Equinevet December 2014

Vol 4 Issue 12 2014www.modernequinevet.comEquine Vet

The Modern

Horse racing position cuts drag, saves energy

Horse Cents: Is that degree worth it?

Technician Update: Colic due to Salmonella

hints for the foal eye exam

2 Issue 12/2014 | ModernEquineVet.com

Table of ConTenTS

RacIngHorse racing position cuts drag up to 66% .................................................................... 7

EMERgIng DIsEasEsHorse virus sheds light on ebola replication ..................................................................8

HoRsE cEnTsVeterinary market improving, but value of veterinary degree unclear ..........11

TEcHnIcIan UpDaTEcolic, enteritis and nasogastric reflex associated with Salmonella hadar ......14

nEwsapLU, aaVMc create antibiotic resistance task force ............3Merial acquires two equine products from Bayer ..............12grant helps to build new reference genome ........................12Uc Davis gets new ophthalmic laser ........................................13g. Kent carter new president of aaEp ....................................13

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Manifestations of ocular disease in the neonate

coVER sToRy: 4

Cover photo Shutterstock/Alexia Khruscheva

SaleS: Robin geller • [email protected]

editor: Marie Rosenthal • [email protected]

art director: Jennifer Barlow • [email protected]

contributing writer: paul Basillo

coPY editor: patty wall

Published by

p E r c y b omedia publishing

Equine VetThe Modern

advertiSerSavalon Medical ............................................................................................................................................. 3

PO Box 935 • Morrisville, PA 19067Marie Rosenthal and Jennifer Barlow, Publishers

newSnoTeS

aPlu and aavMc create task Force on antibiotic resistance in Production agricultureWashinGton, DC — The Association of public and Land-grant Universities (ApLU) and the As-sociation of American Veterinary Medical colleges (AAVMc) created the Task Force on Antibiotic re-sistance in production Agriculture.

composed of representatives from U.S. agriculture colleges/land grant universities and veterinary col-leges, the production animal agriculture community and the pharmaceutical industry, the task force will advise the federal government on a research agenda and also help publicly disseminate information about the use of antibiotics in production agriculture. of-ficials from key federal agencies are expected to serve as observers to the task force and leaders from public universities in Mexico and canada will serve as ex officio members.

“The task force will draw on the expertise of its members to serve as a knowledgeable and impor-tant source of advice for the federal government as it develops its plans. It can also make recommenda-tions on further research that should be undertaken to develop alternative solutions for some antibiotic

use in production agriculture,” said lonnie J. King, DVM, MS, MpA, DAcVpM, chair of the task force and dean of The ohio State University college of Vet-erinary Medicine.

In September 2014, the president’s council of Advisors on Science and Technology (pcAST) re-leased a report, combating Antibiotic-resistance, which laid out several recommendations to address the problem. president obama has also issued an ex-ecutive order that describes the antibiotic resistant bacteria problem as a national security priority and directs various executive branch departments and agencies to develop a plan of action by mid-Febru-ary 2015 to address antibiotic resistance and protect public health. ApLU and AAVMc support the goals articulated in the president's executive order and the framework provided in the pcAST report.

once policies are established, ApLU member in-stitutions will help educate producers and the general public about the appropriate use of antibiotics in agri-culture and veterinary medicine and the design of ef-fective stewardship programs. MeV

ModernEquineVet.com | Issue 10/2014 3

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CoVer STory

the initial ophthalmic examination of the neontate can have a significant impact on the foal's career, quality of life and value.Photo courtesy of Dr. Sarah L. Czerwinski.

The initial ophthalmic ex-amination of the neonate can have a significant impact on a foal’s career, quality of life and value. While there are many anatomic and physiologic similarities between foals and adult horses, the two may manifest ocular disease in different ways, accord-

ing to sarah l. Czerwinski, DVM, bSc, resident in ophthalmology at the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital.

“A thorough ophthalmic exami-nation is incredibly important for the identification and treatment of abnormalities,” she said here at the

61st annual American Association of Equine practitioner’s convention in Salt Lake city. “These abnormali-ties can have a significant impact on the foal’s life and career.”

cataracts can either be congen-ital or inherited. common affect-ed breeds include Thoroughbred,

What to look for

ophthalmic examduring the neonate's

B y p a U L B a s I L I o


Morgans, belgians and rocky Mountain horses.

