1. Introduction
The Neolithic revolution, which began some 12,000 years ago in Turkey and in other parts of the Fertile Crescent, caused man to adopt a sedentary lifestyle, which on its turn speeded up the process of domestication of animals. The dog was already domesticated before this revolution and had served man as help in hunting. During hunting, man probably figured out that a few of the hunted species could be tamed easily, so subsequently other species such as the chicken, the duck, the goose, the sheep, the goat, the cow, the pig and the camel were domesticated. This implicated for these animals a life closely to their masters, many of them in stalls or in corrals. In ancient farm types, man and animals shared the same airspace, especially during winter. Alternatively, in some regions herd animals guided by shepherds were still allowed to be in the fields in relative freedom, some of them, however, only for a part of the year.
Interestingly, the horse was not domesticated by the sedentary peoples in the Middle East or those around the Mediterranean See, but from the nomadic people of the Eurasian steppes. Recent excavations in Kazakhstan showed that horses were ridden 5,500 years ago by the Botai people (Outram et al., 2009). About 1000 to 1500 BC the horse then enters the Near, Middle and Far East, mainly as a war animal. In those days, the horse was already an expensive animal that had to be well cared for and therefore was kept in stables. Some of these were really large, such as for example the one Pharaoh Ramses II had built for 460 horses at Piramesse 3300 years ago. According to Xenophon horses had to be stabled always. With the current knowledge this was not really smart from a veterinary point of view.
Compared to horses, cat and dog share much more indoor atmosphere with man, whereby these species become more exposed to harmful events like man. Swine, poultry and to a lesser extend cattle are exposed to natural, man-made and self-made air pollution. Furthermore, they may share their environment with their care takers for a part of the day. Therefore, studying diseases of animals living close with humans, or even sharing the same rooms, could bring clues for better understanding risk factors for human health and the pathophysiology caused by poor air quality.
2. General aspects air pollution on animals
It should be considered that, in the history of the Earth, the composition of the atmosphere has not always been ideal at every moment, yet life has evolved as we know it today. Several huge environmental disasters occurred during the development of the Earth and countless forms of life were lost. From those few species that survived, new species have evolved. About 10 million years after the great Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, the era of the dinosaurs suddenly had ended, the mammals subsequently entered the scene and prosper so successful that they dominated the life forms of the Eocene, which is about 55-40 million years ago. In the development of modern mammals, from the veterinary point of view also a by-product called man was created. This species managed within a relative short time to disturb the environment by the by-products of those activities that are euphemistically called the cultural development.
It was the increasing global population that caused intensive livestock production practices. The counter trade of the huge production of meat, eggs and milk resulted in the generation, accumulation and disposal of large amounts of wastes around the world. Aerosolization of microbial pathogens, endotoxins, odours, and dust particles are inevitable consequences of the generation and handling of waste material of the food production chain, originating from animals. Next to effects of the outdoor environmental air pollution, animals kept in huge facilities are exposed to and often diseased due to self-made indoor air pollution.
The effects of poor air quality on domestic animals principally can be divided in health damage caused by the in-door environment and by out-door air pollution. Pollutants may enter the system by inhalation or ingestion. In air pollution, mostly inhalation triggers the health problems, but occasionally deposition of particles from industrial exhaust on pasture land may affect health directly. Eventually, this may result in toxic residues in meat, milk or eggs without obvious clinical symptoms displayed by the animals producing these products. Problems with high dioxin levels in milk of dairy cows or zinc-induced arthritis in growing foals are examples of pasture grass contamination by deposits of smoke from nearby industrial activities.
The dog, the cat and the horse are exposed to the same health hazards as their masters regarding air pollution. Reineroa et al., (2009) reviewed the comparative aspects of feline asthma and brought evidence that important similarities between human and feline response to inhaled allergens exist. The role environmental aeroallergens, however, was only shown in a few studies, but evidence suggests that some environmental allergens can cause disease in both cats and humans. Ranivand & Otto (2008) showed in their epidemiology study that the prevalence of asthma had increased over the last 20 years in cats in a large urban city. This seems to have happened in man as well.
