BACKGROUND Almost all foals develop transient diarrhoea within the first weeks of life. Studies indicated different viral, bacterial, and parasitic causes, such as rotavirus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Cryptosporidium are discussed. But little is known about the development of intestinal microflora in foals. The present study investigated whether the supplementation with Bac...

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a pregnant mare immunization of a Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) vaccine candidate containing a water-based nanoparticle mineral oil adjuvanted (Montanide IMS 3012) inactive bacterin and virulence-associated protein A (VapA), as well as the administration of anti-R. equi hyperimmune (HI) plasma against R. equi challenge in the mares' foals. The eff...

Azotemia in neonatal foals ( 7 days of age) may be an indicator of pre-renal failure, acute kidney injury (AKI), obstructive disease, congenital renal disorders, or disruption of the collecting system leading to uroperitoneum. Because clinical signs of renal failure may be similar to those with septicemia or asphyxia (weakness, recumbency, or poor nursing vigor), performing a serum biochemical ...

In equids, susceptibility to disease caused by Rhodococcus equi occurs almost exclusively in foals. This distribution might be attributable to the age-dependent maturation of immunity following birth undergone by mammalian neonates that renders them especially susceptible to infectious diseases. Expansion and diversification of the neonatal microbiome contribute to development of immunity in th...

The concentration of airborne virulent R. equi is closely correlated with the prevalence of R. equi disease on endemically affected farms. Virulent R. equi is certainly aerosolised in association with dust, but foals are also an important source of airborne virulent R. equi as they breathe off high concentrations in exhaled air. Both clinically ill and asymptomatic foals have high concentration...

Faecal egg counts were performed in 187 foals of a large Polish stud farm between February and September 2007. Eggs of Parascaris equorum were present in faeces of 7% and those of cyathostomins in 13% of the foals aged less than 194 days. Information dealing with age of foals and/or efficiency of ivermectin treatment as well as the nematode parasite prepatent periods, it can be conducted that m...

The ability of Rhodococcus equi to induce pneumonia in foals depends on the presence of an 85- to 90-kb plasmid. In this study, we evaluated whether plasmid-encoded products mediate virulence by modulating the cytokine response of foals. Foals infected intrabronchially with a virulence plasmid-containing strain of R. equi had similar gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) p35 b...

Cryptosporidium parvum is a coccidian parasite that infects the microvilli of intestinal epithelial cells. Strains that infect horses and cattle can also infect man, and therefore cryptosporidiosis is a zoonotic disease. In horses, cryptosporidiosis is most commonly seen in foals (most frequently 1–4 weeks of age) and is associated with diarrhoea and weight loss. Immunocompromised foals (includ...

BACKGROUND Intravascular volume assessment in foals is challenging. In humans, intravascular volume status is estimated by the caudal vena cava (CVC) collapsibility index (CVC-CI) defined as (CVC diameter at maximum expiration [CVCmax ] - CVC diameter at minimal inspiration [CVCmin ])/CVCmax × 100%. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To determine whether the CVC could be sonographically measured in health...

Fourteen Quarter Horse foals were used to evaluate the effects of artificial rearing on growth. Seven foals were removed from their dams at 3 d of age and fed a reconstituted 26% crude protein (CP) milk replacer free choice for 1 mo, at which time ad libitum solid feeding began. Controls were weaned from their dams at 2 mo of age and fed a 21% CP concentrate ad libitum until the end of the tria...