Effects of pre-shipping enrofloxacin administration on fever and blood properties in adult Thoroughbred racehorses transported a long distance

Welfare of equidae during transport

In the framework of its Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission is undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of animal welfare legislation. This opinion deals with the protection of horses and donkeys during transport. While the opinion focuses primarily on road transport of horses, there are specific sections dealing with the transport of horses on roll-on-roll-off ferries, horses transported by air and the transport of donkeys. In addition, the opinion covers welfare concerns in relation to a specific scenario identified by the European Commission related to the transport of horses on long journeys to slaughterhouses. Current practices related to transport of horses during the different stages (preparation, loading and unloading, transit and the journey breaks) are described. Overall, 13 welfare consequences were identified as being highly relevant for the welfare of horses during transport based on severity, duration and frequency of occurrence: gastro-enteric disorders, handling stress, heat stress, injuries, isolation stress, motion stress, prolonged hunger, prolonged thirst, respiratory disorders, resting problems, restriction of movement, sensory overstimulation and separation stress. These welfare consequences and their animal-based measures are described. A variety of hazards were identified related to factors such as inexperienced/untrained handlers, lack of horse training, structural deficiencies of vehicles/facilities, poor driving skills/conditions, horse separation/regrouping, unfavourable microclimatic and environmental conditions and poor husbandry practices. The opinion contains general and specific conclusions in relation to the different stages of transport. Recommendations to prevent hazards and correct or mitigate welfare consequences have been developed. Recommendations were also developed to define quantitative thresholds for microclimatic conditions within the means of transport and for space allowance. The development of welfare consequences over time was assessed in relation to maximum journey time.

Comparison of the proteomes in sera between healthy Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbreds with respiratory disease associated with transport using mass spectrometry-based proteomics

In the past decade, mass spectrometry has become an important technology for protein identification. Recent developments in mass spectrometry allow a large number of identifications in samples; therefore, mass-spectrometry-based techniques have been applied to the discovery of biomarkers. Here, we conducted a proteomic study to compare the proteomes in sera between healthy Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbreds with respiratory disease associated with transport (RDT). We found that four proteins, apolipoprotein F, lipopolysaccharide binding protein, lysozyme and protein S100-A8, were upregulated, while keratin 1 was downregulated in the RDT group. It is assumed that inflammation and immune response are involved in the changes of these proteins. The findings suggested that these proteins are potentially useful for elucidating the mechanism of development of RDT.

Transcriptome Characterization of Short Distance Transport Stress in Beef Cattle Blood

The transportation is a crucial phase in beef cattle industry, and the annual losses caused by beef cattle transport stress are substantial. Several studies have described the effect of long distance transportation stress on animal health, such as disorder in nervous, endocrine, immune, and metabolic system. However, molecular mechanisms underlying short distance transportation stress is still poorly understood. Present study aims to investigate the effect of short distance transportation by measuring the hematological indices and transcriptomic analysis. In this study, a total 10 Qinchuan cattle were used to compare the molecular characteristics of blood before and after transportation. We have found that a stress-related marker "white blood cell count (WBC)" increased significantly after transportation. The decrease in triglyceride (TG), cholestenone (CHO), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) showed that energy expenditure was increased after transportation, but not enough to activate fatty decomposition. Intriguingly, the decrease of malondialdehyde (MDA) showed that cattle were more resilience to oxidative stress. The RNA-seq showed that 1,092 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found (329 up-regulated and 763 down-regulated) between group before and group after. The GO and KEGG enrichment showed that the metabolic pathway and B cell function related pathways were enriched. Furthermore, median absolute deviation (MAD) top 5,000 genes were used to construct a co-expression network by weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA), and 11 independent modules were identified. Combing with protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, the verification of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and the correlation of B cell function, structural maintenance of chromosomes 3 (SMC3), jun proto-oncogene (JUN), and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) were suggested as potential molecular markers in identification of short distance transportation. Collectively, the blood RNA-seq analysis and WGCNA indicated that the disorder of B cell differentiation, proliferation, survival, and apoptosis were the potential molecular mechanism in short distance transportation stress. In conclusion, our results provide the novel insight about potential biomarkers for short distance transportation stress, which may serve as for diagnosing and preventing this condition in beef industry.

Adverse Effect of Antibiotics Administration on Horse Health: An Overview

Antibiotics-based therapy plays a paramount role in equine medicine because of their potential pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics properties. Conventional antibiotics show bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties by interfering bacterial cell wall and protein synthesis as well as inhibiting RNA polymerase, DNase 1, and DNA gyrase. Antibiotics are extensively used not only for the treatment of varied bacterial infections but also the prevention of postoperative and secondary infections. Surprisingly, antibiotics such as sulfonamides or trimethoprim/sulfonamide combinations, benzylpenicillin, cefquinome, fluphenazine, enrofloxacin, and sodium ceftriaxone cause detrimental effects on horses' health, namely, diarrhea, colitis, nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, dysrhythmia, arthropathy, ataxia, anorexia, seizures, peripheral neuropathy, and certain neurologic abnormalities. Therefore, in equine practice, it is essential to optimize and analyze the combinations, formulations, route of administration, and dosages of certain antibiotics before administration. This review overviews the mode of actions and pharmacologic attributes of certain antibiotics, commonly used toward the treatment of disparate horse diseases. Most importantly, special emphasis was given to spotlight the potential adverse effects encountered during the administration of antibiotics as therapeutics in horses.