Study: Antibiotics Might Protect Horses during Transport

Study finds giving antibiotics before long-distance transport could reduce fever and decrease airway bacteria.
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Long-distance transportation is a stressor for horses that could prompt poor performance, illness, and other life-threatening health issues. Recently, a team of Japanese researchers determined that certain antibiotic administration could reduce transport-related illness in our four-legged counterparts.

"During long-distance travel the horse’s raised head induces inflammation, and the number of bacteria in the lower airways increases," explained Takeru Tsuchiya, DVM, from the Hidaka Training and Research Center at the Japanese Racing Association in Hokkaido. "Fevers that develop during or after transport caused by bacterial infections can cause respiratory pneumonia, which interrupt training and race schedules."

Previous studies found that administering interferon-α (an immune stimulant) before transportation correlated with decreased severity of transportation-associated fever and improved clinical condition after transportation.

"This protocol did not completely prevent fever in the horses, and further prophylactic measures are needed," added Tsuchiya

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Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

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