Colic includes all forms of gastrointestinal conditions that cause pain as well as other conditions that do not involve the gastrointestinal tract. Colic is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in horses, is the number one health concern, and a leading cause of premature deaths in horses. To increase the quality of life for horses, it is vital to understand the causes, signs, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of colic in horses. Horses are hindgut fermenters and their cecal microbiome can easily be altered due to environmental and physiological changes. Colic can be induced from starch overloading, which can have detrimental effects on the cecum and the microbiome. If the microbe population is changed, this could result in gastrointestinal …show more content…
An average of 10-11% of all horses in the United States will suffer from this condition at some point in their life and has a fatality rate of 11% [1, 2]. Treatment of colic and other related gastrointestinal diseases is what makes the equine insurance industry a multi-million dollar market. Overloading the system with starches, bloat, addition of new supplements, and changes in diets and environment can all change the highly sensitive balance of the microbiome in the hindgut; causing physiological consequences to the gastrointestinal tract. Knowing which factors can change the dynamics of this dense bacteria population and the signs and symptoms of colic, can provide better information to equine caretakers of what the horse is suffering from, how severe it is, and what mode of action to take. Additionally, advances in technology, such as metagenomics could help in identifying specific strains of bacteria that could be causing colic. This information can ultimately improve the quality of life for horses and help decrease the rising number of cases of colic in the United States. To better understand what colic is, how it affects the horse, and how to prevent the condition; it is important to know the anatomy of a horse, how the hindgut microbes play a role in digestion, and how different factors can change those …show more content…
The hindgut is not only a fermentation vat, but it also stimulates the immune responses, protects against pathogens, production and neutralization of toxins, and gene expression in host epithelial tissues [6]. The cecal microbiome is extremely sensitive and can be affected by factors like gastrointestinal disease and dietary changes, which can lead to systemic consequences and even death [7]. Therefore, normal and healthy microbiota is vital for the overall wellbeing of the animal. By understanding the external factors and how they affects the gut microbiota, could shed light and provide better treatment and prognosis of gastrointestinal diseases including
According to the article The mechanism and efficacy of probiotics in the prevention of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea there is a great concern about increasing incidence of C. difficile infection due to use of broad spectrum antibiotics. Clindamycin, third generation of cephalosporins and flouroquinolones are considered high risk antibiotics. It is believed that normal gastrointestinal flora has potential effect in inhibition C.difficile growth and toxin A,B release which offen associated with sever diarrhea resulting in patient’s mortality and other comorbidities. After first episode, there is a high chance for relapses due to reduction serum IgG antibodies to toxin A and colonic IgA secretion cells.
The use of horses for human consumption dates back to the earliest use of animals for human consumption. Horses are used for food in many counties but are also considered inhumane in other countries. In the United States specifically, horsemeat is not the norm for consumed meat. There seems to be a problem that has arisen. It is suspected that horses being slaughtered at horse slaughtering factories are not the most up to date, pain free for the horse, and human as people suspect them to be like beef kill floors.
Not long after its discovery, CEM became one of the most internationally recognized diseases in the equine industry (Timoney, 2011). Contagious Equine Metritis has been reported in 29 countries, including Japan, Australia, and countries in Europe, North America and South America (Timoney, 2011). Additionally, Schulman et al. (2013) state that there have been 146 confirmed cases of CEM in 12 countries between the years 2000 and 2012, most of which were related to non-Thoroughbred horses and artificial breeding populations. Recent outbreaks of CEM have occurred in the U.S. in 2008-09, South Africa in 2011, and the UK in 2012 (Schulman et al., 2013). Incidences of the disease are reported mainly in Europe, but the exact distribution is ha...
I have always wanted to be a Special Education teacher. I started deciding what I wanted to do in the eighth grade. This was also around the time I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s is an autism spectrum disorder; people with it show difficulties in social interactions, and reading body language. For me, I have trouble making friends and having age appropriate conversations. It is difficult to read people’s emotions, which sometimes gets me into trouble. I have been given the gift to be able to help teach other children with special needs how to ride horses, and also learn about how the horses communicate with these riders differently then a “normal” person. Through working with Ian I have been able to obtain a better understanding of my career goals.
Horses and ponies that tend to store fair amounts of fat on their neck, butt and where their sheath or teats are can become chronically laminitic. However, this chronic laminitis is not limited to overweight or obese animals, but can occur in horses and ponies who are significantly leaner in their body or even, in some cases, perfectly normal. One key element to each of these horses and ponies is that they could possibly have a condition known as Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) which is causing the chronic laminitic issue.
E. Coli is a bacteria that is inside your intestines that helps you break down food. When cows are fed corn, it also decreases the healthy acids such as Omega-3 and increases Omega-6 which is unhealthy. We should also care about their living conditions because a cow is in one area for most of the day just eating corn and when cows eat corn they tend to poop a lot. It is crowded in the eating area for cows so when they poop it falls on the ground and they eat so much corn that they just keep pooping so eventually they start stepping in it and this would cause them to get diseases. Some farmers when they slaughter them do check for diseases but some don’t, so the diseases travel with the cow and onto your dinner plate which means that you could be eating an infected cow without knowing it.