Animals may be involuntarily acting as sentinels for detecting potential harmful effect on the organism of indoor air pollution. From the scope of comparative pathology, diseases of domestic animals associated with adverse environmental factors may give clues to the pathophysiology of the health disorders of man caused by air pollution.
3. Effects of air pollution on animals
3.1. Production animals
Pigs, poultry, cattle, goats and to a far lesser extend sheep are kept in indoor facilities for a variable part of their life, often for all of their life. For dairy cattle, goats and sheep these facilities are quite open and air quality is to a certain degree comparable with the outdoor air quality. The quality of this air is still much better than that of the closed facilities for swine and poultry (Wathes et al., 1998). These buildings are rather closed and the natural or mechanically ventilation is via small air inlets and outlets. Indoor temperature is regulated to create optimal growing conditions, whereby heat loss via ventilation is kept to a level that is just on the boundary of what is still physiologically tolerable. The other reasons for closing these types of buildings as much as possible are the strict bio security procedures applied in order to avoid or reduce introduction of potential infectious material via air or fomites. The temperature in the facilities for optimal growth can be quite high. For instance, one day-old broiler chicks are kept at a room temperature of 34°C the first days of the raising period. Thereafter, ambient temperature will be lowered daily by 1 °C. The high temperatures facilitate growth of fungi and bacteria especially around the drinkers where water is spilled by the animals. The most common used litter for broilers is wood shavings. Sometimes alternatives such as shredded paper, chopped straw and pulverised bark or peat may be used. The bird’s respiratory tracts are challenged by dust coming off the litter. Up to 40,000 broilers may be raised in a single house, on littered floors. A production cycle of broilers only takes 42 days on average. In this period the chicks will growth from about 60 grams to about 2000 grams. Thus, by the end of the raising period, the houses are well filled with animals and their activities increase dust levels in the air. In laying birds, although stocking density is lower, this beneficial effect on pollution, however, is offset by the longer housing period. The result is a larger accumulation of manure, usually in pits, which are only emptied infrequently (Harry, 1978). Hence, it is not surprising that especially in poultry houses high concentrations of ammonia, airborne dust, endotoxin and micro organisms can be measured (Wathes et al., 1998).
Fattening pigs are kept in grid floored pens and thus are exposed to fumes of their own faeces and urine for their entire existence, which is of not more than 6-7 month. Also in many piggeries high levels ammonia, airborne dust, endotoxin and micro organisms can be found (Wathes et al., 1998).
The indoor atmosphere in swine and poultry confinement buildings thus contains toxic gases, dusts and endotoxin in much higher concentrations than those in outdoor environments. Apart from minimal ventilation, poor stable design leading to poor homogeneity of ventilation causes locally stagnant air pockets. According to Donham (1991), recommended maximal concentrations of gases or contaminants in piggeries are: 2.4 mg dust /m3; 7 ppm ammonia, 0.08 mg endotoxin/m3, 105 colony-forming units (cfu) of total microbes/m3; and 1,540 ppm. carbon dioxide. Concentrations of bacteria up to 1.1 x106 cfu/m3, inhalable dust content of 0.26 mg/m3 and ammonia concentration of 27 ppm have been reported to occur in facilities during winter, while at summer lower concentrations were measured (Scherer & Unshelm, 1995). Less difference between in- and outdoor temperature in summer allows better ventilation of the buildings.
