Prevalence of equine proliferative enteropathy in Hidaka district, Hokkaido,          over five seasons

Hidekazu NIWA; Toru HIGUCHI; Seiichi FUJII; Yuta KINOSHITA; Eri UCHIDA-FUJII; Masuo SUEYOSHI; Toshio NUKADA; Takanori UENO

doi:10.1294/jes.33.71

Note

Prevalence of equine proliferative enteropathy in Hidaka district, Hokkaido, over five seasons

Hidekazu NIWA, Toru HIGUCHI, Seiichi FUJII, Yuta KINOSHITA, Eri UCHIDA-FUJII, Masuo SUEYOSHI, Toshio NUKADA, Takanori UENO

Author information

Hidekazu NIWA
Microbiology Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 329-0412, Japan
Toru HIGUCHI
Mitsuishi Animal Medical Center, Hokkaido South Agricultural Mutual Aid Association, Hokkaido 053-0021, Japan
Seiichi FUJII
Hokkaido Hidaka Livestock Hygiene Service Centre, Hokkaido 056-0003, Japan
Yuta KINOSHITA
Microbiology Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 329-0412, Japan
Eri UCHIDA-FUJII
Microbiology Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 329-0412, Japan
Masuo SUEYOSHI
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki 889-2192, Japan
Toshio NUKADA
Ritto Training Center, Japan Racing Association, Shiga, 520-3005, Japan
Takanori UENO
Microbiology Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Tochigi 329-0412, Japan

Keywords: asymptomatic infection, equine proliferative enteropathy, Hidaka, Lawsonia intracellularis

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2022 Volume 33 Issue 4 Pages 71-74

DOI https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.33.71

Details

Abstract

Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) is an equine infectious disease that can lead to severe weight loss and hyperplasia of the intestinal mucosa due to infection with Lawsonia intracellularis. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of EPE in a major Thoroughbred breeding area: Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 252 symptomatic horses that we tested, 192 EPE cases (76.2%), including 8 fatal cases, were confirmed from April 2015 to March 2020 by etiological and/or serological investigation. Most of the EPE cases were observed in foals (88.5%), with fewer cases in yearlings (7.3%) and adults (4.2%). Asymptomatic infection was observed in 62.9% of the horses kept with affected horses. These results suggest that EPE is an enzootic disease in Hidaka district.

Corresponding author

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