EXAM Q'S - ALL EQ DISEASES

Give 5 risk factors for spread of equine disease

Any five from :

• overcrowding

• stress

• change in diet

• frequent movement

• poor nutritions

• poor air quality

• poor hygene

• presecne of foals (immunocompromised -)

Name the two endemic notifiable disease in the UK

Equine contagious metritis

Equine viral arteritis

What steps should you take if you suspect a notifiable disease?

1. contact APHA / DEFRA

2. isolate animal

3. dianostic testing

How can owners prevent infectious diseases in their horses?

Optimal health - nutrition, low stress

Vaccination / anthelmentics

Biosecurity measures

Describe how isolation should be done for a new horse on a livery yard

1. Equipment

• disinfect all before and after use.

• use spearate muck heap

• no sharing of bowls / water

2. stabling

• minimumm 100m away from other horses

• disinfect after use

3. people

• ppe worn

• avoid cross-contamination

4. horse

• watch fro signs of disease - monitor rectal temp

What are the criteria for isolation of an equine patient in an equine hospital

Need at least 2/3 of :

• low wbc count

• acute diarrhoea

• fever over 38.5

How many cocntinous clear fecal samples must be done to clear a horse of salmonella?

5 continous negative fecal samples

What disease do you suspect?

Horse presents with acute diarrhoea, inflammation and necrosis of the bowel. Owner says the horse recently traveled across country, and received antibiotic treatment prior to that.

After admiission, the horse starts to have low arterial blood pressure, and organ failure begins.

Salmonella leading to systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

Risk factrs for salmonella are stress (transport) and antimicrobial treatment.

SIRS is when diarrhoea, necrosis and odema cause low arterial bp, eading to multiorgan failure.

What disease do you suspect?

Horse has recetnly had a suddent change in diet, presents with acute diarrhoea and upon culture + microscopy you see both motile and non-motile gram + endospore forming bacilli.

Clistridium perfringens (non-motile) and difficile (motile)

Clostridium are normal gut flora that can turn pathogenic after diet changes, stress, or antibiotic treatment.

Testing is not alwasy 100% usuing a slide as part of normal bacteria.

Better to est for perfringens enterotoxin or difficile toxin A/B.

A minature horse presents with anorexia, fever, lethargy and colitis.

Blood analysis also shows neutropaenia.

• what disease do you suspect?

Equine coronavirus - PCR test for difinitve results

A breeding farm approaches you and states that their younger foals are suffering from weight loss and diarrhoea. After 7 days this seems to cleear up.

What disease could this be, how can you test for this?

Rotavirus effects foals less than two months, causes villus atrphy therfore failure to absorb nutrients and osmotic diarrhoea. can PCR test for type A/B.

Advise that although self-limiting, foals will continue to shed for 2 weeks so shuld be isolated. roatvirus can also survive for a long time in the environment.

A clients horse you examined recetnly has suddenly come down with hind limb weakness (ataxia). You rush to the yard and the condition has progressed to ataxia in all four limbs. You also notice urinary incontinance and an inability to move the tail.

What diseasse could this be?

What are the next steps?

EHV-1 causes cauda equina signs - atony of bladder, flaccid tail, anal and perooneal hypoalgesia. It aslo causes limb ataxia. Very sudden signs.

Test using a PCR or CSF

Can have good prognosis with nursing care

WATCH FOR VASCULITIS

Youre taking a break from vettting on holdiay in Thailand, and a local find out youre a vet, and ask for advice.

He takes you to see a horse. You see a large, fleshy pussy wound on the lower limb. The horse is salivating excessively, and sracthing at its leg. It also seems to have trouble staying upright, swaying and wanting to lie down.

What is this? What are your next steps?

ITS RABIES - from a dog bite on leg.

Most common in horses is the spinal or paralytic form, causing self mutilation, ataxia, weakness, lameness.

Even if you cant test - you should asume rabies. It is zoonotic and almost alwasy fatal to both humans and animals. Horse needs to be euthanised.

West nile virus is a Group B arbovirus.

Name a group A arbovius

eastern, wetsern or venesualan equine encephalitis

Where is West nile virus most likely to be found?

Along nile river in african countries, but has been found i northa america and europe.

Why is WNV likely to spread to the uk?

Birds are resourvoir hosts, and mosquitoe act as a vector. Horses and Humans are terminal hosts.

On your volenteer week in Africa, you examine a horse with muscle fasiculations, ataxia, and inablitity to eat (paralysis of some facial muscles). The owners says that two other horses have the same signs, and one horse suddenly dies overnight in the field.

What disease could this be?

How is it spread?

WEST NILE VIRUS

• spread by mosquitoes

• birds are resourvoir hosts

What is this skin condition, and what causes this?

(mild / moderate painful skin infection, with abscesses)

Streptococcal dermatitis (bacteria)

• drain abscesses, use penicillin and antimicrobial washes.

