Molecular detection of equid herpesvirus in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from asymptomatic horses in Southern Brazil.

Background and Aim: Molecular approaches to diagnose respiratory viruses have provided an opportunity for early and subclinical pathogen detection, particularly in samples from the upper respiratory tract. This study aimed to investigate the presence of herpesviruses, particularly equid herpesvirus (EHV)-2 and EHV-5, in samples from the lower respiratory tract of healthy racehorses from Southern Brazil. Materials and Methods: Samples from the lower respiratory tract (i.e., bronchoalveolar lavage fluid [BALF]) were assessed by video endoscopy, cytological evaluation of BALF, and tracheal aspirates (TA), along with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), to detect equine herpesvirus infection in the lower respiratory tract samples and compare corresponding cytological and endoscopic findings. Results: At least one abnormality per horse during endoscopy examination was observed, including, but not limited to, mucous secretion in the airways and pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia. The presence of EHV-2 and/or EHV-5 was detected by qPCR in 3/10 animals. One horse was positive for EHV-2 alone, one for EHV-5 alone, and one for both. Conclusion: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first molecular detection of EHV-2 and EHV-5 in Brazilian thoroughbred horses. These findings may provide new insights into the epidemiology of EHV-2 and EHV-5 in Brazilian horses, evidencing the importance of the molecular investigation, early detection, and prevention of respiratory diseases.

Enzymatic markers of pulmonary inflammation in tracheal wash fluid in racehorses: alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase

Background: Diagnosis of the lower airway diseases (LAD) in horses relies on clinical signs, endoscopic examinationand cytologic evaluation of lower respiratory tract flushing fluids as well. Specific enzyme activities in respiratory tractfluids of horses could be used as useful indicators in lower airway disorders. The main goal of the study was to evaluate thediagnostic usefulness of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme activites in tracheal wash(TW) fluids of horses with lower respiratory tract inflammation and/or damage and also in distinguishing of non-septicand septic inflammation in racehorses with LAD.Materials, Methods & Results: A cross-sectional study was conducted in racehorses. TW fluid samples were obtainedfrom 83 racehorses (71 with lower airway diseases and 12 healthy controls) for the study. The One-Way ANOVATest was used for the significance analysis of the differences between the groups in showing the normal distributionof blood serum ALP and LDH properties. Kruskal Wallis H Test and Tamhane T2 test were used for the significanceanalysis of the differences between the groups of tracheal ALP and LDH properties, which were not normally distributed. The sampled horses were classified into 3 groups as healthy control, non septic neutrophilic inflammation(NS-LAD) and septic neutrophilic inflammation (S-LAD) according to the tracheal mucus scores determined duringendoscopic examination, clinical signs, cytologic and bacteriologic examination of collected TW samples. Accordingto cytology results normal neutrophil levels (< 20%) were determined in the healthy control group (14.5%). However, increased neutrophil levels (≥ 20% and ≥ 80%) were encountered in the NS-LAD (61.4%) and S-LAD (24.1%)groups respectively. Also, the signs of degenerative changes and presence of intracellular bacteria in the neutrophilcells in the S-LAD group were observed. Bacteriologic analysis of the samples...(AU)

Enzymatic markers of pulmonary inflammation in tracheal wash fluid in racehorses: alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase

Background: Diagnosis of the lower airway diseases (LAD) in horses relies on clinical signs, endoscopic examinationand cytologic evaluation of lower respiratory tract flushing fluids as well. Specific enzyme activities in respiratory tractfluids of horses could be used as useful indicators in lower airway disorders. The main goal of the study was to evaluate thediagnostic usefulness of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme activites in tracheal wash(TW) fluids of horses with lower respiratory tract inflammation and/or damage and also in distinguishing of non-septicand septic inflammation in racehorses with LAD.Materials, Methods & Results: A cross-sectional study was conducted in racehorses. TW fluid samples were obtainedfrom 83 racehorses (71 with lower airway diseases and 12 healthy controls) for the study. The One-Way ANOVATest was used for the significance analysis of the differences between the groups in showing the normal distributionof blood serum ALP and LDH properties. Kruskal Wallis H Test and Tamhane T2 test were used for the significanceanalysis of the differences between the groups of tracheal ALP and LDH properties, which were not normally distributed. The sampled horses were classified into 3 groups as healthy control, non septic neutrophilic inflammation(NS-LAD) and septic neutrophilic inflammation (S-LAD) according to the tracheal mucus scores determined duringendoscopic examination, clinical signs, cytologic and bacteriologic examination of collected TW samples. Accordingto cytology results normal neutrophil levels (< 20%) were determined in the healthy control group (14.5%). However, increased neutrophil levels (≥ 20% and ≥ 80%) were encountered in the NS-LAD (61.4%) and S-LAD (24.1%)groups respectively. Also, the signs of degenerative changes and presence of intracellular bacteria in the neutrophilcells in the S-LAD group were observed. Bacteriologic analysis of the samples...

Association between exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and inflammatory airway disease in polo ponies.

The respiratory system is essential for health and high athletic performance in horses. Respiratory diseases have been recognized as having a major impact on training equine animals and are commonly cited as the second most common cause of wasted training time. Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is an important cause of poor performance in young racehorses. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is considered a major issue for the equine industry because of its high prevalence and association with reduced athletic performance. In Brazil, polo is a growing equestrian sport, but studies on it are still scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of EIPH, the association between EIPH and IAD, and EIPH influence on the tracheal cytological profile of polo ponies. Thirty-seven horses regularly used for polo were included in this study. Endoscopic examination was performed every 30 to 90 min after practice, and tracheal lavage was performed after 18 to 24 hr. Sixteen animals (43.2%) presented a score of 0 for mucus in endoscopy; twelve animals (32.4%) presented a score for 1 and nine animals (24.3%) presented score 2 of mucus. IAD was characterized by tracheal cytology in 12 animals (32.4%). The occurrence of EIPH in this study was 29.7% (11/37). No significant difference was found in the cell types in tracheal cytology when EIPH-positive and EIPH-negative horses were compared. Polo ponies are affected by IAD and EIPH in relevant proportions, but there was no association between EIPH and tracheal cytological profile.

Evaluation of tracheal wash of horses with exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage treated with furosemide / Avaliação do lavado traqueal de eqüinos portadores de hemorragia pulmonar induzida pelo exercício tratados com furosemida

Avaliaram-se os efeitos da furosemida sobre o lavado traqueal de eqüinos portadores de hemorragia pulmonar induzida pelo exercício (HPIE). Nove animais foram distribuídos em três grupos experimentais: grupo-controle, formado por três eqüinos hígidos e não portadores da doença; grupo 1, com três eqüinos portadores e não submetidos a tratamento; e grupo 2, com três eqüinos portadores da doença e tratados com furosemida na dose de 1mg/kg, quatro horas antes da atividade atlética. As amostras do lavado traqueal foram obtidas duas horas após o exercício físico e sua avaliação demonstrou que o uso do medicamento reduziu a severidade da HPIE, refletida pela redução no número relativo de hemossiderófagos (de 7,8 por cento no grupo 1 para 4,2 por cento no grupo 2) e no número de eritrócitos (de 77666 x 10³/ml no grupo 1 para 8000x10³/ml no grupo 2).(AU)