A fraction of the smallest and most respirable particles are manure particles containing enteric bacteria and endotoxin (Pickrell, 1991). The concentration of these airborne bacteria and endotoxin, of course, is related to the level of pen cleanliness. Regarding generated toxic gasses, ammonia concentrations in the air are primarily affected by level of pen hygiene, but also by volume of the building, pig density and pig flow management (Scherer & Unshelm, 1995). Furthermore, season plays a role as well as was shown by Scherer & Unshelm (1995). Similar factors on ammonia levels are known to play a role in farrowing units and poultry houses (Harry, 1978). Ammonia is considered as one of the most important inhaled toxicant in agriculture. Dodd & Gross (1980) reported that 1000 ppm for less than 24 hour caused mucosal damage, impaired ciliary activity, and secondary infections in laboratory animals. Since this level is nearly never achieved, it is rather the long-term, low level exposure to ammonia that seems to be related to its ability to cause mucosal dysfunction with subsequent disrupting of innate immunity to inhaled pathogenic micro organisms (Davis & Foster, 2002). Generally, the toxic effects of chronic ammonia exposure do not extend into the lower respiratory tract (Davis & Foster, 2002).
In pigs this combined effects of ammonia and endotoxin predispose the animals to infections with viruses and bacteria, both primary pathogenic and opportunistic species. Although food producing animals appear to be capable of maintaining a high level of efficient growth in spite of marked degrees of respiratory disease (Wilson et al., 1986), at a certain level of respiratory insufficiency rapid growth can no longer be attained. In that case the production results will be uneconomically. Ventilation is often at a just acceptable level. In their overview, Brockmeier et al., (2002) summarized the facts on porcine respiratory diseases. They are the most important health problem for the industrial pork production today. Data collected from 1990 to 1994 revealed a 58% prevalence of pneumonia at slaughter in pigs kept in high-health herds. These animals originate from better farms and thus incidence of pneumonia in less well managed farms is higher. Respiratory disease in swine is mostly the result of a combination of primary and opportunistic infectious agents, whereby adverse environmental and management conditions are the triggers. Primary respiratory infectious agents can cause serious disease on their own, however, often uncomplicated infections are observed. More serious respiratory disease will occur if these primary infections become complicated with opportunistic bacteria. Common agents are porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), swine influenza virus (SIV), pseudorabies virus (PRV), possibly porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and Mycoplasma
Workers in pig or poultry facilities are exposed to the same increased levels of carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, or the dust particles from feed and manure as the animals (Pickrell, 1991). As a result, workers in swine production tend to have higher rates of asthma and respiratory symptoms than any other occupational group. Mc Donnell et al. (2008) studied Irish swine farm workers in concentrated animal feeding operations and measured their occupational exposure to various respiratory hazards. It appeared that swine workers were exposed to high concentrations of inhalable (0.25–7.6 mg/m3) and respirable (0.01–3.4 mg/m3) swine dust and airborne endotoxin (166,660 EU/m3). Furthermore, the 8 hour time weighted average ammonia and peak carbon dioxide exposures ranged from 0.01–3 ppm and 430–4780 ppm, respectively.
Lesions caused by air pollution in production animals mainly include inflammatory processes. Neoplastic diseases are rather uncommon. This holds true for animals such as swine that are mainly kept indoors, as well as for cattle and sheep that are kept a variable part of their lives outdoors. This was shown in an abattoir survey some 5 decades ago performed in 100 abattoirs throughout Great Britain during one year (Anderson et al., 1969). All tumours found in a total of 1.3 million cattle, 4.5 million sheep and 3.7 million pigs were recorded and histologically typed. Just 302 neoplasias were found in cattle, 107 in sheep and 133 in pigs. Lymphosarcoma was the commonest malignancy in all three species. Lymphosacoma was considered as entirely sporadic, since herds with multiple cases were not found in the UK. The other form, a lentivirus infection that causes outbreaks of enzootic bovine leukaemia was not present in the UK at those days. The 25 primary lung carcinomas in cattle were well-differentiated adenocarcinomas of acinar and papillary structure, squamous and oat-cell forms and several anaplastic carcinomas of polygonal-cell and pleomorphic types. They represented only 8.3 % of all neoplasms, occurring at a rate of 19 per million cattle slaughtered. No primary lung cancers were encountered in sheep or pigs.