“The lens focuses images onto the retina,” Dr. czerwinski noted. “The cataract blocks images, but it does not block light. A foal with a cataract will still have a dazzle re-flex and an intact pupillary light response.”

Dr. czerwinski explained it is important to note where the cata-ract is within the lens. cataracts in the posterior pole of the lens are going to have the greatest impact on vision, and cataracts within the anterior part of the lens are going to be more likely to progress due to the addition of new fibers over time.

“To localize a cataract within a lens, use the slit beam on a direct ophthalmoscope,” she said. “Don’t look through the eyepiece. Instead, focus the beam on the cornea and sweep the light from side to side. If the lesion is on the anterior part of the lens, it will move in the same direction as the cornea. If it is on the posterior part of the lens, it will move in the opposite direction.”

cataract surgery has an initial high success rate in foals, but the long-term results are poor.

MicrophthalmiaMicrophthalmia, or an abnor-

mally small globe, must be differen-tiated from phthisis bulbi. It is often idiopathic or secondary to uterine or other systemic disease. common presentations for microphthalmia include a small palpebral fissure, prominent nictitans and a flat, small, orbit.

“The globe dictates the size of the orbit in the skull,” Dr. czerwinski noted. “The difference will become more pronounced with time.”

Affected horses usually are blind and may also have entropion, chronic irritation and ocular dis-

charge. Enucleation may be indi-cated to restore comfort.

persistent pupillary MembranesEmbryologically, the iris forms

as a sheet. The center part will re-gress to become the pupil. Any fail-ure of that regression is called the persistent pupillary membrane. Fo-cal opacities may be present in the lens or cornea, but vision is often unaffected. Surgical intervention is not typically required.

DermoidsDermoids are plaques of epider-

mal tissue in an abnormal location. They are typically pigmented and may contain hair follicles, which can be irritating to the foal.

“We have a high rate of success with keratectomy or blepharoplasty, depending on the location,” Dr. cz-erwinski said.

aniridiaThe iris forms the pupil, which

modifies the amount of light that enters the eye. “With aniridia,” she said, “a horse or a foal is going to be very photophobic. This can mani-fest as blepharospasm or epiphora in bright light.”

The disease is rare, but belgians, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds are overrepresented.

on examination of a normal horse, the leaflets of the iris block the veterinarian’s view of the ciliary body and the zonules that attach to the equator of the lens. Without the iris, the ciliary processes are visible as pigmented ridges. Small white lines also may be visible ex-tending from the equator of the lens to the ciliary processes; these are the lens zonules.

EntropionEntropion is one of the most

common acquired causes of ocu-lar disease in foals. Lower eyelids are affected most often.

When the globe is displaced caudally in the orbit, the eyelids tend to roll inward. The inversion of the eyelid causes hairs from the lids to contact the cornea, which can cause ulceration and further retraction of the globe. “We need to break the vicious cycle of en-ophthalmos and entropion,” Dr. czerwinski explained. “Tempo-rary eversion of the eyelids is in-dicated. Avoid permanent correc-tions until the foal is fully grown.”

Several different methods of eversion will work, but the pre-ferred method is to use an evert-ing mattress suture with 2 to 3 su-tures per lid. “Each bite of tissue is going to be about 5 mm, and the first bite should be 1 to 2 mm away

ophthalmic examduring the neonate's

the normal FoalThere are some key differences between the healthy

eyes of a foal and those of an adult horse, according to Sarah l. czerwinski, DVM, BSc, resident in ophthalmology at the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital. In foals, the iris is typically gray, and pupils are oval. “During the first month of life, the pupils are going to change into more of a horizontal shape.”

The optic disk is typically round and can range from pale pink to bright salmon-pink; the appearance of congestion may even be present. “You may see gray streaks radiating from the optic disks,” Dr. Czerwinski said. “That comes from myelin on the axons that comes from the retina and goes toward the optic disk to leave the eye. These streaks should be differentiated from retinal detachments or retinal folds.”

Lagophthalmos with an otherwise normal palpebral reflex is also a normal finding in very young foals. The appearance of a physiologic rotational strabismus will resolve after the first few days of life.

The menace response is absent in healthy foals; the reflex does not develop until about 2 weeks of age. “In the meantime, we need to rely on the dazzle reflex and observation of ambulation to assess vision in the foal,” Dr. Czerwinski noted.


CoVer STory

from the lid margin.” The distance of the second bite from the eyelid margin depends on how much eversion is required.

