Equine brucellosis: Review on epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, prevention and control

Abstract

KEYWORDS Brucellosis Equine B. abortus Poll evil Fistulous withers LAMP ABSTRACTBrucellosis is one of the major zoonotic diseases that affect several domestic animals, wild animals and also marine mammals. Though there is no specific Brucella sp. that can affect horses, B. abortus and B. suis can affect horses naturally and B. canis experimental infection has also been reported in equines. Brucellosis in equines is characterized by two conditions namely Poll evil and fistulous withers. Organism has its predilection for joints, ligaments and tendons in case of equines and causes inflammatory conditions leading to formation of fistula. Equine brucellosis has been documented from several parts of the world and prevalence has been reported time to time mostly based on serological diagnosis. Diagnosis of brucellosis mainly depends on serological methods though isolation of the organism is the gold standard. Due to hazardous nature of the pathogen, tests like Rose Bengal plate agglutination test, Standard tube agglutination test and other serological assays are commonly employed. Isothermal amplification assay like LAMP are gaining momentum these years due to swiftness in diagnosis of the pathogen. LAMP with high specificity and sensitivity for detection of Brucella spp. and also B. abortus has been developed in the recent years. Prevention and control of brucellosis is of utmost important to halt the spread of the organism to other animals and human. Trauma is a major reason for predisposition of poll evil and fistulous withers hence proper fitting of saddle will help to prevent the disease. Housing and feeding the horses separately can prevent spread of disease from cattle. The present review discusses equine brucellosis, its epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs along with appropriate prevention and control strategies to be adapted.

Serological and Molecular Investigation of Brucellosis in Breeding Equids in Pakistani Punjab

“…A better comparison is possible when comparable numbers of both sexes can be recruited in studies. These findings are supported by previous studies, which found that abortive discharges and transmission of brucellosis were more often associated [ 11 , 12 , 18 , 30 ]. However, opposing arguments do exist.…”

“…In domestic ruminants, abortion storms during the last trimester, hyperthermia, and retention of fetal membranes and then intermittent fever, arthralgia, and myalgia in acute cases and neurologic disorders in chronic cases in humans are characteristic signs [ 9 ]. Equines are potential dead end-host of brucellosis as infection remains asymptomatic with secondary signs (e.g., supra-atlantal bursitis, fistulous withers, carpal hygroma, olecranon bursitis) and occasional epididymitis in stallions [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. The bursal fluid from such equids may be a source of infection in humans.…”

Microbiological, serological and molecular diagnosis of abscess of withers in equine in the State of Pará

“…Evidencing the importance of microbiological diagnosis in cases of withers abscesses and synovitis in the equine species, already documented by several authors such as Ribeiro et al, (2003) and Karthik et al, (2016) 2009) that it is of βhemolytic streptococcal species most frequently isolated from horses and the etiological agent of several pyogenic diseases in humans and animals, corroborating the report by Khurana & Dhama, (2016) that the only pathogen S. zooepidemicus was isolated in diseases such as abortions, uterine inflammation, pneumonia, abscesses and joint infections.…”

Talpa (poll evil): Description of a case

“…1a) (7) najczęściej o charakterze urazowym (otarcie skóry lub stłuczenie okolicy górnej części grzebienia szyjnego i potylicy). Opisywane są powikłania w postaci miejscowych nadkażeń przebiegających jako bursitis serofibrinosa na tle Brucella abortus, którym czasami towarzyszyć mogą również infekcje Actinomyces bovis i Streptococcus zooepidemicus (3,4,9). Ponadto, z przypadków klinicznych tego schorzenia izolowano też inne drobnoustroje, a wśród nich: Bacteroides fragilis, Corynebacterium spp., Escherichia coli, Pasteurella spp., Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis i Streptococcus equi (8).…”