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Hospitalized geriatric horses that successfully recovered from severe bouts of colitis intestinal inflammation often associated with diarrhea showed positive changes in their gut microbiota after receiving diluted feces from healthy horse donors, said Daniela Bedenice, Dr. med. vet. Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, of the Department of Clinical Sciences in Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, in North Grafton, Massachusetts.
By pumping a “soup” of fresh feces blended with water directly into the patients’ stomachs via a nasogastric tube, the clinicians seem to have modified the composition of microorganisms living in the horses’ intestines, they revealed.
“Specifically, we noted that there was a greater variety of the different kinds of bacteria in the gut after the transfer of healthy feces,” Bedenice said. They also noted a greater abundance of
Horsetalk.co.nz Fecal microbial transplants hastened recovery from severe diarrhea in horses
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Horses who received a fecal microbial transplant showed evidence of greater normalization of their gut microbiome than a control group. Image by Manfred Richter
A watery manure concoction wouldn’t be a horse’s first choice of a drink, but it has proven effective in helping hospitalized equines overcome severe diarrhea.
The watery cocktail, given via a nasal tube into the stomach, delivered a fecal microbial transplant to the unwell horses, hastening their recovery, researchers report.
Those who received the treatment also showed evidence of greater normalization of their gut microbiome than a control group.
Stall-Side Test Can Help Determine If A Cough Is Contagious Sponsored by:
A coughing horse isn t always an immediate concern, but sometimes his cough can be caused by more than just inhaled dust. A new stall-side blood test can help determine if his cough is caused by a chronic inflammatory condition or infectious disease. If the cough is caused by an infectious disease, it s important to take immediate steps to protect other horses on the farm.
Drs. Molly Vinera, Melissa Mazan, Daniela Bedenice, Samantha Mapes and Nicola Pusterla created a study to test for the significance of the protein serum amyloid (SAA) in the blood of horse s with various respiratory conditions. The presence of SAA is indicative of inflammation; it has been used to evaluate and monitor colic and joint disease treatment.