RESUMEN
A serological survey for West Nile virus (WNV) infection involved 395 horses from 43 administrative districts of the Czech Republic (163 animals) and 29 districts of Slovakia (232 animals), sampled between 2008 and 2011. Using a plaque-reduction neutralization microtest, antibodies to WNV were not detected in any horse from the Czech Republic, whereas 19 nonvaccinated horses from Slovakia had specific antibodies to WNV (no cross-reactions were observed with tick-borne encephalitis and Usutu flaviviruses in those animals). The seropositivity rate of nonvaccinated horses in Slovakia was 8.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.7-11.9%), and autochthonous local infection with WNV occurred at least in 11, i.e., 4.8% (95% CI 2.0-7.6%) of the animals. All seropositive horses lived in six lowland districts of southern Slovakia; overall, 15.1% (95% CI 8.8-21.4%) of 126 nonvaccinated horses were seropositive in those districts, situated relatively closely to the border with Hungary, i.e., the country where WNV disease cases have been reported in birds, horses and humans since 2003.
Asunto(s)
Anticuerpos Antivirales/sangre , Enfermedades de los Caballos/epidemiología , Caballos , Fiebre del Nilo Occidental/veterinaria , Virus del Nilo Occidental/inmunología , Animales , Anticuerpos Neutralizantes , República Checa/epidemiología , Femenino , Enfermedades de los Caballos/virología , Humanos , Masculino , Estudios Seroepidemiológicos , Eslovaquia/epidemiología , Fiebre del Nilo Occidental/epidemiología , Fiebre del Nilo Occidental/virología , Virus del Nilo Occidental/aislamiento & purificaciónAsunto(s)
Enfermedades de los Caballos/patología , Músculo Esquelético/patología , Distrofia Miotónica/veterinaria , Animales , Biopsia con Aguja/veterinaria , Electromiografía/veterinaria , Femenino , Enfermedades de los Caballos/diagnóstico , Enfermedades de los Caballos/etiología , Caballos , Microscopía Electrónica/veterinaria , Músculo Esquelético/ultraestructura , Distrofia Miotónica/diagnóstico , Distrofia Miotónica/etiología , Distrofia Miotónica/patologíaRESUMEN
The occurrence of sleep disorder in three half sibling Lipizzaner is described. Sleepiness, swaying, stumbling, carpal joints buckling and falling down onto the carpal joints had been present since early foal age in all of them. Clinical signs had gradually reduced since the age of 2 years in cases 1 and 3. Sleepiness was induced by going out from the stable in adulthood. A physostigmine test was performed in all three affected horses and produced positive results in cases 1 and 3. The result of the test in case 2 was unclear due to the almost continuous sleepiness of the foal. Hypocretin-1 concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid was established using a standardised radioimmunoassay in case 1 (317.85 pg/mL), case 2 (303.43 pg/mL) and five adult control horses (275.2 ± 47.9 [SD] pg/mL) and was considered as normal in all horses. The sire of the affected horses has had 19 other registered offspring who did not show clinical signs of sleep disorder and also dams of all three cases produced healthy foals. Based on the demographic and clinical data together with the responses to the physostigmine challenges, the diagnosis of familial equine narcolepsy was made.