Dr. czerwinski stressed the importance of using small, non-absorbable sutures that can be left in place while the foal recovers.

corneal UlcerationUlceration of the cornea is

common in neonatal foals because of the lack of a menace response. Simple corneal ulcers are super-ficial, not infected, and involve minimal uveitis, while complicat-ed ulcers are going to be deep and possibly melting. Surgery tends to be indicated if there is greater than 50% stromal loss.

“In foals, these melting ulcers will often be sterile, but culture them anyway,” Dr. czerwinski said. “The ulcers may not always be pain-ful, so a Seidel test is important to detect full-thickness lesions.”

Treatment varies depending on the severity of disease, and in-cludes administration of serum and selected antimicrobials every 1 to 4 hours.

regardless of the disease, Dr. czerwinski stressed the impor-tance of fluorescein stain in all foals. “Foals may not manifest signs of ocular pain the same way that an adult horse would,” she said, “so staining is going to help to diagnose signs of pain from an ulcer, glaucoma or uveitis.” MeVthe top picture shows aniridia in a foal. the bottom a melting ulcer.

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Surgery tends to be indicated

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raCIng

Jockeys who take advantage of slipstreaming, or drafting, by run-ning their horse behind or along-side others can reduce aerodynamic drag force by up to 66%, saving their horse critical energy, according to wind tunnel simulations done at rMIT University in Australia.

The simulations conducted in rMIT’s bundoora wind tun-nel, using toy models that are ex-act miniature replicas of a racing horse and jockey, are the first in the world to measure the effect of slipstreaming on horses through wind tunnel tests.

prof. franz “tino” fuss, said slipstreaming was a standard strat-egy in sports, such as cycling and speed skating, to save athletes’ pow-er and energy.

“In a horse race, jockeys can use this same principle to give their horses an edge and help them re-serve energy for that crucial final burst,” prof. Fuss said, “our re-search for the first time quantifies how much drag is reduced through different slipstreaming tactics in a horse race.”

The research showed the impact of different horse packs on drag (on average):

• two horses in front of one horse: drag of trailing horse reduced by 66%

• four horses in a row: drag of

Horse racing position

ings when slipstreaming.The research was conducted in

the SportzEdge program of rMIT’s platform Technologies research In-stitute, with co-chief Investigator professor simon Watkins and aero-space engineering student Kevin stark. MeV

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66%cuts drag up tolast horse reduced by 54%

• two horses running closely behind each other: drag of leading horse reduced by 6.5%, drag of trailing horse re-duced by 38.5%

• five horses side by side: drag of center horse increases by 25%

From these principles and fur-ther results, the energy expendi-ture can be calculated throughout the race of each individual horse, as well as the overall energy sav-

Published in the Australasian Science Magazine. January/February 2015. http://www.australasianscience.com.au/category/magazine-issue/januaryfebruary-2015

For more information:


University of Utah research-ers ran biochemical analysis and computer simulations of a livestock virus to discover an exotic mecha-nism to explain the replication of related viruses, such as Ebola, mea-sles and rabies. The mechanism may be a possible target for new treatments within a decade.

“This is fundamental science. It creates new targets for poten-tial antiviral drugs in the next five to 10 years, but unfortunately would not have an impact on the current Ebola epidemic” in West Africa, said saveez saffarian, phD, senior author of the study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology.

Dr. Saffarian, a virologist and assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and his colleagues studied vesicular stomatitis vi-rus (VSV), which is a member of the nonsegmented negative sense (NNS) rNA viruses. That family also includes closely related viruses responsible for Ebola, measles, ra-bies and the common, childhood respiratory syncytial virus (rSV). The genetic blueprint in these vi-ruses is an rNA strand that is covered by protein like beads on a necklace.

by conducting 20,000 computer simulations of the VSV starting to replicate in different ways, the study found a “fundamental mech-

anism” used by VSV and related viruses like Ebola to make copies of themselves, Saffarian said.

once the virus infects a cell, en-zymes called polymerases literally slide along the protein bead-cov-ered viral rNA strand until they reach the correct end of the strand. Then the polymerases can read and transcribe the rNA code to synthe-size messenger rNA, or mrNA. once one polymerase starts doing that, it collides with other sliding polymerases, kicking them loose within the cell until they, too, at-tach to the correct end of the rNA and replicate to take over the in-fected host cell.

