Influence of Chronic Lameness on Thoracolumbar Musculus Multifidus Structure in the Horse.

The clinical relationship between equine limb lameness and secondary back dysfunction is largely unknown. Proper function of the spine is critical to maintain the integrity of the kinetic chain and attenuate forces from the appendicular skeleton. The musculus multifidus (m. multifidus) is the primary muscle providing spinal intersegmental stabilization and a functional relationship between m. multifidus hypertrophy and equine postural stability has been established. The relationship between equine thoracolumbar m. multifidus cross-sectional area (CSA) and limb lameness is unknown. The objective was to evaluate ultrasonographic changes in thoracolumbar m. multifidus CSA in horses with chronic single limb lameness, compared with sound horses. We hypothesized that the CSA of m. multifidus, ipsilateral to the lame limb would be smaller than the contralateral side, and within the sound group there would be no difference between sides. Thirty-six horses were enrolled, with twelve horses per group: sound, forelimb lame, and hindlimb lame. M. multifidus CSA was measured ultrasonographically at multiple spinal levels and compared between groups, spinal levels, and sides. M. multifidus CSA at the spinal level T18 was significantly larger than at all other measured levels, regardless of group (P ≤ .05). CSA at all levels was significantly larger in sound horses than the forelimb lame group, regardless of side (P = .002). This is the first study to evaluate the impact of chronic lameness on the axial skeleton and showed a decrease in m. multifidus CSA with forelimb lameness. These results support that axial skeletal adaptation occurs in response to naturally occurring chronic lameness.

A 3-year pilot study of sentinel dairy herds for vesicular stomatitis in El Salvador.

The occurrence of vesicular stomatitis (VS) was investigated in El Salvador through monthly visits to 12 sentinel cattle operations located in four different departments. Management, environmental, and spatial data were collected. Heifers were enrolled on the operations and were examined and bled monthly for 3 years. Two competitive ELISAs were used to detect antibodies on each sample for each serotype of VS virus (VSV). On 8 of the 12 operations, small terrestrial rodents were trapped, blood samples collected, and antibodies to both VS serotypes evaluated using a serum-neutralization test for each virus serotype. Similar to other studies of VS in Central America, the seroprevalence of the New Jersey serotype was higher than the seroprevalence to the Indiana serotype. An outbreak of VS appeared to occur in the Department of Sonsonate in the summer of 1999. We confirmed that VS is endemic in the four departments investigated in El Salvador.