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UK Gluck Center And VDL Preliminarily Identify Novel Rotavirus

Researchers at the University of Kentucky's Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have preliminarily identified a novel Rotavirus associated with diarrhea in very young foals.

This virus could not be detected using current diagnostic tests for equine Rotavirus A and appears to be different than the virus strain used in the currently available commercial vaccine.

Efforts are underway to better characterize the virus and determine its role in the current outbreak of diarrheal disease. Additional investigations are also underway at UK to identify other possible causes, and researchers are sending out an epidemiological survey to farms to better understand the outbreak.

Both the Gluck Center and the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab recommend strict biosecurity protocols as the best protection strategy at this time.

See the March 19 news release for more information on this issue here.

UK Gluck Center And Industry Leaders Responding To An Uptick Of Foal Diarrhea Cases

The first several months of the year make up the bulk of the busy foaling season in Central Kentucky, so when the region's farms and equine practitioners began noticing increases of diarrhea in foals ages two to seven days old, there was concern.

In response, the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center is using a portion of its existing Koller Emergency Funds, and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Foundation, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and Coolmore America are leading an effort to help provide additional funding, allowing research to begin immediately.

“Anytime we recognize an increased incidence in equine health cases, such as foal diarrhea, we prepare and mobilize to further our understanding of the health issue,” said David Horohov, chair of the Department of Veterinary Science and director of the Gluck Equine Research Center. “Early detection and rapid diagnostics are at the cornerstone of what drives our research approach.”

Foals commonly develop diarrhea a week to 10 days after foaling, and veterinarians and farm owners typically have the experience and tools to respond. According to the American Association of Equine Practitioners, it is important for a veterinarian to evaluate foals under a month old when they experience diarrhea because they can develop life-threatening dehydration in as few as six to eight hours. Neonatal or young foals have a digestive tract, similar to humans, where small intestines are responsible for much of their nutrition absorption. Dealing with this type of attack on the small digestive system heavily impacts foals, which is a big reason why the Gluck center will focus its research efforts on this issue.

A significant increase in the illness has affected some farms, while other farms have had few to no cases. In spite of these incidences, UK has not recognized a rise in reported mortality associated with these cases and continue to monitor the situation.

UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment researchers have developed a multipronged research plan to help further the understanding of the problem.

One focus of this research plan is to expand scientists' knowledge of the foal gut environment. This will add to their understanding of neonatal gut bacteria and the effect of antibiotic treatment.

A second part of the research plan is to study the differences in mares and their foals on farms both with and without early neonatal diarrhea cases and the effect of antimicrobial drug treatment. Researchers will conduct this analysis through gene sequencing to determine an overview of type and diversity of gut microflora.

They will also use the data in this part of the study to gain insight into the effect of antimicrobial use in foals on the development of their gut microflora.

The third prong of the research will investigate a biotherapeutic approach on one farm. That farm is supplementing foals with home-fermented live yogurt instead of a commercial pre/probiotic. Research has shown that Lactobacillus spp. bacteria are among the first colonizers in the neonatal gut. Data from other species supports Lactobacillus spp. as promoting gut health and outcompeting pathogens in gut colonization.

In addition to the three studies, the UK Gluck Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory team has identified further potentially useful tests, including gene sequencing targeting identification of novel viruses and bacteria that may be present.

With limited Koller Emergency Funds available, the UK Gluck Equine Research Center is thankful for the additional dollars provided by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Foundation, The Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and Coolmore America.

“The foundation members met March 15 and felt this research and timing was consistent with the sole mission of immediately responding to threats to the breeding industry in Central Kentucky. We are grateful to Gluck for accessing their emergency funds and everyone for responding so quickly.” said Jimmy Bell, chairman of the KTOB Foundation.

“Situations such as these highlight the relevance for a coordinated effort that can be led by our scientists at the Gluck Equine Research Center,” said Stuart Brown, veterinarian, Keeneland equine safety director and chair of the Gluck Research Foundation. “Our team mobilizes to work with equine practitioners and farms throughout the area, allowing us to further our understanding and develop our approach to work on these types of issues. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with other partners to enhance our abilities when issues like this arise.”

“We at Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation believe in supporting timely equine health for all horses at every stage of their lives, and foal diarrhea is proving to be a concern this year on Central Kentucky farms,” said Dell Hancock, chair of the foundation. “We are happy to help facilitate research to address this condition and thank the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center for their commitment to the well-being of horses.”

Funds Granted For Follow-Up Study On Catastrophic Racehorse Injuries

Catastrophic injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses is a top concern for the industry and for its fans. That sentiment is shared by researchers at the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, who are working to learn more about changes happening at the cellular level that might indicate an injury is present before it becomes career- or life-ending.

According to Allen Page, staff scientist and veterinarian at UK's Gluck Equine Research Center, a recently completed study submitted for review shows it is possible to identify several early markers for horses at risk of catastrophic injury, possibly allowing for intervention before those injuries happen.

In this initial study, Page and his colleagues analyzed blood samples from more than 1,000 Thoroughbred racehorses. The samples, collected by participating racing jurisdictions from across the country, have come from both catastrophically injured and non-injured horses in a quest to better understand if there are any red flags in horses that suffer a catastrophic injury.

Previous research showed that many catastrophic injuries occur in limbs with underlying and pre-existing damage, leading to the theory that these injuries occur when damage accumulation exceeds the healing capacity of the affected bones over time. As a result, researchers think it is likely there may be markers of this damage that can be detected prior to an injury.

The identification of protein biomarkers for these types of injuries has been explored in previous research with limited success. As a result, the group opted to focus on quantifying messenger RNA gene transcripts or markers, knowing that the results would likely be much more sensitive than measuring proteins.

“We are definitely encouraged by our findings in the initial study. Out of the 21 markers we measured, three of them show real promise as being able to predict injury,” Page said. “Since the ultimate hope is to develop a screening tool that can be used pre-race to identify horses at increased risk for injury, we anticipate adding multiple other markers with our new study that is just getting started.”

As part of their new study, Page and his colleagues plan to utilize RNA-sequencing, a relatively new technology, to expand their search to the approximately 22,000 protein-coding genes horses have. This will dramatically increase the likelihood that they will be able to identify additional markers for horses at risk of injury. They plan to do this by using the large number of samples that have already been collected, further leveraging their initial study and decreasing the amount of time it will take to complete their new study.

The new study has been funded by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Equine Drug Research Council, which also funded the three-year initial study.

“A lot of the credit for these projects goes to the KHRC and the Equine Drug Research Council. Their willingness to fund our projects is really a testament to their interest in supporting innovative and novel ideas geared towards improving the safety and well-being of horses and riders,” Page said.

“I am pleased that the EDRC is able to continue to provide support for this important study and that Dr. Page is able to continue his work on finding ways to protect our equine athletes,” said David Horohov, chair of the UK Department of Veterinary Science.

Joining Page in the research from UK's Gluck Center are Horohov, Emma Adam, assistant professor, research and industry liaison, James MacLeod, John S. and Elizabeth A. Knight chair, and Ted Kalbfleisch, associate professor.