“The proposed sliding mecha-nism is a fundamental new mech-anism specific to the NNS rNA viruses that can be a target for antiviral drugs in the future,” Dr. Saffarian said.

The sliding contrasts with rep-lication in many other viruses,

in which the polymerases easily detach from the virus inside an infected cell and then find the right end of the rNA so replica-tion begins.

He believes the discovery is “as fundamental as understanding the workings of HIV protease” – an enzyme essential for replication of the AIDS virus and became a target of protease inhibitors, which first made it possible for AIDS patients to live with AIDS as a chronic rath-er than deadly disease.

Many viruses have their genome or genetic blueprint hidden within an envelope of fat or lipid. The only parts of the virus that are exposed are some envelope proteins, and about 10% of those proteins are used by the virus to play a direct role in entering and infecting a tar-get cell. Antibodies in vaccines tar-get the proteins to attack and block viral infection.

but viruses quickly mutate dif-ferent exposed proteins, making vaccines less than ideal – as dem-onstrated by the discovery that this year’s influenza vaccine doesn’t closely match the viruses circulat-ing this flu season.

Some viruses, known as rNA vi-ruses, have genetic blueprints made of rNA instead of DNA. creating vaccines is particularly difficult for many rNA viruses – which include HIV, influenza and the group with

HorSe viruS sheds light on Ebola replication

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Using the horse virus, vesicular stomatitis

virus, scientists think they may have found a way to target new treatments against

Ebola virus.

eMergIng dISeaSeS

HorSe viruS

this illustration depicts an exotic mechanism by which a family of viruses named nnS rna viruses may replicate to make copies of themselves, according to a university of utah study. the family includes vesicular stomatitis virus, as well as viruses responsible for ebola, measles, rabies and rSv. the mechanism may serve as a target for new drugs against ebola in five to 10 years. the yellowish strand is a viral genetic blueprint made of rna and covered by bead-like proteins. the orange, ball-shaped objects are enzymes called polymerases, which normally read and copy the rna to make new virus particles. that process can begin only when some polymerases attach to the correct end of the rna and start reading it, which the two polymerases on the left are doing. the other polymerases (the four on the right side) are attached to the protein-covered rna but slide along it until they collide with the polymerases that already are reading the rna. those collisions kick sliding polymerases loose (top center) so they can float to the proper end of the rna and start reading it. researchers hope future drugs can be developed to target this sliding mechanism as a new treatment for ebola.


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VSV and Ebola “…because rNA viruses are adept at mutating and changing their envelope proteins to evade vaccines,” Dr. Saffarian said, adding that the Ebola virus now in Africa “is mutating extremely fast.”

So while “…promising vaccines candidates against Ebola now are being developed,” Dr. Saffarian said, “vaccines are not the most potent way to fight these rNA viruses.”

“The only way to create stable antiviral therapies against rNA viruses is to target multiple sites within the replication machinery,” he added.

“The replication machinery of the Ebola virus is not fully under-stood because it has not been pos-sible to reconstitute replication of Ebola in the lab,” Dr. Saffarian said. “It’s biochemically difficult."

The fundamental mechanism of replication has been shown to be almost identical to the well-stud-ied VSV, which infects and causes bleeding mouth and udder ulcers in horses, cattle and pigs.

When an NNS rNA virus in-fects a cell, its rNA genetic blue-print enters the cell along with a set of polymerases, which are enzymes

essential for a virus to replicate. polymerases normally “read” the rNA genetic blueprint to synthe-size mrNA, which then leads to formation of viral proteins and vi-ral replication: more viral particles.

but in the NNS rNA viruses, the rNA strand is covered by bead-like proteins, preventing polymerases from reading the rNA and starting the replication process. yet, the vi-ral polymerases somehow evolved to read, transcribe and replicate the rNA genome hidden beneath the protein beads.

researchers previously thought viral polymerases worked similar to the polymerases inside our cells, which move freely inside the cell and find the proper end of DNA to begin replication.

but in an initial phase of the study conducted with real VSV, they found that polymerases at-tached to the bead-covered rNA of VSV were so tightly bound, they could not float off into the cell to find the correct end of the rNA to start reading it.

