EQUINE INFECTIOUS DISEASE C
OVID-19 has affected all corners of the thoroughbred world and has changed lives, work patterns and the social activity that underpins racing. One of its minor impacts was that this year, the Gerald Leigh Memorial Lecture series, usually coordinated by Beaufort Cottage Educational Trust at the National Horseracing Museum, Palace House, Newmarket each summer, was cancelled. This annual lecture series is supported by the Gerald Leigh Charitable Trust in honour of Mr Leigh’s passion for the thoroughbred horse and its health and welfare. Coincidentally, the topic which had been selected for 2020 was Minimising Risk from Equine Infectious Disease. Finding that a meeting was impossible, the trustees organised for presentations to be filmed remotely, and these are now available online.
SCAN THE QR CODE TO WATCH THE LECTURES SERIES INTRODUCTION BY NICK WINGFIELD DIGBY, CHAIRMAN, BEAUFORT COTTAGE TRUST.
• Gastrointestinal disease in the first year of life Gastrointestinal disease is a common problem in foals and youngstock with potentially serious illnesses involved. Dr Nathan Slovis, director of the McGee Center, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, explained that by six months of age, 20% of foals will have had infectious diarrhoea. Dr Slovis presents a concise and very practical account of how we can minimise risk of infection in this age group. The specific causes of gastrointestinal disease vary with age. Foals frequently display mild diarrhoea at around the time of the foal heat, generally a problem that will clear up uneventfully. Major infections in foals include rotavirus, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium difficile. Infectious disease can be life-threatening if infection leads to shock, so every gastrointestinal case should be assessed carefully; early intervention is critical. Vaccines are available to help minimise risk of rotavirus but prevention relies primarily on proper hygiene and appropriate choice of disinfectants, which vary depending on the particular microorganism concerned.
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TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 71
SCAN THE QR CODE TO WATCH THE PRESENTATION BY DR NATHAN SLOVIS, DIRECTOR OF THE MCGEE CENTER, LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY.
• Diagnosis: PCR and ELISA technologies The speed and availability of laboratory testing have been revolutionised in recent years with the introduction of ELISA and PCR technology. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an immunological assay commonly used to measure antibodies, antigens or proteins. An ELISA test relies on finding a molecule which is unique to a virus or bacteria and is used to find several equine pathogens, including rotavirus, Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens. PCR technology rapidly makes millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample, allowing the lab to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail. Rapid tests are now available, which have revolutionised the diagnostic approach across a huge range of equine infections; relevant to foal diarrhoea is that this technology is used for rapid testing of faecal samples for Salmonella. In addition to being extremely quick, both PCR and ELISA tests are very sensitive. Dr Slovis emphasised how important this is in early identification of diseases with the potential to spread rapidly in young horses.
• Auditing environmental contamination All the speakers in the webinar series spoke of the importance of robust biosecurity and common themes emerged in all four webinars regardless of the animals’ age or whether respiratory, skin or gastrointestinal infection is involved. Dr Slovis’ clinical practice includes offering services to identify areas of environmental contamination. This involves a detailed inspection of all areas on the farm together with laboratory