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- Author or Editor: Eileen M. Johnson x
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Abstract
Objective—To determine effects of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (Cushing's disease) and age on fecal egg count and time to egg reappearance after anthelmintic treatment in horses residing in similar environments.
Design—Cross-sectional study.
Animals—29 healthy horses (4 to 35 years old) and 13 horses with PPID (13 to 33 years old).
Procedures—Fecal egg counts were performed by use of a modified Wisconsin flotation method at 2-week intervals before and after ivermectin treatment.
Results—Horses with PPID had higher fecal egg counts before and 8, 10, and 12 weeks after ivermectin treatment, compared with counts for site-matched healthy horses. There was no difference in the period for < 90% reduction in fecal egg counts between the 2 groups. Age did not affect fecal egg counts at any time point.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—For similar environmental conditions, horses with PPID were more likely to have higher fecal egg counts than were healthy horses. Therefore, horses with PPID may need to have a more aggressive parasite prevention program than do healthy horses. Age did not affect fecal egg counts or time to egg reappearance after anthelmintic treatment, which suggested age alone does not likely require special consideration when designing a parasite control program for adult horses.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of Alaria infection in cats and dogs in north central Oklahoma over various periods and investigate whether wild animal species in this region were also infected.
DESIGN Combined cross-sectional study and case series.
SAMPLE Results of parasitological testing of fecal samples from 5,417 client-owned dogs and 1,246 client-owned cats (2006 through 2014); fecal samples from 837 shelter or rescue dogs and 331 shelter or rescue cats (2013 and 2014) and 268 feral cats (2015); tongue or jowl samples from cadavers of 43 wild pigs, 3 opossums, and 1 raccoon; and intestinal tract segments from cadavers of 48 cats and 5 coyotes.
PROCEDURES Various parasite recovery techniques were performed to detect various Alaria stages in samples. Recovered adult trematodes and mesocercariae were used for PCR assay and sequencing of the 28S rRNA gene.
RESULTS Prevalence of Alaria infection was significantly higher in feral cats (9.0%) than in shelter or rescue cats (0.6%) and client-owned cats (1.4%) and in shelter or rescue dogs (1.8%) than in client-owned dogs (0.2%). Mesocercariae were recovered from tissue samples from 11 (26%) wild pigs and 1 opossum. Amplicon sequences from adult trematodes and mesocercariae were 100% identical to each other and 99% homologous to GenBank sequences of Alaria alata and Alaria mustelae.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Prevalence of Alaria infection in the study area has increased in dogs and cats since 1990, when infections were rare. Prevalence in wild pigs was similar to that in Eurasia, where A alata is considered an emerging zoonotic parasite.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To determine effects of prosthetic laryngoplasty on return to racing, performance index, and career longevity in racing Quarter Horses with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) and to evaluate performance variables for horses with RLN undergoing prosthetic laryngoplasty, compared with a control horse population.
DESIGN Multicenter, retrospective cohort study.
ANIMALS 162 racing Quarter Horses with RLN treated with prosthetic laryngoplasty (case horses) and 324 racing Quarter Horse without RLN (control horses).
PROCEDURES Medical and race records of case and control horses examined at 5 referral centers between January 2000 and December 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. Two control horses were matched with each case horse. Return to racing, earnings, number of racing starts, performance index, and career longevity were evaluated.
RESULTS The odds of returning to racing did not differ significantly between case and control horses but decreased with increasing age. Neither racing starts nor career longevity were affected by prosthetic laryngoplasty or by RLN grade. In fact, horses undergoing laryngoplasty for treatment of RLN and horses with the lowest RLN grade before surgery had higher performance indices after the surgery, compared with indices for control horses.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The faster speeds and shorter distances raced with Quarter Horses could alter how RLN impacts respiratory variables and performance in Quarter Horses, compared with other racehorse breeds. Further study is needed to understand the impacts of RLN and surgical treatments for RLN in racing Quarter Horses.