They used computer simula-tion to test 20,000 different condi-tions that could possibly occur as

the livestock virus rNA was read and transcribed into mrNA in the first steps of viral replication. The simulations were based on current knowledge of how much work polymerases do during the first hour after VSV infects a cell, and that each virus carries about 50 identical polymerase molecules to use for reading and copying the virus’ rNA into mrNA. The researchers looked for the mecha-nism that best fit the speed of a real VSV infection.

These viral polymerases have to be able to slide on their bead-cov-ered rNA genomes rather fast to replicate. They can’t separate from the rNA, but they can slide, which helps the polymerases find where they have to start work at the end of the rNA.

The study also indicates that as a polymerase reads and transcribes the beaded rNA strand, it collides with sliding polymerases and kicks them into solution inside the cell, which allows them to eventually bind to the correct end of the rNA, where they also start transcribing it to mrNA for replication. MeV

eMergIng dISeaSeS

Eight exceptional veterinary students committed to careers in equine medicine received $2,500 scholarships from the American Association of Equine Practitioners Foundation and Markel at the AAEP’s 60th Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Now in its 26th year, the annual scholarship program awards financial support to fourth-year veterinary students who are proven leaders at their schools, advocates for equine welfare and academic achievers. Since inception of the program in 1989, 186 veterinary students have received more than $400,000 in scholarship support.

Congratulations to the following 2014 recipients: • Zachary Badura, Iowa State University• Elodie Huguet, University of Georgia• Rebecca Legere, Kansas State University• Molly Muedeking, Royal Veterinary College• stephanie Regan, University of Florida• Holly Roessner, Michigan State University• Esther Rogers, Auburn University• Bailee stanton, University of Saskatchewan

“Markel has been a leader in equine insurance for many years,” said AAEP Foundation Chairman Jeff Berk, VMD. “We can’t thank Markel and its dedicated team enough for continuing its leadership by supporting this scholarship program.

“Equine veterinary students need help now more than ever, and Markel’s dedication is so important in helping these students during difficult economic times.” MeV

vet students receive aaeP Foundation scholarships

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HorSe CenTS

is that veterinary degree worth it? new figures question degree value, but show market picking up

Economists from the American Veterinary Medi-cal Association (AVMA) predicted that the market for veterinary services over the next several years would improve, but called into the question the value of a veterinary degree.

“The work presented at the 2014 Veterinary Eco-nomic Summit represents the first effort of moving beyond the ‘one-time’ workforce study by attempt-ing more sophisticated analysis,” said michael Dicks, phD, AVMA director of veterinary economics. “Many of the past studies have relied on assumptions where data or economic relationships are missing. This summit replaces some of those assumptions with economic relationships acquired through quan-titative analysis that uses data gathered from veteri-narians in surveys.”

The AVMA conducted four economic surveys in 2014, including an employment survey, a survey of se-nior veterinary school students, a biennial economic survey and a capacity utilization survey. The Asso-ciation of American Veterinary Medical colleges also conducted a survey of veterinary college applicants.

“No other group has studied the veterinary work-force to the extent we have,” said AVMA president ted Cohn, DVM. “No one has ever produced this type of data, and this information is critical to all of us if we are going to have informed, authoritative discussions about the state of the veterinary markets and what we can do collaboratively to improve them.”

The 2013 workforce study revealed excess capac-ity in the veterinary profession of 12.5%, meaning that 12.5% of veterinarians’ capacity to provide ser-vices was going unused. It did not indicate a 12.5% unemployment rate. This year, the AVMA reports that total excess capacity has dropped overall since 2012 and should remain under 10% for the foresee-able future. The percent of veterinary practices work-ing at full capacity is up considerably from 35% in 2012 to 50% in 2014.

“Veterinary unemployment is at 3.4%, which is lower than the U.S. national rate of 6.1% and lower than even historically low unemployment levels,” he said. “This and other data show that the veterinary profession is able to absorb and employ veterinary school graduates.”

Dr. Dicks said that job growth in the veterinary sector will continue upward through 2025, with an accompanying drop in excess capacity.

“We are optimistic about these findings, but we also have to remain realistic,” Dr. Dicks said. “This is

all good news, but there’s some not-so-good news too.”The AVMA and many other veterinary associa-

tions remain concerned about the debt-to-income ratio facing veterinary school graduates. Starting salaries for new veterinarians are flat since the last recession, while costs for education continue to in-crease. The research and surveys also show that the veterinary profession is vulnerable to downward turns in the economy, which became clear during and after the Great recession of 2007-2009.

