Equine Medicine

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen and is a significant cause of hospital acquired (nosocomial) infection of surgical wounds and infections associated with indwelling medical devices. Staphylococcus aureus can colonize the skin and nares of humans which facilitate its transmission, particularly in the healthcare setting.

The clinical signs of VEE are similar to both EEE and VEE with a large variation in mortality ranging from 40-90% depending on the outbreak. In addition to subclinical and overt CNS clinical signs, diarrhea has been observed in VEE horses. Florida, Texas, and Louisiana are the three states ecologically at risk but recent activity in Panama could result in a transported case by air travel.

Horses with evidence of epistaxis can be challenging to diagnose and manage. The volume of visible blood can range from a trace of serosanguinous discharge that is suggestive of a past episode of bleeding, to high volume fresh blood flow from both nares.

The principles of extracting teeth are very similar, regardless of the tooth one is attempting to remove. Private practitioners are familiar with the routine extraction of wolf teeth (modified Triadan #05). With an investment in instruments, an understanding of techniques, the use of regional head anesthesia, and systemic sedatives, more extractions can be performed with time and patience.

Advanced reproductive technologies such as cooled semen, frozen semen, embryo transfer and gamete inter fallopian tube transfer (GIFT) have given horse owners choices and freedom. Mares can be bred at home with semen collected from stallions that live anywhere in North America, Europe or Australasia. Stallions can compete during the breeding season while mares are bred with their previously frozen semen.

Maintenance of excellent health and biosecurity standards at the level of the farm is the MOST effective way of maintaining an outbreak-free industry. All disease outbreaks have an index case and all index cases have a point of origin. Because horses are usually maintained at a 'home" farm, then the origin of any outbreak should be traced back to the farm level.

A basic reproductive examination includes obtaining a history, conducting a physical examination, evaluating the perineal conformation, and performing a rectal/ultrasonographic exam of the reproductive tract, vaginal speculum examination and digital examination of the cervix.

The soft tissues of the oral cavity are susceptible to traumatic injuries by bits or other oral tack, sharp external objects, blows to the head, injury during recovery from general anesthesia, and iatrogenic damage during intraoral procedures-for example, administration of oral medications, dental extraction, or transoral epiglottic entrapment release.

If the side of cryptorchidism is unknown, surgery can be prolonged and laparoscopic exploration of the abdomen may be a better approach.

The horse is prone to traumatic injury of its head. Environmental conditions, a heightened flight response, and equipment and tack used for the horse all contribute to injury occurrence.

For diseases, there is a 'disease allele' (or gene mutation) and a 'normal allele' present in the population.

The equine paranasal sinuses (PNS) are an intricate area of the head. There are 6 paired sinuses (frontal, maxillary, dorsal conchal, ventral conchal, middle conchal, and sphenopalatine) and all of these spaces communicate with each other and the nasal passage either directly or indirectly.

Neurological disease represents 0.3% (affecting between 0.2 and 0.5% of horses depending on age) of all health problems identified by owners in the latest 2005 Equine National Animal Health and Monitoring Study (NAHMS).14 Likely this is much higher given losses in young horses due to non-infectious neurological causes, in all ages of horses from underreporting of encephalitis, and misdiagnoses of these diseases as lameness and trauma.

In evaluating a foal with established pneumonia, how can you differentiate between R. equi pneumonia from those caused by other bacteria, while waiting culture results?

This is the most common allergic skin disease of the horse, caused by a hypersensitivity to the bites of common insects. There are a variety of common names for this condition including "sweet itch" and "summer eczema".

Salmonella enteriticus, Neorickettsia risticii (Potomac Horse Fever), Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens are most commonly associated with infectious diarrhea in adults. Foals can have a variety of agents including viral causes and bacterial such as Lawsonia intracellularis.

The perinatal period in the mare is associated with many medical and surgical conditions that can be life threatening. These include retained placenta; metritis, laminitis, septicemia complex; colic, and rupture of a viscus, artery or uterus. Most are emergencies and if left unattended can have dire consequences.

The deliberate induction of active immunity to an agent by exposure to the agent or to non-replicating components, with the intent of inducing protective immunity to challenge with a virulent infectious agent, is termed "vaccination". Actively acquired immunity is that provided by an antigen specific response of the challenged host's own immune system in response to materials recognized as non-self.

Causes of acute renal failure: 1. Hemodynamic causes; 2. Toxic causes; 3. Inflammatory causes.

Rostral Mandibular & Maxillary Fractures: Fractures of the rostral mandible and premaxilla/incisive bones that can be repaired with wire or acrylic.

Infectious and non-infectious hemolymphatic diseases generally present with the same clinical symptoms due to cardiovascular insult, lack of tissue oxygenation and possible impending cardiovascular collapse. Frequently, bacterial sepsis is hard to differentiate from viral diseases.

A good ocular examination begins with a thorough medical history. The saying goes that the eyes are the window to the soul – to the ophthalmologist they are often a window to illness somewhere else in the body. Start with the basics; signalment, use, as well as housing, work, and turnout environments.

Neurological disease represents 0.3% (affecting between 0.2 and 0.5% of horses depending on age) of all health problems identified by owners in the latest 2005 Equine National Animal Health and Monitoring Study (NAHMS).14 Likely this is much higher given losses in young horses due to non-infectious neurological causes, in all ages of horses from underreporting of encephalitis, and misdiagnoses of these diseases as lameness and trauma.

Uveitis in the horse can be divided broadly into two forms – equine recurrent uveitis and non-recurrent/progressive uveitis

Ideally, you need at least one trained assistant to adequately perform most of these selected distal limb, head, and neck surgeries.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen and is a significant cause of hospital acquired (nosocomial) infection of surgical wounds and infections associated with indwelling medical devices. Staphylococcus aureus can colonize the skin and nares of humans which facilitate its transmission, particularly in the healthcare setting.

Regional or local anesthesia of the equine head greatly facilitates performing standing procedures that are anticipated to elicit pain in the patient. With effective local anesthesia, less systemic sedatives may be required for standing surgeries (e.g. dental extractions, laceration repairs, incisor avulsion repairs), patients under general anesthesia can be run at a lighter plane of anesthesia, and postoperative pain may be lessened if effective preemptive analgesia is in place.

Corneal disease is the most common reason for ophthalmic examination in the horse. Many corneal lesions are initially due to trauma.

Roseland, N.J. -- The Unwanted Horse Veterinary Relief Campaign is reminding veterinarians that applications for free fall vaccinations for qualifying equine facilities are due Aug. 1.

A study in 11 clinically normal adult horses evaluated whether triamcinolone acetonide, a commonly used corticosteroid for treating navicular syndrome, would diffuse from the distal interphalangeal joint into the navicular bursa.