Immunoprophylaxis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals

Becú, Teótimo; Polledo, Gonzalo; Gaskin, Jack M.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1135(97)00088-6

Cited by 65 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…13 Although this is the best prophylactic program available, it is cost prohibitive for many horse owners, labor-intensive, and not universally effective. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] A novel strategy for prevention of pneumonia caused by R equi is the administration of effective antimicrobial agents to high-risk foals during the critical period when they are most likely to become infected with R equi. This strategy requires an antimicrobial that is safe, achieves therapeutic concentrations within tissues and cells at the primary site of infection, and maintains adequate concentrations throughout the critical period for infection.…”

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confidence: 99%

Chemoprophylactic effects of azithromycin against Rhodococcus equi–induced pneumonia among foals at equine breeding farms with endemic infections

Chaffin

Cohen²,

Martens³

2008

javma

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Azithromycin chemoprophylaxis effectively reduced the cumulative incidence of pneumonia attributable to R equi among foals at breeding farms with endemic R equi infections. There was no evidence of resistance to azithromycin. Nonetheless, caution must be used because it is possible that resistance could develop with widespread use of azithromycin as a preventative treatment. Further investigation is needed before azithromycin chemoprophylaxis can be recommended for control of R equi infections.

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confidence: 99%

Chemoprophylactic effects of azithromycin against Rhodococcus equi–induced pneumonia among foals at equine breeding farms with endemic infections

Chaffin

Cohen²,

Martens³

2008

javma

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“…Bacteria were removed by high-speed centrifugation, and the resultant supernatant consisted of a concentrated composite of soluble R. equi antigens, including exoenzymes, cell wall components, capsular polysaccharides, and virulence-associated proteins, that served as a polyvalent antigen in the assay (6). Positive control serum samples were collected from naturally occurring microbiologically confirmed cases of R. equi-induced bronchopneumonia (3,7).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of Five Serological Assays for Diagnosis ofRhodococcus equiPneumonia in Foals

Giguère

Hernández

Gaskin

et al. 2003

Clin Vaccine Immunol

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The performance of four enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) (ELISA-6939, ELISA-33701, ELISA-VapA, and ELISA-California) and an agar gel immunodiffusion test for diagnosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals was evaluated. Antibody concentrations of foals with culture-confirmed R. equi pneumonia (n ‫؍‬ 41) were compared to those of age-matched pasturemates that remained clinically healthy during the entire breeding season (n ‫؍‬ 24). For each serological assay evaluated, selection of a low cutoff resulted in high sensitivity but low specificity. Increasing the cutoff value resulted in better specificity but to the detriment of sensitivity. The best diagnostic performance was achieved with ELISA-California at a cutoff of 40%, resulting in a sensitivity of 59% and a specificity of 88%. We conclude that current serological assays do not differentiate between diseased and clinically healthy foals.

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“…In addition, the long-term use of antibiotics has potential risks, such as the development of resistance to antibiotics. The immunization of mares has been suggested by several researchers to prevent R. equi infection in foals (8)(9)(10).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of experimental inactivated and live Rhodococcus equivaccines for thoroughbred Arabian mares in mice

ERGANİŞ¹,

HADİMLİ²,

SAYIN³

et al. 2015

Turk J Vet Anim Sci

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IntroductionRhodococcus equi is a gram-positive, nonmotile, obligate aerobic, intracellular microorganism. This organism is a facultative pathogen that causes pneumonia in foals. This pathogen also causes ulcerative enterocolitis, osteomyelitis, and septic arthritis in rare cases. R. equi is present in the soil and in horse feces. Foals are thought to become infected when they ingest or breathe in soil, dust, or fecal particles harboring the bacteria within the first few days of life (1,2). Inhalation of aerosolized virulent R. equi from the environment and intracellular replication within alveolar macrophages are essential components of the pathogenesis of R. equi pneumonia in foals (3). Virulence of R. equi is associated with the presence of plasmids of 80-90 kb that encode the 15-17 kDa lipoprotein virulence-associated protein A (VapA) (4). Clinical symptoms typically appear in less than 6 months. However, protection of the newborn foal is most important during the first week (5). In addition, R. equi may cause infections in the lungs of horses (6). R. equi pneumonia significantly impacts the equine industry by causing financial losses because foals that recover from the disease are less likely to race as adults (7). The strategies used to protect against R. equi infection remain unsuccessful in foals. Although the use of a combination of antibiotics, such as rifamycin and erythromycin, is preferred in the treatment of this infection, the therapeutic effects are inconsistent due to bacteria that grow within cells and create granulomatous abscesses. In addition, the long-term use of antibiotics has potential risks, such as the development of resistance to antibiotics. The immunization of mares has been suggested by several researchers to prevent R. equi infection in foals (8-10).In this study, the efficacy of R. equi vaccines was determined in mice for the protection of Arabian foals against R. equi infection. To achieve this aim, 4 inactive vaccine candidates and a live vaccine were prepared using the VapA + K2002 strain of R. equi.

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Immunoprophylaxis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals

Cited by 65 publications

References 10 publications

Chemoprophylactic effects of azithromycin against Rhodococcus equi–induced pneumonia among foals at equine breeding farms with endemic infections

Chemoprophylactic effects of azithromycin against Rhodococcus equi–induced pneumonia among foals at equine breeding farms with endemic infections

Performance of Five Serological Assays for Diagnosis ofRhodococcus equiPneumonia in Foals

Efficacy of experimental inactivated and live Rhodococcus equivaccines for thoroughbred Arabian mares in mice

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