“We’ve learned that the veterinary profession and the demand for veterinary services are heavily influ-enced by the economy, as we took a large hit during the recent recession,” Dr. Dicks said. “We learned that for every $1,000 drop in personal disposable income, veterinarians see a nearly $1,700 drop in their prac-tice income. Veterinary care spending, particularly for pets, is discretionary spending, and the recent re-cession provided added evidence of that.”

Dr. Dicks said that the ongoing collection of data will remain a focal point of the AVMA’s Veterinary Economics Division, and he reiterated that robust data collection by varied veterinary stakeholders is critical to helping paint a clearer picture of the veteri-nary business sector.

“We emphasized last year when the 2013 work-force study was released that the report and its findings are a starting point and not the end of our efforts to ensure adequate access to veterinary ser-vices and the economic viability of the veterinary medical profession,” he said. “We continue to sub-scribe to that philosophy today. We need even more data, and we are asking our colleagues across the veterinary profession to help us gather and analyze information for the benefit of the profession across all disciplines.” MeV

The research and surveys also show that the veterinary profession is vulnerable to downward turns in the economy, which became clear during and after the great recession of 2007-2009.


newS noTeS

Merial Ltd. has reached an agreement with bayer Healthcare to purchase two bayer equine health products, LEGEND®/HyoNATE® (hyaluronate so-dium) and MArQUIS® (ponazuril).

LEGEND/HyoNATE is an injectable solution used in the treatment of noninfectious joint dysfunc-tion in horses; and MArQUIS Antiprotozoal oral paste is the first FDA-approved treatment for equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EpM), a disease that affects the central nervous system in horses.

The purchase, expected to be finalized in early 2015, further broadens Merial's portfolio of leading products that improve the health and performance of horses.

LEGEND/HyoNATE is primarily sold in the United States and canada, but is available in more

Merial acquires two major equine health products from bayer

loUisVille, Ky. — The Morris Animal Founda-tion has awarded a three-year, $155,000 grant to a team of Kentucky and Danish researchers to build a new reference genome sequence for the domestic horse.

The sequence will be a much-needed tool for animal researchers worldwide and the equine in-dustry in particular because it will significantly im-prove the ability to understand the role of genetics in the horse's health and wellbeing.

ted Kalbfleisch, phD, of the University of Lou-isville Department of biochemistry and Molecular

biology, is the principal investigator on the grant. He will be joined in the research with ludovic

orlando, phD, of the centre for GeoGenet-ics at the National History Museum, Univer-

sity of copenhagen; and James macleod, VMD, phD, of the Gluck Equine research center at the University of Kentucky.

Genome sequencing allows researchers to read and decipher genetic information

found in DNA and is especially im-portant in mapping disease genes,

discovering the diseases a horse might be genetically predis-

posed to developing. “In 2009, Morris Ani-

mal Foundation helped fund the first genome

reference sequence for the domes-tic horse,” Kalb-fleisch said. “We intend to build

on this earlier work. In the past five years, there have been dramatic improvements in sequencing technology as well as the computational hardware and algorithms required to analyze the data gener-ated by the technology. Therefore, we now have the tools necessary to vastly improve the reference ge-nome for the horse.”

The current reference genome for the horse, known as “Equcab2,” has been beneficial in study-ing horses and their genetic predisposition to dis-ease, but it is not without its shortcomings, Kalb-fleisch said.

The researchers intend to use new high through-put technologies to map the Gc-rich regulatory re-gions. These Gc-rich regulatory regions control how genes are expressed to participate in normal cellular processes. This work will enable scientists to better catalog genetic variation in these regions and under-stand how it affects health and performance. MeV

university of louisville leads Study to Map disease genes in Horses

than 40 countries with the United Kingdom and Ja-pan as important markets. MArQUIS is only sold in the United States and canada. Merial plans to make both products available to veterinarians in countries around the world. The acquisition is subject to cus-tomary closing conditions.

Merial is a global leader in advancing the health of pets, horses and production animals. The com-pany's global equine portfolio currently includes products to treat and prevent Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome and to control parasites in horses, as well as vaccines to help prevent Equine West Nile Virus, potomac Horse Fever, equine influenza and rabies.

In october 2014, Merial launched its latest equine addition, with the EU approval of the updated equine influenza vaccine proTEQFLU. MeV

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ted Kalbfleisch, Phd, of the university of louisville received a three-year grant from the Morris animal Foundation to research the horse genome.