A horse on EMS has server saddle rash, pyoderma, pastern folliculitis, wound infections and abscesses. What could this be?

Staphylococcal dermatitis.

• clip hair, wash, drain absessed, antimicrobiaLS

A horse that lives out 24/7 has bal patches on his back and neck, other horses with him hav this too.

What is this?

How will you treat it?

Rain scald caused by dermatophilosis bacteria

VERY INFECTIOUS

• isolte affected horses

Caused by constantly beiing soaked in rain - poor husbandry.

Keep horses dry, remove mattted hair, wash with chlorhexidine, if servere use systemic antimicrobials.

A new horse at the yard has small, circular ares of hair sticking up, with some bald pacthes.

The horse doesnt seem botherd by this.

What coudl this be? Treatment?

RING WORM - dermatophyTOSIS - FUNGI.

This is highly ontagious so should isolate horses, but is self-limitng after 5-10 weeks. Can use topical treatements - natamycin.

What is this skin disease?

blastomycosis fungi

What is this skin disease?

Alternaria fungi

What is this skin disease?

Epizootic lymphagitis - fungi

What is this skin disease?

Grass warts / viral pappiloma

What is this skin disease?

Aural plaques - pinnal acanthosis (viral)

What is this skin disease?

Describe timeline

Develop 1 week after contact

COITAL EXANTHEMA

Describe horse pox

RARE

• bucal form and vutaneous form

• mild sytemic signs - fever / depression

• no treatment - regress alone.

What is this? Where is it found?

Papular dermatosis

Africa, USA

slef limiting

Name the 6 types of sarcoids

Occult, Verrucose, Nodular, Fibrobalstic, Mixed, Malignant

What horses are most likely to have sacrooids?

Those who are genetically prone.

How does time after infection with streptococcus equi equi (strangles) effect testing?

At 24 the only symptom is a fever. Nasal swabs may be negative.

Between 1 and 7 days can do a nasal swab or LN abscess aspriate.

After 14 days considered chronic - guttual pouch lavage. Same for long-term carriers.

Strangles symptoms include :

fever bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge, swollen LNs, inaapetance, dyspnoena / dysphagia.

What additional symptoms would you expect with the complication known as ‘bastard strangles’?

Causes interbal abscessation, abdominal pain, colic symptoms.

Other than bastard strangles, what is a complication of strangles?

Purpura haemarrhagica

• type III hypersensitivity

• ag-ab complec

causes vasculitis, server illness.

most common post-vaccination or repeat exposure.

What disease is known as ‘rattles’

who is most vaunrable. what are the symptoms?

Rhodococcus equi

1-6 month old foals

causes pneumonia! - cough, lethargy, increased RR

Define bronchopneumonia

subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lung

Defie pleuropneumonia

Inflammation of the lungs and pleura

What are the signs of broncho +- pleuropneumonia?

systemic illness - pyrexia, depresion, increased RR + HR

reduced lung sounds ventrally

pleurodynia

soft cough

Name two notifiable, viral respiratory diseases, one is found in UK, one is exotic.

UK- equne viral arteritis

Exotic - african horses sickness

What are two important viral resp disease of horses in the uk?

Influenze

EHV 1+4

A foal with SCID presents with a serious respiratory disease. No other of the horses (all adult with functioning immune systems) are sick. What equine disease is this likely to be?

Adenovirus

• normal mild / sunclinical disease

What is the subtype of influenza that casues disease in horses?

H3N8

An owner of a horse sick with equine influenza iis worried about her horses, kept in the next feild getting sick. How far should she move them to be safe?

Droplets of influenza can spread 1-2km.

An owner of a horse is concerned about equine influenza, and asks what th symptoms are. What do you tell her?

High fever of up to 41.1

serous nasal discharge followed by mucopurulent

coughing, tachypnonea, inappetance

Lasts 7-14 days

Which EHVs cause respiratory disease?

EHV 1 + EHV 4

Describe the clinical signs of EHV-1

Resp disease, neurological disease(from invaasion of bvs causing vasculitis), abortion. Sudden death in foals.

How is EHV 4 different to EHV 1?

Respiratory disease only, no neurological signs or abortions.

You test a horse for influenza after it displays mild respiriatory diease, but the test is neative. after 5 days symptoms clear up. What other disease could this be?

Equine Rhinitis

• mild disease

• lasts 3-5 days

• #

Equine viral arteritis is a notifible disease in the UK. describe its sympotoms.

Found in stallions and mares that bred in last 14 days - stallions are carriers. Can be due to mare abrtion.

Clinical signs :

• serous nasal discharge, swolens LNs, cough, ventral oedema

• odema of prepuce, scrotum and distal limbs

• aborting 1 month after infection

African horse sickness is an exotic notifiable disease. Three are four different forms - name these and the key symptoms of each.

1. Pulmonary - rapid fatality, pulmonary oedema

2. Cardiac - hydropericardium

3. mixed -

4. horse sickness fever - mild flu.