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BackgroundCommensal bacterial and fungal flora of the conjunctival sac has been described in horses and other animals. The identification of commensal flora of the conjunctival sac may aid in the diagnosis of ocular inflammatory diseases, such as conjunctivitis or more severe ulcerative keratitis, common in horses. Moreover, damage of ocular protective barriers may lead to an opportunistic infection. The study was carried out in Silesian horses kept at a single breeding center in South-western Poland, in order to limit any breed-dependant and climate-dependant variables affecting the results. Following an ophthalmic examination that revealed no abnormalities, sterile swabs were collected from conjunctival sac in 26 adult horses and 11 foals. The obtained swabs were subjected to bacterial culture testing. In case of Staphylococcus spp. isolation, susceptibility to methicillin was evaluated.ResultsForty- three bacterial isolates, representing eleven genera of bacteria were cultured from 30 (81%) horses. Gram-positive bacteria were the dominant isolates (72%) (p < 0.001). The most commonly isolated Gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus spp., while Moraxella spp. were the most frequently isolated Gram-negative bacteria. There was no significant influence of sex and age on the frequency and type of microbial isolates.ConclusionsCommensal flora is present in the conjunctival sac of healthy horses in Poland. Age does not affect the abundance and type of microbial isolates.

BackgroundIt has been reported that equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a state of oxidative stress. Oxidant-antioxidant imbalance is known to increase the conversion of deoxyguanosine to 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in DNA. 8-OHdG can easily be measured using ELISA tests in serum or urine samples. In this study, we analysed serum 8-OHdG levels in horses with recurrent airway obstruction and in healthy controls.ResultsThe study material consisted of seven healthy horses and seven horses with symptomatic RAO. All horses were exposed to moldy hay and straw for 48 h to induce clinical exacerbation of RAO. The serum 8-OHdG levels were determined using the ELISA Highly Sensitive 8-OHdG kit. The difference between the levels of 8-OHdG in healthy and RAO-affected horses was significant. The median level of 8-OHdG was 0.044 ng/ml in the healthy controls versus 0.498 ng/ml in RAO horses (P = 0.0021).ConclusionsThe results of the study strongly suggest that DNA damage coexists in the course of equine RAO. We therefore propose that future research should aim at the development of new drugs that target pro-inflammatory molecules, since DNA damage appears to be the result of chronic inflammation.

Pulmonary obstruction in asthmatic horses induces pulmonary hypertension with right ventricular structural and functional changes.

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