ABSTRACT
Equine enterotyphlocolitis is an inflammatory process of the intestinal tract of horses that is associated with multiple etiologic agents and risk factors. Most clinical cases do not have an etiologic diagnosis. We describe here the pathogens detected and the histologic lesions found in horses with enterotyphlocolitis in Ontario that were submitted for postmortem examination, 2007-2019. We reviewed the medical records of 208 horses that fulfilled inclusion criteria. Cultures were positive in 67 of 208 (32%) equids for Clostridium perfringens, in 16 of 208 (8%) for Clostridioides difficile, and in 14 of 208 (7%) for Salmonella spp.; 6 of 208 (3%) were positive for Neorickettsia risticii by PCR assay. One horse was positive in a Rhodococcus equi PCR assay. All horses tested by PCR assay for equine coronavirus and Lawsonia intracellularis were negative. The histologic lesions were characterized as follows: 6 of 208 (3%) enteritis, 5 of 208 (2%) typhlitis, 104 of 208 (50%) colitis, 37 of 208 (18%) enterocolitis, 45 of 208 (22%) typhlocolitis, and 11 of 208 (5%) enterotyphlocolitis. We strongly recommend standardized testing of diarrheic horses during and/or after postmortem examination, as well as standardized reporting of histologic lesions in enterotyphlocolitis cases.
Subject(s)
Enteritis , Enterocolitis , Horse Diseases , Horses , Animals , Ontario/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Autopsy/veterinary , Enterocolitis/veterinary , Enterocolitis/microbiology , Enteritis/diagnosis , Enteritis/veterinary , Horse Diseases/diagnosis , Horse Diseases/epidemiology , Horse Diseases/microbiologyABSTRACT
Abigail McGlennon of the Animal Health Trust and Andrea Vilela of the Redwings Horse Sanctuary describe the creation and impact of a new initiative to tackle strangles in UK horses.
Subject(s)
Health Promotion/methods , Horse Diseases/microbiology , Horse Diseases/prevention & control , Streptococcal Infections/veterinary , Animals , Horses , Streptococcal Infections/prevention & control , Streptococcus equiABSTRACT
Rapid, sensitive and specific detection and reporting of infectious pathogens is important for patient management and epidemic surveillance. We demonstrated a point-of-care system integrated with a smartphone for detecting live virus from nasal swab media, using a panel of equine respiratory infectious diseases as a model system for corresponding human diseases such as COVID-19. Specific nucleic acid sequences of five pathogens were amplified by loop-mediated isothermal amplification on a microfluidic chip and detected at the end of reactions by the smartphone. Pathogen-spiked horse nasal swab samples were correctly diagnosed using our system, with a limit of detection comparable to that of the traditional lab-based test, polymerase chain reaction, with results achieved in â¼30 minutes.