Understanding equine infectious anemiaApril 17, 2019In January, four horses in Rutherford County, Tenn., were euthanized after contracting equine infectious anemia (EIA). Six other horses were quarantined after an initial negative test, pending a second test. Such incidents highlight the reasons equine veterinarians should be vigilant in their surveillance for this incurable viral disease. In fact, in 2017, 80 EIA-positive horses were identified in the U.S., with 38 premises testing positive for the disease (Figure 1). What is equine infectious anemia? EIA is a viral disease affecting only members of the equidae family (horses, ponies, zebras, mules, and donkeys). It is caused by an RNA virus from the Lentivirus, a genus of Retroviridae. EIA remains an uncommon, albeit persistent problem both in this country and abroad. While EIA is not a direct threat to human health, it is a reportable disease in all the U.S. How is the disease transmitted? The most important mode of transmission of EIA is via blood-feeding insects, especially biting flies such as horse flies, deer flies, and, possibly, stable flies. Horses may react strongly to biting flies; their defensive behaviors can interrupt feeding by the insect. This makes the flies particularly efficient transmitters of EIA because when a horse reacts, …
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UF studies anesthetic with potential for misuse in racehorsesApril 16, 2019A local anesthetic with the potential for misuse in racehorses is being studied by veterinarians at the University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine in collaboration with UF Racing Laboratory. The study will observe bupivacaine as there are concerns the extended release form of the drug could be used unethically to mask pain or an injury in a racehorse. "Bupivacaine has been around for a while," says Taralyn McCarrel, DVM, an equine surgeon and the grant's principal investigator. "We don't use it a lot, as most of the time we're doing very short procedures and for those, we tend to use drugs that are shorter-acting. This is true also when we're using them in a lameness examination. We only need the drugs to last a few hours in most cases." "In this new formulation, tiny droplets of bupivacaine are wrapped in a membrane, which is the liposomal component. After injection, the liposomes start to break down, and gradually release these small pockets of drug over a long time." The research team will start by determining the minimal effective dose to block pain in a horse's foot and to assess how long the anesthetic effect lasts. They will then …
Diagnosing and preventing West Nile virusMarch 26, 2019Although it does not dominate the equine health headlines in the same manner it did nearly two decades ago, West Nile virus (WNV) is an ever-present threat, and one about which veterinarians should remind horse owners to be vigilant. For example, last year, health officials confirmed 31 cases of WNV in Ohio, which was more than twice as many cases than in 2017. Even in California, with its arid climate, approximately 20 cases per year have been reported since 2009. What is West Nile virus? Isolated in Uganda in 1937, West Nile virus was first detected stateside in 1999 in the New York City area. WNV is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae. After its introduction, the virus subsequently spread throughout the U.S. and Canada via mosquitoes, infecting birds, humans, horses, and other animals in the process. The virus's morbidity is perhaps unappreciated; as of 2015, more than 27,000 horses in the U.S. have been infected since the disease was first identified. WNV also is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental U.S. WNV virus is maintained in the wild bird population and spread between …
Vitamin E: Necessary to horses, but there's a lot to learnFebruary 5, 2019Vitamin E seems to be at the forefront of many discussions about horse nutrition these days. Contrary to appearances, vitamin E is not a vitamin in and of itself. Rather, it's a group of eight compounds—four tocopherols and four tocotrienols—that are fat soluble. This vitamin is important for myriad functions in the horse's body, including but not limited to, and in no particular order, the eyes, the reproductive tract, and the neuromuscular system. The most important function of vitamin E seems to be as a biological antioxidant. In this way, and probably by other ways that haven't been determined yet, vitamin E serves to maintain many normal body functions of the horse. Vitamin E-related problems generally manifest in the horse's neuromuscular system. In young horses, these include nutritional myodegeneration, neuroaxonal dystrophy, and equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy; in older horses, a lack of vitamin E is associated with vitamin E-deficient muscle problems or equine motor neuron disease. The grass is greener and packed with vitamin E Happily, for most horses, there is ample vitamin E provided in the diet. Green grass is a great source of vitamin E—most things that are green have a good bit of it. Those horses lucky …
A readily available, inexpensive, and scientifically sound wound lavage systemJanuary 21, 2019There are many undeniable advantages to using a garden hose for wound lavage.
Merck Animal Health and Alopexx develop pneumonia vaccine for foalsJanuary 18, 2019Two companies have come together to develop a vaccine for infections in young horses.
Acute neurologic injuries in the horseDecember 27, 2018Acute, traumatic injury to the horse’s central nervous system is an occasional, and often devastating situation facing equine veterinarians, most often caused by a collision or fall. Injuries to the spinal cord and/or brain may result in a variety of different clinical presentations, however, the damage incurred by the tissues and cells of the nervous system are similar.
