(E57) Fecal QPCR Testing for the Detection of Enteric Pathogens in Foals with or Without Diarrhea

Abstract: Background - Diarrhea is an important clinical problem in foals. The etiological diagnosis should consider coinfections and is essential for treatment and prevention.
Hypothesis/Objectives – To detect the genetic material of the most frequently described enteric pathogens in foals with or without diarrhea.
Animals – Foals up to one year of age with diarrhea (n=100) and controls (similar age and farms) without diarrhea (n=100).
Methods –DNA and RNA extraction from fecal samples and real-time PCR (qPCR) were used to detect Salmonella spp., Clostridioides difficile and toxins A and B, Clostridium perfringens, Rhodococcus equi vapA, Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia duodenalis, Lawsonia intracellularis, Neorickettsia risticii, Rotavirus and Coronavirus. A chi-square test was used to compare pathogen frequencies and coinfection between groups.
Results – The pathogen genetic material was detected in foals with and without diarrhea (respectively): Salmonella spp. (31%/9%; p.0001), C. difficile (39%/20%; p .003), C. difficile tox A and B (20%/8%), C. perfringens (26%/16%), R. equi vapA (33%/38%), C. parvum (17%/1%; p.0001), Giardia duodenalis (11%/10%), and rotavirus (1%/0%). L. intracellularis, N. risticii and coronavirus were not detected. Coinfections were observed in 50 of the foals with diarrhea and 26% of the control foals (p.0005).
Conclusions and clinical importance – There was a greater number of pathogen detections in foals with diarrhea, and a higher frequency of coinfections than controls. Salmonella, C. difficile, and C. parvum were the pathogens observed at significantly higher frequencies in these two groups. This information can be used to better understand the etiological diagnosis of diarrhea in foals.