

Wolff, Cecilia
    Egenvall, Agneta
      Hanche-Olsen, Siv
        Gröndahl, Gittan

          MeSH Terms

          • Animals
          • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
          • Horses
          • Incidence
          • Norway / epidemiology
          • Polyneuropathies / epidemiology
          • Polyneuropathies / veterinary
          • Retrospective Studies
          • Seasons
          • Space-Time Clustering
          • Sweden / epidemiology

          References

          This article includes 29 references
          1. Gustafsson K, Ronéus M. Utbrott av neurologisk störning med okänd etiologi hos hästar. Svensk Veterinärtidning 2000;52:253–259.
          2. Hahn CN, Matiasek K, Syrja P, Jokinen TS, Macintyre N, Tulamo RM. Polyneuropathy of Finnish horses characterised by inflammatory demyelination and intracisternal Schwann cell inclusions.. Equine Vet J 2008 May;40(3):231-6.
            doi: 10.2746/042516408X257574pubmed: 18089473google scholar: lookup
          3. Hanche-Olsen S, Teige J, Skaar I, Ihler CF. Polyneuropathy associated with forage sources in Norwegian horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2008 Jan-Feb;22(1):178-84.
            doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2008.0023.xpubmed: 18289307google scholar: lookup
          4. Gröndahl G, Hanche-Olsen S, Bröjer J, Ihler CF, Jäderlund KH, Egenvall A. Acquired equine polyneuropathy in Norway and Sweden: a clinical and epidemiological study.. Equine Vet J Suppl 2012 Dec;(43):36-44.
            doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2012.00679.xpubmed: 23447876google scholar: lookup
          5. Furuoka H, Mizushima M, Miyazawa K, Matsui T. Idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in a horse with knuckling.. Acta Neuropathol 1994;88(4):389-93.
            doi: 10.1007/BF00310385pubmed: 7839834google scholar: lookup
          6. Furuoka H, Okamoto R, Kitayama S, Asou S, Matsui T, Miyahara K. Idiopathic peripheral neuropathy in the horse with knuckling: muscle and nerve lesions in additional cases.. Acta Neuropathol 1998 Oct;96(4):431-7.
            doi: 10.1007/s004010050916pubmed: 9797010google scholar: lookup
          7. Norström M, Pfeiffer DU, Jarp J. A space-time cluster investigation of an outbreak of acute respiratory disease in Norwegian cattle herds.. Prev Vet Med 1999 Oct 19;47(1-2):107-19.
            doi: 10.1016/S0167-5877(00)00159-8pubmed: 11018738google scholar: lookup
          8. Sanchez J, Stryhn H, Flensburg M, Ersbøll AK, Dohoo I. Temporal and spatial analysis of the 1999 outbreak of acute clinical infectious bursal disease in broiler flocks in Denmark.. Prev Vet Med 2005 Oct 12;71(3-4):209-23.
            doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2005.07.006pubmed: 16227094google scholar: lookup
          9. French NP, Berriatua E, Wall R, Smith K, Morgan KL. Sheep scab outbreaks in Great Britain between 1973 and 1992: spatial and temporal patterns.. Vet Parasitol 1999 Jun 30;83(3-4):187-200.
            doi: 10.1016/S0304-4017(99)00057-6pubmed: 10423002google scholar: lookup
          10. McNally RJ, Feltbower RG, Parker L, Bodansky HJ, Campbell F, McKinney PA. Space-time clustering analyses of type 1 diabetes among 0- to 29-year-olds in Yorkshire, UK.. Diabetologia 2006 May;49(5):900-4.
            doi: 10.1007/s00125-006-0208-5pubmed: 16557371google scholar: lookup
          11. Houben MP, Coebergh JW, Birch JM, Tijssen CC, van Duijn CM, McNally RJ. Space-time clustering patterns of gliomas in The Netherlands suggest an infectious aetiology.. Eur J Cancer 2005 Dec;41(18):2917-23.
            doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2005.06.028pubmed: 16274986google scholar: lookup
          12. R Core Team. R . A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2013.
          13. Pfeiffer D. Analysis of Spatial Data. Veterinary Epidemiologic Research 2. Charlottetown: VER inc; 2009. pp. 680–713.
          14. Kulldorff M, Heffernan R, Hartman J, Assunção R, Mostashari F. A space-time permutation scan statistic for disease outbreak detection.. PLoS Med 2005 Mar;2(3):e59.
            doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020059pmc: PMC548793pubmed: 15719066google scholar: lookup
          15. Diggle PJ, Chetwynd AG, Häggkvist R, Morris SE. Second-order analysis of space-time clustering.. Stat Methods Med Res 1995 Jun;4(2):124-36.
            doi: 10.1177/096228029500400203pubmed: 7582201google scholar: lookup
          16. Jacquez GM. A k nearest neighbour test for space-time interaction.. Stat Med 1996 Sep 15-30;15(17-18):1935-49.
            doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0258(19960930)15:18<1935::AID-SIM406>3.0.CO;2-Ipubmed: 8888486google scholar: lookup
          17. Kulldorff M. A spatial scan statistic. Communicat Stat Methods 1997;26(6):1481–1496.
            doi: 10.1080/03610929708831995google scholar: lookup
          18. Kulldorff M. SaTScan user Guide for version 9.0. 2010.
          19. Kulldorff M, Information Management Services, Inc. SaTScan™ v 9.11: Software for the spatial and space-time scan statistics. 2011.
          20. Rowlingson B, Diggle P. splancs: Spatial and Space-Time Point Pattern Analysis. 2013.
          21. BioMedware, Inc.. ClusterSeer® v2.3. Ann Arbor, MI, United States, 2012.
          22. Vik J, Farstad M. Hest, hestehold och foring: status for hesteholdet i norge. Trondheim, Norway: Norsk senter for bygdeforskning; 2012.
          23. Anonymous. Hästar och anläggningar med häst 2010. JO 24 SM 2011. Sveriges officiella statistik statistiska meddelanden Jönköping, Sweden: Swedish Board of Agriculture; 2011.
          24. Enhäll J, Nordgren M, Kättström H. Hästhållning i Sverige 2010. Report 2012:1. Jönköping, Sweden: Swedish Board of Agriculture; 2012.
          25. French NP, McCarthy HE, Diggle PJ, Proudman CJ. Clustering of equine grass sickness cases in the United Kingdom: a study considering the effect of position-dependent reporting on the space-time K-function.. Epidemiol Infect 2005 Apr;133(2):343-8.
            doi: 10.1017/S0950268804003322pmc: PMC2870255pubmed: 15816161google scholar: lookup
          26. Müller CE, Hultén C, Gröndahl G. Assessment of hygienic quality of haylage fed to healthy horses. Grass Forage Sci 2011;66(4):453–463.
            doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2494.2011.00803.xgoogle scholar: lookup
          27. Kulldorff M, Hjalmars U. The Knox method and other tests for space-time interaction.. Biometrics 1999 Jun;55(2):544-52.
            doi: 10.1111/j.0006-341X.1999.00544.xpubmed: 11318212google scholar: lookup
          28. Mack EA, Malizia N, Rey SJ. Population shift bias in tests of space-time interaction. Comput Environ Urban Syst 2012;36(6):500–512.
            doi: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2012.05.001google scholar: lookup
          29. Ward MP, Carpenter TE. Analysis of time-space clustering in veterinary epidemiology.. Prev Vet Med 2000 Feb 29;43(4):225-37.
            doi: 10.1016/S0167-5877(99)00111-7pubmed: 10718492google scholar: lookup

