Owner-reported equine health disorders: results of an Australia-wide postal survey

OBJECTIVE: To establish the prevalence of health disorders reported by horse owners registered with veterinary practices in Australia. DESIGN AND METHOD: Mailed questionnaire-based study of horse owners in Australia conducted in 2001. RESULTS: Data were obtained for 3901 horses belonging to 621 owners. The most prevalent health disorders were non-laminitic lameness (13.0%), skin disorders (6.1%) and behavioural disorders (4.5%). Prevalence of health disorders varied among different age, breed and sex categories within the study population, and disorders were more prevalent in male and older horses. CONCLUSION: The most frequent disorders reported by owners were lameness, skin disorders and behavioural disorders. The disease profile was similar to that described in other owner reported studies conducted in the UK and USA.     

Kinematic analysis of the gait of 10 labrador retrievers during treadmill locomotion

The trotting gait of 10 sound, adult labrador retrievers was analysed using kinematic gait analysis on a purpose-built treadmill using video-based motion analysis software. The maximal angular displacement, minimal angular displacement, average angular displacement, and the maximal positive and negative angular velocities of the right elbow and right stifle were measured over five gait cycles at defined time points during each of five two-minute sessions. The dogs' trotting gait was not repeatable, either for individual dogs during the first session or between sessions, or between dogs at the same time points during a session.     

Ultrasonographic assessment and ultrasound-guided biopsy of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

Endotheliotropic herpesvirus causes a fatal disease in young Asian elephants, but there are no methods for identifying latent carriers of the virus. During the postmortem study of one female African elephant and three male and two female Asian elephants, a lymph node located bilaterally caudoventral to the parotid gland, approximately 1.5 to 5 cm below the skin, was identified as suitable for transcutaneous ultrasound-guided biopsy. An ultrasonographic assessment and two biopsies were performed on 39 Asian elephants, and these lymph nodes were classified ultrasonographically as active, inactive or chronically active. The calculated mean (se) volume of 10 active lymph nodes was 17.4 (6.9) cm(3), and that of three chronically active lymph nodes was 10.6 (1.0) cm(3), whereas the mean volume of 17 inactive lymph nodes was 3.1 (0.6) cm(3). The presence of lymph node tissue in samples obtained by ultrasound-guided biopsy from three animals that were maintained under conditions that allowed for additional sampling was confirmed histologically. The dna extracted from the lymphoid tissue and the whole blood of all the elephants was negative for endotheliotropic herpesvirus by PCR.     

Risk factors for injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon and suspensory apparatus in Thoroughbred racehorses in New Zealand

AIM: To investigate risk factors for injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory apparatus (SA) of the forelimbs in Thoroughbred racehorses in New Zealand. METHODS: Poisson and negative binomial regression, with exposure time represented by cumulative training days for each horse, were used to relate explanatory variables to the incidence rate (IR) of cases of inflammation of the SDFT (n=51), and injuries involving the SA (n=48) in a population of 1,571 commercially- trained racehorses over 554,745 study days. Only the first occurrence of an injury for any one horse was eligible for inclusion. Separate analyses were run for data from horses in training regardless of whether they had started in a trial or race, and using a subset of these data restricted to those preparations associated with at least one start in a trial or race. Results were reported as incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Male horses had a higher risk of injury to the SA (IRR 2.57; p=0.005) and tended to have a higher risk of injury to the SDFT (IRR 1.74; p=0.09) than female horses. Increasing age was associated with increased risk of injury. Horses aged 4 and > or =5 years were 6.76 (p<0.001) and 15.26 (p<0.001) times more likely to incur injury to the SDFT, and 2.91 (p=0.02) and 3.54 (p=0.005) times more likely to incur injury to the SA, respectively, than 2-year-olds. Horses were more likely to suffer an injury to the SDFT or SA in a training preparation that was not associated with any starts in official trials or races compared with those preparations that were associated with more than one start (p<0.001), and more likely to injure the SA compared with preparations containing one start (p=0.03). The IR of injury to the SDFT tended to be lower between November-January (IRR 0.78; p=0.08) and February-April (IRR 0.75; p=0.08) compared with August-October. Incidence of injury to the SDFT or SA was not associated with the cumulative distance raced in the last 30 days of a training preparation. CONCLUSION: This study identified risk factors for injury to the SDFT and SA in Thoroughbred racehorses in New Zealand. Injuries were more likely in males, older horses and in horses in training preparations without any starts. There was no evidence of association between injury and cumulative high-speed exercise.     

The development and validation of an antibody-ELISA to detect Trypanosoma evansi infection in cattle in Australia and Papua New Guinea

Trypanosoma evansi is exotic to Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, it might have been introduced to Papua (Indonesia); thus, there is a risk of it entering PNG and thence Australia. Because of logistical difficulties in PNG and northern Australia, surveillance for T. evansi must rely on serological tests. The accuracy of an Ab-ELISA using a detergent extract of T. evansi and three antigen fractions purified from the detergent extract using stepwise precipitation with saturated ammonium sulphate (AS) were compared. The ELISA using the AS 40-50% fraction had greater discriminatory power compared to the ELISA using the other antigen fractions. This ELISA then was compared with two commercial tests: the Card Agglutination Test for trypanosomiasis/T. evansi (CATT) and Suratex. CATT/T. evansi at 1/4 serum dilution has higher sensitivity and the ELISA has higher specificity. There is no likely benefit in combining antibody detection tests to improve the accuracy of diagnosis. Furthermore, the combination of Suratex (which was independent of the antibody tests) with the CATT or the ELISA did not improve the sensitivity. None of the tests was sufficiently sensitive to be used confidently to determine freedom from infection in animals imported into Australia from countries where T. evansi infection is endemic.