Outdoor air pollution could affect farm animals kept at pastures in urban and peri-urban areas. In the past (1952), a severe smog disaster in London was reported to have caused respiratory distress of prize cattle that were housed in the city for a cattle exhibition (Catcott, 1961). It was likely the high level of sulphur dioxide that was responsible for acute bronchiolitis and the accompanying emphysema and right-sided heart failure. Since some of the city farms are located rather in the periphery of cities than in the centre, the inhaled concentrations of pollutants by production animals is likely less than the concentrations inhaled by pet animals living in the city centres or close to industrial estates.
3.2. Companion animals
Bukowski & Wartenberg (1997) described clearly the importance of pathological findings in domestic animals with respect to analysis of the effects of indoor air pollution in a review. Radon and tobacco smoke are believed to be the most important respiratory indoor carcinogens. Already 42 years ago Ragland & Gorham (1967) reported that dogs in Philadelphia had an eight times higher risk developing tonsillar carcinoma than dogs from rural areas. Bladder cancer (Hayes et al., 1981), mesothelioma (Harbison & Godleski, 1983), lung and nasal cancer (Reif et al., 1992, 1998) in dogs are strongly associated with carcinogens released by human in-door activities. In cats, passive smoking increased the incidence of malignant lymphoma (Bertone et al., 2002). By measuring urinary cotinine, passive smoking of the cats can be quantified. However, the late Catherine Vondráková (unpublished results) observed that there was no direct association with the amount of cigarettes that were smoked in a household and the level of cotinine in the urine of the family cat. Nevertheless, there was evidence that exposed cats showed reduced lung function. Measurement of lung function in small animals and in cats particularly, is difficult and usually only possible with whole body plethysmography (Hirt et al., 2007). For this purpose the cat is placed in a Perspex plethysmography box. Whether this method has sufficient accuracy is still to be proven (van den Hoven, 2007).
The effect of outdoor air pollution on companion animals, so far, has not been studied extensively. Catcott (1961) however described that in the smog incident of 1954 in Donora, Pennsylvania about 15% of the cities dogs were reported to have experienced illness. A few died. Diseased dog were mostly less than 1 year old. Symptoms were mostly mild respiratory problems lasting for of 3-4 days. Also some cats had been reported ill. Further indirect evidence exsists provided by observations made during the smog disaster of 1950 in Poza Rica Mexico. Many pets were reported ill or died. Especially canary birds appeared sensitive, since 100% of the population died (Catcott, 1961). The cause of mortality in the dogs and cats, however, was not professionally established; the information was merely that what the owners had reported, when asked on the incident.
Recently, Manzo et al. (2010) reported that dogs with chronic bronchitis and cats with airways inflammatory disease are at increased risk of exacerbating their conditions if exposed to prolonged urban air pollutants. In this respect they respond similar to man. The authors advise to suppress ongoing inflammatory processes by medical therapy and avoid exercising pets outdoors in urban areas during peak pollutant periods.
3.3. Horses
The reason for the domestication of the horse must be attributed to its athletic ability. The quieter donkey and the ox had been domesticated earlier as draft animals. The horse is one of the mammals with the highest relative oxygen uptake and therefore capable of covering long distances at high speed. The tidal volume of a 500 kg horse at rest is 6-7 L and at racing gallops 12-15 L. At rest a horse breathes 60-70 L of air per minute, which corresponds to about 100,000 L/day. During a race, the ventilation rate increases up to 1800 L /min. With this huge amount of air moving in and out the respiratory track, large quantities of dust particles are inhaled and may sediment in the airways. This on its term could have adverse consequences for lung function. Any decrease of lung function could affect the horse’s performance over any distance that is longer than 400 meters. Respiratory problems have a direct impact on the racing career of racehorses, if not successfully treated. Horses that are submitted to less intensive exercise, however, can perform up to expectation for quite a long time, if they are only affected by a small decrease of lung function. This can easily be understood if one considers the huge capacity of the equine cardiopulmonary system. An overview of the physiological aspects of the sport horse is given by van den Hoven (2006).