          Citations

          This article has been cited 3 times.
          1. Ndhlovu F, Ndhlovu DN, Chikerema SM, Masocha M, Nyagura M, Pfukenyi DM. Spatiotemporal patterns of clinical bovine dermatophilosis in Zimbabwe 1995-2014. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 2017 Jun 27;84(1):e1-e8.
            doi: 10.4102/ojvr.v84i1.1386pubmed: 28697608google scholar: lookup
          2. Björnsdóttir S, Sigurðardóttir ÓG, Oddsdóttir C, Reynisdóttir I, Hanche-Olsen S, Gröndahl G. Outbreak of digital extensor dysfunction compatible with acquired equine polyneuropathy observed for the first time in Iceland. Acta Vet Scand 2025 Nov 26;67(1):50.
            doi: 10.1186/s13028-025-00835-4pubmed: 41299546google scholar: lookup
          3. May A, Hanche-Olsen S, Goehring LS, Matiasek K, Jäderlund KH, Zablotski Y, Gröndahl G. Motor pathway evaluation by transcranial magnetic stimulation in Swedish horses with acquired equine polyneuropathy. Equine Vet J 2026 Jan;58(1):115-124.
            doi: 10.1111/evj.14506pubmed: 40257381google scholar: lookup
          Subscribe to our newsletter
          Join 99,359 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.