Since humans with allergic diseases often have lower gastrointestinal parasite burdens compared to healthy humans, Dr. Joana Simões, with Lusófona University in Portugal, and a team of researchers sought to determine whether severely asthmatic horses were resistant to gut-related parasites.
The research team used 40 horses, between the ages of 9 and 16, to test their theory. There were 30 geldings, two stallions and eight mares; they were not related and had individual owners.
Twenty of the horses had diagnosed asthma and 20 did not. Each asthmatic horse was paired with a healthy control horse that was about the same age that lived on the same farm so that both horses experienced the same management.
A fecal sample was obtained from each horse. Results from the egg count showed strongyle-type eggs and Cyathostomum sensu latum larvae to be the most abundant parasite in both the asthmatic and the control horses.
However, there was a significant difference in the number of eggs and larvae shed. On average, the control horses shed more than nine times more eggs and 10 times more infective larva than the asthmatic horses.
The scientists said that this may indicate that asthmatic horses may have an intrinsic resistance to parasites. Allergic diseases like equine asthma involve both genetics and exposure to allergens, as well as dysregulation of the immune response, but exact disease mechanics are not known.
Thus far, evidence supports the idea that the genetic makeup of horses with asthma makes them more resistant to parasite infection, but also makes them more susceptible to environmental allergens. The researchers suggest that larger-scale studies are needed.
Read more at HorseTalk. https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2023/09/16/horses-severe-asthma-lower-gut-parasite-burden/
The post Hidden Perk: Asthmatic Horses Have Fewer Parasites appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