*Rohike, F., & Stollman, N. (2012). Fecal microbiota transplantation in relapsing Clostridium difficile infection. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology. 5 (6), 403-419.
Is fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) effective treatment for patients with Ulcerative Colitis (UC). UC is a chronic inflammation of the large intestine. FMT is used to describe the delivery of a healthy donors stool into a patient via enema, colonoscope, or nasogastric tube. In the past several years FMT has been used for an alternative treatment with patients diagnosed with Clostridium difficile (CD). The purpose of this paper is to discuss if FMT is just as effective in treating UC over just medication. The articles below will give insight if this theory is true or not.
The digestive system of the horse consists of a simple stomach, small intestines, cecum, large and small colons, rectum and anus. The horse’s stomach is comparatively small in size. The stomach of an average horse has a holding capacity of about two gallons. This may be the reason horses eat small but frequent meals. From the stomach, food moves to the small intestine, which is the main site of digestion.
Between the works How to Read Literature like a Professor and The Rocking-Horse Winner, a similarity that may be seen is in the mysterious ‘illness’ the young boy Paul develops in comparison to Chapter 23 Professor Foster’s guide about illnesses rarely being the sickness actually being described. Throughout The Rocking Horse-Winner, the main character Paul is pressured by a special ‘gift’ that allows him to be everything his mother ever wanted- lucky- yet it ultimately results in him obtaining an illness that takes his life. Throughout the story, Lawrence uses this gift and turns it into an illness in order to develop a story with power, greed, and ‘luck’ changing people, and creating a situation beyond what their desires are worth.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease, that causes a person to have high blood pressure. There are two kinds of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is the loss of insulin producing cells, leading to a deficiency of insulin. Type 2 diabetes is where the person is insulin resistant. Insulin is a peptide hormone, which causes cells to absorb the various glucose it requires. Type 2 diabetes is the most widespread endocrine disease worldwide. Metagenome wide associated study took on a study that was based on the determination of type 2 diabetes and relationship to gut microbial by using the deep shot gun sequencing of the gut microbial. The study consisted of 345 Chinese's individuals that were used to help find any relationships. 60000 type 2 diabetes associated markers were used and linked to type 2 diabetes. Gut microbes are living organisms that live in the gut and the digestive tract. Patients with type 2 diabetes were characterized by a moderate degree of gut microbial symbiosis. Symbiosis is a interaction between different microbial organisms, there are various types of symbiosis such as mutalistic, parasitic and communalistic. The abundance of butyrate producing bacteria as well as the opportunistic pathogens were determined as well. Enrichment of microbial functions due to sulphate reduction and oxidative stress resistance was found. Further studies were also performed with addition of individuals to the study. Gut microbial markers may be useful for classifying type 2 diabetes.
Laminitis. “An inflammatory condition that affects the sensitive laminae, the fingerlike projections that line the surface of the bones within the hoof.” (Crabbe, DVM pg 74). It’s the most common cause of lameness and disability of horses and ponies (www.laminitis.org) and most often attacks the forelimbs over the hind ones. Laminitis is thought to be the cause of a toxic type of condition in the bloodstream of horses. The toxin is thought to originate in various spots, sometimes in the respiratory tract, sinuses, kidneys, liver, and in the mares, the reproductive tract. Finding it in the digestive tract is most common.
Equine-Assisted therapy so far has shown commendable results. “Equestrian Therapy” acknowledges that “it is a fairly new technique for autism and other disorders that has been providing promising results such that many are consistently utilize therapy animals in their treatment programs and only for autism but also for people with Asperger’s syndrome. Equine therapy for special needs is an animal-assisted therapy that helps children with a wide variety of disabilities. This type of therapy makes use of riding horses as an effective way of providing physical and emotional therapy as well as psychological benefits” (“Equestrian Therapy”). Equine Therapy helps develop the motor skills of a child while they learn to ride a horse. The calming
In general, high amounts of a substrate would equate to a likewise number of enzyme associated with the substrate. The stool samples of the mice sequenced identified 70,000 bacterial genera. One bacterial genera was determined to be a dominant microorganism, among the samples sequenced. In addition, it was found that the frequency of bacterial genera differed between the intestinal tracts starting from the mouth to the
Among hospitalized patients around the world, Clostridium difficile is the primary source of infectious diarrhea. Previously, continuously unbalanced intestinal microbiota, usually due to antimicrobials, was deemed a precondition of developing the infection. However, recently, there have been alterations in the biology from virtually infecting the elderly population exclusively, wherein the microbiota in their guts have been interrupted by antimicrobials, to currently infecting individuals within of all age groups displaying no recent antimicrobial use. Furthermore, recent reports have confirmed critical occurrences among groups previously assumed to be of minimal risk—pregnant women, children, and individuals with no previous exposure to antimicrobials, for instance. Unfortunately, this Gram-positive, toxin-producing anaerobic bacterium is estimated to cost US critical care facilities $800 million per year at present, suggesting the need for effective measures to eliminate this nosocomial infection (Yakob, Riley, Paterson, & Clements, 2013).