Investigation of the role of exercise in the detection of selected respiratory pathogens from nose wipes collected from healthy horses

Abstract

This study aimed to determine if exercise increases the frequency of selected respiratory viruses/bacteria shedding in non-clinical horses using nose wipes. Nose wipes were taken pre- and post- exercise from 133 healthy horses of various ages and disciplines. Wipes were assayed for the presence of selected common (equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV), EHV-4, S. equi spp equi) and commensal (EHV-2, EHV-5, S. equi spp zooepidemicus) respiratory pathogens. The frequency of detection increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the post-exercise wipes for EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-5, and S. zooepidemicus. EHV-4 and S. equi were only detected in a small number of horses post-exercise. The absolute quantitation of pathogens was significantly lower post-exercise (p < 0.05) for EHV-2, EHV-5, and S. zooepidemicus. While exercise increased the detection rate of EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-5 and S. zooepidemicus in nose wipes, absolute quantitation of the respective microbes was lower. The use of nose wipes post-exercise to assess the shedding status of selected respiratory viruses/bacteria in non-clinical horses may be an alternative to the more invasive nasal swabs.

Keywords: Equine; Exercise; Nose wipes; Respiratory microbes; Silent shedder; qPCR.