title: Actinobacillus and Pasteurella species isolated from horses with lower airway disease.
abstract: Seventy-three bacterial isolates from 65 horses with and without evidence of lower airway disease were identified to assess whether the association with disease was accounted for by a small or large number of species. Just over half (50.5 per cent were Actinobacillus equuli, 17.8 per cent were A suis-like, 11 per cent were Pasteurella pneumotropica, 8.2 per cent were A lignieresii, 6.8 per cent were P haemolytica and 5.5 per cent were P mairii. These results suggest that a range of Actinobacillus and Pasteurella species can be isolated from the lower airways of horses, with many of the isolates being A equuli. Among the horses examined, lower airway inflammation was significantly associated with A suis-like bacteria and A lignieresii. However, these two species constituted too small a proportion of the undifferentiated Actinobacillus/Pasteurella species to explain the association of this group of bacteria with lower airway disease. Since A equuli constituted just over 50 per cent of the group of bacteria it is possible that it too is playing a significant role in lower airway disease.
authors.affiliation: Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Houghton
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mumford
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chanter
mesh_terms: D000188:Actinobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D010325:Pasteurella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014132:Trachea / Q000382:microbiology