Equine proliferative enteropathy: a cause of weight loss, colic, diarrhoea and hypoproteinaemia in foals on three breeding farms in Canada

Abstract

Summary Proliferative enteropathy (PE) is a transmissible enteric disease caused by Lawsonia intracellularis. An outbreak of equine PE was diagnosed in foals from 3 breeding farms. Most foals had been weaned prior to the appearance of clinical signs, which included depression, rapid and marked weight loss, subcutaneous oedema, diarrhoea and colic. Poor body condition with a rough haircoat and a potbellied appearance were common findings in affected foals. Respiratory tract infection, dermatitis and intestinal parasitism were also found in some foals. Haematological and plasma biochemical abnormalities included hypoproteinaemia, transient leucocytosis, anaemia and increased serum creatinine kinase concentration. Postmortem diagnosis of PE was confirmed on 4 foals based on the presence of characteristic intracellularbacteria within the apical cytoplasm of proliferating crypt epithelial cells of the intestinal mucosa, using silver stains, and by results of PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry. Antemortem diagnosis of equine PE was based on the clinical signs, hypoproteinaemia and the exclusion of common enteric infections. Faecal PCR analysis was positive for the presence of L. intracellularis in 6 of 18 foals tested while the serum of all 7 foals with PE serologically evaluated had antibodies against L. intracellularis. Most foals were treated with erythromycin estolate alone or combined with rifampin for a minimum of 21 days. Additional symptomatic treatments were administered when indicated. All but one foal treated with erythromycin survived the infection. This study indicates that equine PE should be included in the differential diagnosis of outbreaks of rapid weight loss, diarrhoea, colic and hypoproteinaemia in weanling foals.

Detection of Lawsonia intracellularis in a dog with inflammatory bowel disease using nested PCR and serology

“…Our results support the theory of some authors about higher sensitivity of the IFAT test when compared with PCR assay in pigs and foals (Kni�el et al, 1998;Lavoie et al, 2000).…”

“…The authors believe that the most suitable method is the nested PCR assay because of its high sensitivity. This method is also considered a specific detection technique for L. intracellularis (Lavoie et al, 2000;Lawson and Gebhart, 2000).…”

Lawsonia intracellularis in a dog with inflammatory bowel disease

“…Also in acute fatal outbreaks in monkeys, inflammatory changes were a marked feature (Klein et al, 1999). In most species, the ileum and sometimes jejunum or proximal colon are the most frequently affected parts of the intestine by proliferative enteritis (Rowland and Lawson, 1992;Lavoie et al, 2000). In the case reported here we were unable to visualise the ileum during coloscopy and canine jejunum is generally inaccessible endoscopically.…”

Equine proliferative enteropathy on a Brazilian farm

“…This antimicrobial is not effective in the treatment of EPE (Schumacher et al 2000, Vannucci et al 2012, Wuersch et al 2006) because its active property has a high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for L. intracellularis (McOrist et al 1995). In animals with hypoproteinemia, erythromycin doses were followed by clinical improvement in some infected animals, and treatment with erythromycin was effective for EPE in other reports (Bihr 2003, Lavoie et al 2000, Schumacher et al 2000 and is generally considered the drug of choice for the treatments of suspected cases. Disease progression varies from days to weeks, and the prognosis for recovery is good when diagnosis is timely and appropriate treatment programs are performed.…”