Horses are not exposed to the negative effects of tobacco smoke or radiation, because stables and the living rooms of man mostly do not share common air spaces. Yet, this does not automatically imply that there is a healthy atmosphere in a horse stable. In those countries where horses are kept in stalls, subacute and chronic respiratory diseases are serious and common problems. In countries like New Zealand, where horses live almost exclusively outdoors, these diseases are less well known.
Many equestrian enterprises are situated in the periphery of urbanized areas. Thus urban air pollution must be considered next to the health challenge by poor indoor air quality. In the suburban and urban enterprises mostly adult animals are employed. Riding schools, racehorse training yards and fiacre horse enterprises are examples of yards that may be located in or near city parks or urban green zones. Horses on these yards are either housed in barns or in individual open-fronted loose boxes. The latter have top doors that are mostly left open (Jones et al., 1987) in order to optimize air circulation. Nevertheless, in many of these boxes due to their small doors, the minimal air change rate of 4/ hour is hardly attained (Jones et al., 1987).
The younger animals mainly are kept in rural areas, mostly at stud farms. Here they are kept out-doors partly or continuously. In winter and prior to horse auctions the youngsters will be stabled for longer periods, just to the moment that many of them will be shipped to suburban or urban enterprises. Other young animals will remain in the countryside. A special category of animals are the breeding animals. After having served in sporting events for short or longer periods in the (sub)urban environment, these animals return to the countryside. Mares are bred to stallions and are mostly kept at pasture for all day, or at least a part of the day. If housed, stables are not necessarily well designed and are as traditional as those of racehorses. Thus, exposure to poor air quality is not uncommon in broodmares. Breeding stallions, have only limited freedom, and yet remain large parts of the day in the barn. Stallion barns are mostly better designed than those for mares; often the more valuable stallions have open-front boxes.
Principally almost all horses will be exposed during a variable period of their life to air of poor quality. The sports and working horses stabled and exercised in (sub)urban regions are exposed to the air pollution caused by traffic and industrial activities too (Fig.1.). Indoor and outdoor air pollution must have an impact on the lung health of our horses. Therefore it is not unexpected that respiratory disease is a major problem for horse industries worldwide (Bailey et al., 1999).
Traditional stable design for horses is based on non-empirical recommendations extrapolated from studies of other agricultural species (Clarke, 1987), ignoring fundamental differences in requirements of the equine athlete. Even now in 2010, only a fraction of the horses are housed in modern well designed stables. But even in the traditional stables, with a median floor space of about 12 m2 (Jones et al., 1987) stocking density is much less than with production animals. Moreover, many horses have their individual living area, but often still share a common airspace with poor air quality.
Organic dust in the common or individual air space, released by moving of bedding and hay is the main pollutant in horse stables (Ghio et al., 2006). Sometimes dust levels in stalls are less than 3 mg/m3, but during mucking out, the amount increased to 10-15 mg/m3, of which 20 - 60% is of respirable particles. Measured at the level of the breathing zone, during eating of hay, dust levels may be 20-fold higher than those measured in the stable corridor (Woods et al., 1993). Dust concentrations of 10 mg/m3 are known to be associated with a high prevalence of bronchitis in humans. Apart from hay and bedding, cereal food may contain considerable levels of dust. It has been shown that dry rolled grains may contain 30 – 60-fold more respirable dust than whole grains or grains mixed with molasses (Vandenput et al., 1997). Respirable dust is defined as particles smaller than 7 μm (McGorum et al., 1998). Respirable particles are capable of reaching the alveolar membrane (Clarke, 1987) and interact with alveolar cells and Clara cells. In this respect current findings by Snyder et al., (2011) in chemical and genetic mouse models of Clara cell and Clara cell secretory protein (CCSP) deficiency coupled with Pseudomonas
Kaup et al. (1990b) mention that their ultrastructural study suggests that Clara cells are the main target for antigens and various mediators of inflammation during bronchial changes that occur in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).
