Epidemiological study of <i>Culicoides</i> hypersensitivity in horses in Israel

Steinman, Amir; Peer, G.; Klement, Eyal

doi:10.1136/vr.152.24.748

Cited by 41 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…During the summer, horses with IBH suffer from a strongly pruritic dermatosis affecting the mane and tail area and sometimes also the ventral midline. The prevalence of the disease can be 5-60% depending on geographic region and exposure to insect bites (Riek 1953;McCaig 1973;Glatt 1985;Braverman et al 1983;Broström et al 1987;Anderson et al 1988;Halldorsdottir and Larsen 1991) and breed (Littlewood 1998;Steinman et al 2003) or family (Marti et al 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of an in vitro sulphidoleukotriene release test for diagnosis of insect bite hypersensitivity in horses

Baselgia¹,

Doherr²,

Mellor

et al. 2006

Equine Veterinary Journal

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Summary Reasons for performing study: Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE‐mediated allergic dermatitis caused by bites of Culicoides and Simulium species, and improved means of diagnosis are required. Objectives: The cellular antigen simulation test (CAST®) with C. nubeculosus and S. vittatum extracts was assessed in a population of IBH‐affected and healthy horses. Variations in test results over a one year period and possible cross‐reactivity between different insect extracts was studied. Methods: A total of 314 mature horses were studied using the CAST. Influence of severity of clinical signs, gender and age were evaluated, and 32 horses were tested repeatedly over one year. The kappa reliability test was used to assess agreement of the test results with different insect extracts. Results: Horses with IBH had significantly higher sLT release than controls with C. nubeculosus and S. vittatum. The highest diagnostic sensitivity and specificity levels were attained when using adult C. nubeculosus extracts with the CAST (78% and 97%, respectively), suggesting that most horses with IBH are sensitised against Culicoides allergens. A proportion of IBH‐affected horses was found to be sensitised to allergens of Simulium spp. in addition to those of C. nubeculosus. The CAST with C. nubeculosus had positive and negative predictive values ≥80% for a true prevalence of IBH of 12–52%. In the follow‐up study, the proportion of IBH‐affected horses with a positive test result ranged from 90% in November to 68% in March. Severity of clinical signs or age did not influence test results significantly. However, IBH‐affected males achieved significantly more positive test results than IBH‐affected females. Conclusions: The CAST with adult C. nubeculosus has high specificity and good sensitivity for diagnosis of IBH. Horses with IBH are mainly sensitised to Culicoides allergens, and some horses are additionally also sensitised to allergens in Simulium spp. Potential relevance: The CAST is likely to be a useful test for diagnosis of IBH, even allowing the identification of IBH‐affected but asymptomatic horses. This test may also help in further characterisation of allergens involved in this condition.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of an in vitro sulphidoleukotriene release test for diagnosis of insect bite hypersensitivity in horses

Baselgia¹,

Doherr²,

Mellor

et al. 2006

Equine Veterinary Journal

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“…Predicted prevalence increased (100) to 38.8% in 8-yr-old mares and subsequently decreased to 18.1% in 20 yr and older mares. Although often an increase in prevalence with age was found (e.g., Halldórdsóttir and Larsen, 1991;Steinman et al, 2003), our results might reflect an effect of selection, where affected Friesian broodmares are culled from breeding.…”

Section: Associated Effectsmentioning

confidence: 49%

Genetic parameters of insect bite hypersensitivity in Dutch Friesian broodmares1

Schurink

Ducro

Heuven

et al. 2011

Journal of Animal Science

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Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a seasonal allergic skin disease in horses caused by bites of certain Culicoides spp. The aim of our study was to investigate the maternal effect on IBH and to estimate the heritability and repeatability of IBH in the Dutch Friesian horse population. Data consisted of 3,453 Dutch Friesian broodmares with 3,763 visual observations on IBH clinical symptoms scored by 12 inspectors during organized foal inspections in 2004 and 2008. Nine percent of the mares (n = 310) were scored in both years. Mares descended from 144 sires and 2,554 dams and 26.2% of the dams (n = 669) had more than 1 offspring in the data set (range: 2 to 6). Insect bite hypersensitivity was analyzed as a binary trait with a threshold animal model with and without a maternal effect, using a Bayesian approach. Observed IBH prevalence in Dutch Friesian broodmare population was 18.2%. Heritability on the liability scale was 0.16 (SD = 0.06); heritability on the observed scale was 0.07; and repeatability was 0.89 (SD = 0.03). Maternal effect was 0.17 (SD = 0.06) and significantly differed from zero, although the animal model without a maternal effect fitted the data better. These results show that genetic and permanent environmental factors affect IBH in Dutch Friesian horses. The dam affected the IBH development of her offspring through an additive genetic influence but also by being part of their rearing environment.

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“…The slightly lower prevalence may be explained by the fact that in Palestine most samples were collected from locations within the Jerusalem mountain region, where the higher altitude may result in lower abundance of Culicoides biting midges. Lower exposure of horses to Culicoides midges at higher altitudes was suggested previously as an explanation for the finding that horses from farms more than 800 m above sea level did not suffer from Culicoides hypersensitivity as opposed to horses located in farms less than 300 m above sea level in Israel (Steinman et al ., ). The prevalence in the Golan Heights area in Israel was also lower than in other regions (25%), maybe for the same reason.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Seroprevalence and risk factor analysis for exposure to equine encephalosis virus in Israel, Palestine and Jordan

Tirosh-Levy

Gelman²,

Zivotofsky³

et al. 2017

Vet Med Sci

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Equine encephalosis virus (EEV) is an orbivirus transmitted by Culicoides species. Most infected horses show mild clinical signs and mortality is usually very low. EEV is closely related and similarly transmitted to other, more pathogenic and economically important, orbiviruses such as African horse sickness virus (AHSV), bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic haemorrhagic disease viruses (EHDV), and may serve as an indicator for possible transmission of the latter. Israel has been reported to be endemic for EEV since 2001. This study was initiated to re‐evaluate the current seroprevalence and risk factors for EEV exposure in Israel, and to assess, for the first time, the seroprevalence of EEV in Palestine and Jordan. Three hundred and sixteen serum samples were collected from apparently healthy horses at 21 farms in Israel, 66 horses at nine farms in Palestine and 100 horses at three farms in Jordan. The presence of EEV antibodies was detected by a serum neutralization assay. Seroprevalence of EEV was 58.2% (184/316 horses) in Israel, 48.5% (32/66 horses) in Palestine and 2% (2/100 horses) in Jordan. Seroprevalence in Jordan was significantly lower than in Israel and Palestine (P < 0.001). The farm (P < 0.001) and horse age (P = 0.003) were found as significant risk factors for EEV exposure in Israel in multivariable statistical analysis. The results of this study further demonstrate that EEV is no longer limited to South Africa and is endemic in both Israel and Palestine and horses in Jordan were also exposed to this virus emphasizing the potential of pathogens to invade new ecological niches.

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Epidemiological study of Culicoides hypersensitivity in horses in Israel

Cited by 41 publications

References 11 publications

Evaluation of an in vitro sulphidoleukotriene release test for diagnosis of insect bite hypersensitivity in horses

Evaluation of an in vitro sulphidoleukotriene release test for diagnosis of insect bite hypersensitivity in horses

Genetic parameters of insect bite hypersensitivity in Dutch Friesian broodmares1

Seroprevalence and risk factor analysis for exposure to equine encephalosis virus in Israel, Palestine and Jordan

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