Reed S M, Furr M, Howe D K, Johnson A L, MacKay R J, Morrow J K, Pusterla N, Witonsky S
Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, 2150 Georgetown Road, Lexington, Kentucky, 40511.
Department of Veterinary Science, Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.
J Vet Intern Med. 2016 Mar-Apr;30(2):491-502. doi: 10.1111/jvim.13834. Epub 2016 Feb 9.
Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) remains an important neurologic disease of horses. There are no pathognomonic clinical signs for the disease. Affected horses can have focal or multifocal central nervous system (CNS) disease. EPM can be difficult to diagnose antemortem. It is caused by either of 2 parasites, Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi, with much less known about N. hughesi. Although risk factors such as transport stress and breed and age correlations have been identified, biologic factors such as genetic predispositions of individual animals, and parasite-specific factors such as strain differences in virulence, remain largely undetermined. This consensus statement update presents current published knowledge of the parasite biology, host immune response, disease pathogenesis, epidemiology, and risk factors. Importantly, the statement provides recommendations for EPM diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
马属动物原虫性脑脊髓炎（EPM）仍是马匹的一种重要神经系统疾病。该疾病没有特征性的临床症状。患病马匹可能患有局灶性或多灶性中枢神经系统（CNS）疾病。EPM在生前可能难以诊断。它由两种寄生虫之一引起，即神经肉孢子虫和休氏新孢子虫，关于休氏新孢子虫的了解要少得多。尽管已经确定了诸如运输应激以及品种和年龄相关性等风险因素，但个体动物的遗传易感性等生物学因素以及毒力菌株差异等寄生虫特异性因素在很大程度上仍未明确。本共识声明更新内容介绍了目前已发表的关于寄生虫生物学、宿主免疫反应、疾病发病机制、流行病学和风险因素的知识。重要的是，该声明提供了EPM诊断、治疗和预防的建议。