The University of california Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital recently acquired a semi-conductor diode laser device, which allows the oph-thalmologists to perform new treatments on horses’ eyes, including cyst removal and glaucoma treatment.

Horses can develop cysts from their iris for no known reason. If left untreated, these cysts can grow and may cause irritation to the horse or become vi-sually obstructive. Horses are also known to become “spooked” by seeing the cyst in their field of vision. removal of cysts is now a one-time, outpatient pro-cedure. The laser simply “zaps” the cyst multiple times until it creates a hole causing the cyst to rup-ture and deflate, without damaging other vital struc-tures in the eye. After care is generally a short course of topical anti-inflammatory ointment for no more than a week.

More importantly for horses, the laser can also be used to treat glaucoma, an increase in pressure inside of the eye. This increased pressure, if left untreated, eventually destroys the retina and optic nerve, and ultimately causes blindness. Glaucoma occurs due to an inability of aqueous humor to drain from inside the eye, most commonly secondary to equine recur-rent uveitis (ErU) or “moon blindness.” ErU is very prevalent in horses.

The laser treatment for glaucoma is known as transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (TScp), and de-stroys part of the ciliary body, which produces the aqueous humor that contributes to the increased pressure. TScp treatment destroys just enough of the ciliary body to lower the production of aqueous fluid to a point that reduces the intraocular pressure, but not enough to completely stop the production, which the eye needs to remain healthy. MeV

laser treatments increase equine ophthalmology offerings

G. Kent Carter, DVM, DAcVIM, was installed as president of the Amer-ican Association of Equine practitio-ners (AAEp) at the association’s 60th Annual convention in Salt Lake city, Utah.

A native of Levan, Utah, Dr. cart-er entered private practice in reno, Nev., after graduating from colorado State University college of Veterinary Medicine in 1979. He completed a residency in large animal medicine at Texas A&M University in 1982. While working on faculty at purdue University for two years, he became board certified in internal medicine. In 1984, Dr. carter joined the faculty of Texas A&M

University college of Veterinary Medicine and biomedical Sciences, where he later served as section chief of internal medicine. For the past 20 years, Dr. carter has collaborated with farriers to resolve equine hoof disorders and lameness. He founded an instructional rotation for students at Texas A&M dedicated to foot care and its ties to lameness.

An AAEp member since 1980, Dr. carter has served on the Abstract review, Farrier Liaison, Infec-tious Disease, Leadership Development, Nominating and Student relations committees as well as a term on the board of directors from 2006-07. MeV

g. Kent carter new president of aaeP

laser treatment cyst before photo - a cyst is clearly visible in the lower section of this horse’s eye.

laser treatment cyst after photo - the cyst was successfully removed with a minimally invasive laser treatment

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Source: AAEP


TeCHnICIan UpdaTe

By Kristina Perry, BS, CVT, VTS-EVN

a 17-year-old Quarter horse mare presented to colorado State Univer-sity for colic lasting 24 hours. She was anorexic

and lying down frequently and was examined by the referring veterinarian that evening. She had a tem-perature of 102° F, reduced borborgymi in all four quadrants, and a heart rate of 50 beats/min.

She was given 1.1 mg/kg of flunixin meglumine (banamine, Merck Animal Health) IV and a na-sogastric tube was passed with a net of 6 L reflux obtained. She was comfortable throughout the eve-ning following initial treatment, but became mildly painful again the following morning.

on hospital admission she had a heart rate of 54 beats/min, reduced gut sounds, a temperature of 102° F and hyperemic mucous membranes. A na-sogastric tube was passed and 10 L of reflux was ob-tained. An ultrasound showed small intestine with 6-8 mm wall thickness and normal peritoneal fluid.

The complete blood count results showed leucope-nia (leukocyte count 4.6 x 10^3/ul, rI: 5.5 – 10.5 x 10^3/ul); neutropenia with a left shift (segmented neutrophil count = 2.6 x 10^3/ul, rI: 3.0 – 7.0 x 10^3/ul; band neutrophil count = 0.2 x 10^3/ul, rI: 0.0-0.1 x 10^3/ul); and had hyperfibrinogenemia (700.0 mg/dL, rI: 100.0 – 400.0 mg/dL). Neutro-phils were described as slightly toxic.

chemistry values showed low hypophosphate-mia (1.1MG/DL, rI: 1.7 – 4.5mg/dL); hypocalcemia (10.9 MG/DL, rI: 11.5 – 14.0 mg/dL); and hypo-magnesiumemia (1.4 MG/DL, rI: 1.6 -2.2 mg/dL); an elevated total protein (8.0 GM/DL, rI: 5.8 – 7.4 gm/dL); hyperglobulinemia (5.1 GM/DL, rI: 2.5 – 4.5 G m/dL), elevated cK (660 IU/L, rI: 100 – 470 IU/L), AST (397 IU/L, rI: 185 – 375 IU/L) and GGT (28 IU/L, rI: 10 – 25 IU/L).

