2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

These data indicate that real-time, quantitative PCR on feces may be useful for the diagnosis of R. equi in foals with clinical signs of pneumonia. During the summer and fall months of 2012 Kansas and its neighboring states in the Central Midwestern United States witnessed an unprecedented number of pigeon fever cases, which is typically an arid region disease in horses. This study presents a retrospective Bayesian geostatistical analysis and environmental risk factors associated with the pigeon fever cases received at the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center and the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. Disease caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in horses were determined by positive test results for characteristic abscess formation, positive bacterial culture on purulent material obtained from a lanced abscess (n = 82), or positive serologic evidence of exposure to organism (>1:512) (n = 11). Horses negative for these tests (n = 172) were considered absence of disease. Horse demographics, stabled location as well as stabling history 3 months prior to development of clinical signs were obtained through review of medical records or contact with client via telephone. Environmental covariate information was collected from publicly available sources using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote-sensing methods; soil attributes from USDA State Soil Geographic Survey (SSURGO), land use/land cover attributes from the USGS National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD), and climate data from NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Prediction of Worldwide Renewable Resources (POWER). The candidate covariates were screened using a linear univariate regression model with individual testing of each covariate and those with significance (P < 0.2) were kept. A Bayesian geostatistical model was performed both with and without covariates. The DIC was lower when covariates were added, giving them some spatial autocorrelation in pigeon fever status among horses. The covariates that remained statically significant after the addition of the covariates into the Bayesian model included: soil moisture, total edge contrast index, and land surface temperature (>33°C). Increased soil moisture with an OR of 0.53 appeared protective while both total edge contrast (OR 1.27) and land surface temperature >33°C (OR 1.31) were risk factors for development of disease. This data may lead to future investigations regarding prevention or better management of disease outbreaks. This study represents a small component of a larger study looking to identify potential risk factors for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) in Canada. This smaller study used information that accompanied serum sample submissions to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) National Reference Laboratory between 2009 and 2012 for the purposes of disease investigation, export testing to countries other than the US and Mexico (excluding testing of feedlot horses), and confirmatory testing of laboratory referrals. All disease investigation and export samples were taken by CFIA veterinarians or veterinary inspectors and all laboratory referral samples were taken by CFIA-accredited private veterinarians. An animal was considered positive for EIA when it tested positive by agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID), and only one positive test per animal was retained for the analysis. The association between potential risk factors (equid species, breed, sex, age, coat color, month