INFECTION
Shuttersotck/Yuriy Bartenev
HYPER-IMMUNE PLASMA Could Decrease R. equi Fecal Shedding The administration of Rhodococcus equi specific hyper-immune plasma (Re-HIP) to neonatal foals decreases fecal shedding, lowering environmental contamination, which could mean fewer pneumonia cases on endemic farms, according Macarena G. Sanz, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, assistant professor of equine medicine of Washington State University in Pullman. “I think it's a beneficial effect of this plasma that nobody has looked at before,” she said at the American Association of Equine Practitioners 65th Annual Convention. R. equi grows slowly, so many foals do not develop B y
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Issue 5/2020 | ModernEquineVet.com
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pneumonia until about 3 months old or so, but they become infected with the bacteria early in life, likely within the first few weeks of life, according to Dr. Sanz, and easily shed the bacteria in their feces, contaminating the environment and infecting other foals.
Highly Infectious
“We are very well aware that foals are getting infected with these bacteria pretty much as they hit the ground,” she said. “So that first week or 2 is extremely important.” Dr. Sanz and her colleagues’ previous work, while
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