An IV catheter was placed and a bolus of 10 L polyionic crystalloid fluids was administered and then a maintenance rate of 3 L/hr was given with calcium gluconate (5.6g/L) and magnesium (400mg/L) added. A lidocaine crI of 0.5 mg/kg/hr was started as well and polymyxin b was admin-istered at 1000 IU/Kg every 12 hours. ranitidine

was administered at 1.1 mg/kg IV every eight hours, as well as flunixin meglumine at 0.7 mg/kg IV every 12 hours. Net volume of reflux obtained was 4 L/hr, which continued to be obtained over the course of 48 hours of hospitalization.

The following morning her temperature was 102.5° F, she had decreased gut sounds, and she remained hemiconcentrated despite fluid treatment with a pcV and Tp of 45 and 7.5 gm/dL, respectively. Throughout the day she continued to display signs of colic, was pacing and had muscle fasciculations. Sub-sequent abdominal ultrasounds throughout the day showed a dilated fluid-filled stomach, 5-6 cm dilated hypomotile loops of small intestine with 3 mm wall thickness. An abdominal

Colic secondary to enteritis and nasogastric reflux associated with Salmonella hadar

Produced by the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases (niaid), this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SeM) depicts a number of Salmonella sp. Courtesy of the NIH.


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tap was performed, and serosan-guinous fluid was removed and submitted for chemistry and cy-tology. protein was 3.8 g/dL, nu-cleated cells were 1,470/ul. cell type was 40% neutrophils, 40% large mononuclear cells, and 20% lymphocytes. It was described as a modified transudate. A venous blood gas showed a low pH of 7.3 and a mildly low ionized calcium (1.2 mm/L, rI: 1.3 - 1.9 mm/L). Her condition continued to dete-riorate over the 48 hours she was hospitalized and endotoxemia persisted. based on her poor response to an aggressive medical therapy plan, she was euthanized.

Necropsy was performed and jejunum and Ile-um had edema, mural thickening and a dull reddish mucosal coloration from the end of the duodenum to the cecum. Ileal mesenteric lymph nodes had acute hemorrhage and histopathology reflected pa-neth cell metaplasia in the jejunum. Aerobic culture on feces grew salmonella Group c2, serotype Ha-dar. cultures of the small intestinal contents within the affected bowel were positive for salmonella en-teric, serovar Hadar, as well.

This case description outlines a clinically typical presentation of duodenitis/proximal jejunitis with uncharacteristic lesions of DpJ seen on necropsy that were later associated with salmonella cultured

from affected intestine. Salmo-nella typically presents clinically as enterocolitis with acute severe diarrhea and a protein losing enteropathy. This horse was pro-tein conserving and did not have diarrhea.

Atypical presentations of sal-monellosis can include gastric reflux and ileus without diar-rhea, and horses can be carri-ers, shedding salmonella with-out any clinical signs of disease. Since nosocomial infections are

the most common source of salmonella outbreaks in equine hospitals, it must be considered as an eti-ology for horses presenting with anterior enteritis and/or colitis with precautions taken to limit expo-sure to other hospitalized patients. Salmonella has been cultured from gastric reflux and feces of horses post operatively in colic patients, as well as in horses being treated medically for DpJ indicating a need for biosecurity measures and the use of pcr and/or culture in sick horses presenting for DpJ with or without diarrhea. MeV

about the authorKristina Perry, BS, CVT, VTS-EVN, is an equine medicine and critical care nurse at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Sellon DC, Long M, eds. Equine Infectious Diseases, 2nd Edition, 2014 Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis,. Reed SM, Bayly WM, Sellon DC, eds. Equine Internal Medicine, 3rd Edition, 2009 Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis,

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atypical presentations of

salmonellosis can include gastric reflux and ileus

without diarrhea.

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