Edaphic and Phytochemical Factors as Predictors of Equine Grass Sickness Cases in the UK

Edwards, Sarah; Martz, Kathrin E.; Rogge, Anja; Heinrich, Michael

doi:10.3389/fphar.2010.00122

Cited by 16 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Toxic Ranunculus spp. (butter-139 cups) were found in abundance at the EGS site and significantly higher levels of iron and heavy metals in herbage growing in EGS sites was reported by Edwards et al (2010). In our particular case, the mare had been kept at the same pasture for more than one year and no dietary changes were made.…”

Section: Egs Was First Recognized In Scotland In 1909mentioning

confidence: 55%

Equine grass sickness in the Czech Republic a case report

Melkova¹,

Čížek²,

Ludvíková³

et al. 2014

Vet. Med. - Czech

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Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a degenerative polyneuropathy affecting postganglionic parasympathetic and sympathetic neurons. The major clinical signs relate to dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract and the condition is frequently fatal. EGS has been reported in different parts of the world including Europe. This paper describes the first case of equine dysautonomia in the Czech Republic. The ante mortem diagnosis was based on typical clinical signs and a positive phenylephrine eye-drop test and was confirmed at necropsy following observation of pathognomic histopathological lesions in the enteric neural system of the ileum. Equine grass sickness (EGS), also known as equine dysautonomia, is a degenerative polyneuropathy affecting the autonomic and enteric nervous systems and some lower motor neurons in the central nervous system (Hahn et al. 2001). The condition affects grazing equids and is largely fatal. EGS occurs most frequently in Great Britain and has also been sporadically reported in other European countries (Wylie and Proudman 2009;Protopapas et al. 2012;Schwarz et al. 2012) and in the United States (Wright et al. 2010). A similar condition "mal seco" is regularly observed in South America and is generally considered as the same disease (Wylie and Proudman 2009). The major clinical signs, which relate to the dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, include colic, dysphagia, sweating and muscle tremors. EGS can be classified according to the duration and severity of the clinical signs as the acute, subacute or chronic form (Hudson and Pirie 2005).The purpose of this report is to describe a clinical case of equine grass sickness in a horse born and kept in the Czech Republic, outside the typical region of occurrence of this devastating disorder. Case descriptionA nine-year-old Standardbred mare was examined by a private practitioner because of an acute onset of fever, weakness, patchy sweating and lethargy. Muscle fasciculation and trembling developed four days later. The mare was used for pleasure riding and kept at pasture with other horses. None of the other horses showed clinical signs of illness. The affected mare had been in a suboptimal body condition for more than one year. The mare was treated with procaine penicillin, trimethoprim-sulfadiazine and flunixin meglumin for seven days. The general condition of the mare deteriorated despite treatment and the animal was referred to the clinic.At the time of presentation the mare had a poor body condition (BCS 2/9) and was depressed and weak. She showed a tucked-up abdomen and a base-narrow stance. Muscle fasciculations were observed in the flank region and in the triceps and quadriceps muscles. Patchy flank sweating was also noted. Clinical examination revealed a mild tachycardia (46 beats/min), slightly elevated rectal temperature (38.3 °C) and a respiratory rate

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Section: Egs Was First Recognized In Scotland In 1909mentioning

confidence: 55%

Equine grass sickness in the Czech Republic a case report

Melkova¹,

Čížek²,

Ludvíková³

et al. 2014

Vet. Med. - Czech

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“…This estimation assumes that an average 500 kg horse consumes 11.5 kg of herbage dry matter daily, with a typical mean dry matter of 21% [26], equating to 55 kg wet herbage daily. The estimated daily intakes of DAB (mg kg −1 ) for horses grazing the 3 EGS fields are: Field 1 (free 0.017; bound 0.14; total 0.16); Field 2 (free 0.007; bound 0.12; total 0.12); Field 3 (free 0.004; bound 0.08; total 0.09).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing livestock are exposed to terrestrial cyanobacteria

McGorum

Pirie

Glendinning

et al. 2015

Vet Res

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While toxins from aquatic cyanobacteria are a well-recognised cause of disease in birds and animals, exposure of grazing livestock to terrestrial cyanobacteria has not been described. This study identified terrestrial cyanobacteria, predominantly Phormidium spp., in the biofilm of plants from most livestock fields investigated. Lower numbers of other cyanobacteria, microalgae and fungi were present on many plants. Cyanobacterial 16S rDNA, predominantly from Phormidium spp., was detected in all samples tested, including 6 plant washings, 1 soil sample and ileal contents from 2 grazing horses. Further work was performed to test the hypothesis that ingestion of cyanotoxins contributes to the pathogenesis of some currently unexplained diseases of grazing horses, including equine grass sickness (EGS), equine motor neuron disease (EMND) and hepatopathy. Phormidium population density was significantly higher on EGS fields than on control fields. The cyanobacterial neurotoxic amino acid 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB) was detected in plant washings from EGS fields, but worst case scenario estimations suggested the dose would be insufficient to cause disease. Neither DAB nor the cyanobacterial neurotoxins β-N-methylamino-L-alanine and N-(2-aminoethyl) glycine were detected in neural tissue from 6 EGS horses, 2 EMND horses and 7 control horses. Phormidium was present in low numbers on plants where horses had unexplained hepatopathy. This study did not yield evidence linking known cyanotoxins with disease in grazing horses. However, further study is warranted to identify and quantify toxins produced by cyanobacteria on livestock fields, and determine whether, under appropriate conditions, known or unknown cyanotoxins contribute to currently unexplained diseases in grazing livestock.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13567-015-0143-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…In the authors' opinion, this limitation represents one of the most frustrating aspects of chronic EGS management. sandy and loam soils [10], high soil nitrogen content [7,11], high herbage iron, lead, arsenic and chromium concentrations, [11] and Ranunculus [buttercup] metabolite composition [12]), the feasibility of adopting these associations into disease minimisation strategies is considerably more limited in terms of practicality and financial commitment. In addition to the facilitation of comparative analyses, these data also permitted the construction of survival prediction curves, which, although requiring prospective validation in a wider population of cases (hospitalised and nonhospitalised), provide an objective and potentially valuable tool in the clinical decision making process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%