The main constituents of stable dust are mould spores (Clarke, 1987) and it may contain at least 70 known species of fungi and Actinomycetes. Most of these micro organisms are not considered as primary pathogens. Occasionally infection of the guttural pouch with
The walls of the guttural pouches are in contact with the base of the skull, some cranial nerves and the internal carotic artery. In case of a fungal infection of the air sac, the fungal plaque is commonly located at the dorsal roof, but may occupy the other walls as well (Fig.3). The fungus may invade and erode the wall of the adjacent artery. The resulting haemorrhage is not easily controlled and the horse may die due to blood loss.
A special infection associated with inhalation of bacteria present in the dust generated by dried faeces is the pneumonia caused by
If contaminated dust is inhaled by foals of less than 5 month, pulmonary abscesses will develop (Fig. 4). Faecal contamination of pasture and stalls are a prerequisite for the bacteria to establish. Other dust-born bacterial infections are not known in the horse. The non viable components of dust appear to play a major role in the airway diseases of mature horses.
Any threshold limiting value (TLV) for exposure to mould spores or dust are yet not known in horses (Whittaker et al., 2009). In man working for 40 h/week in a dusty environment, the TLV is 10 mg/m3 (Anonymous, 1972). However, chronical exposure of 5 mg/m3 caused serious loss of pulmonary function in operators of grain elevators (Enarson et al., 1985). Also Khan & Nachal, 2007 showed that long-term exposure to dust or endotoxin is important for the development of occupational pulmonary diseases in man. In this respect long periods of stabling causing a cumulative exposure effect of dust and endotoxins could result in the development of pulmonary disease in both horses that are susceptible to respiratory disorders and horses that are otherwise healthy (Whittaker et al., 2009).
Generally, horses that are exposed to excess organic dust will develop mild, often subclinical lower airway inflammation. This may contribute to poor performance (see IAD). The symptoms initially seem to share common aspects with the organic dust toxic syndrome in man (van den Hoven, 2006). Some horses could show severe hyperreactivity to organic dust and will display asthma-like attacks after exposure (see RAO). Especially the feeding of mouldy hay is a well-known risk factor for this (McPherson et al., 1979). Commonly incriminated allergens for such sensitive horses are the spores of
The origin of the moulds may be found in the feedstuff offered to horses. Buckley et al. (2007) analysed Canadian and Irish forage, oats and commercially available equine concentrate feed and found pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins. The most notable fungal species were
Next to fungal antigens, inhaled endotoxins induce a dose dependent airway inflammatory response in horses (Pirie et al., 2001) and even a systemic response on blood leucocytes can be observed (Pirie et al., 2001; van den Hoven et al., 2006). Inhaled endotoxins in horses suffering RAO are likely not the only determinants of disease severity, but do contribute to the induction of airway inflammation and dysfunction (Pirie et al., 2003).
Whittaker et al. (2009) measured total dust and endotoxin concentrations in the breathing zone of horses in stables. Dust was collected for six hours with an IOM MultiDust Personal Sampler (SKC) positioned within the breathing zone of the horse and linked to a Sidekick sampling pump. The study confirmed earlier studies that forage has a greater effect on the total and respirable dust and endotoxin concentrations in the breathing zone of horses than the type of bedding.
Due to absence of slurry pits under their living area and the low stocking density, noxious gases generated indoors generally play a less important role in development of equine airway disease. Nevertheless, with poor stable hygiene, ammonia released from the urine by urease producing faecal bacteria may contribute to airway disease too.
The effect of air pollution on horses working in the open air has not been extensively studied, but the few studies performed on ozone showed that horses appear less susceptible to the acute effects of ozone compared to humans or laboratory animals (Tyler et al., 1991; Mills et al., 1996). Marlin et al. 2001 found that the anti-oxidant activity of glutathione in the pulmonary lining fluid is likely a highly efficient protective mechanism in the horse. Although it is not likely that ozone is a significant risk factor for the development of respiratory disease in horses, the ability of ozone to act in an either additive or synergistic way with other agents or with already existing disease can not be neglected. Foster (1999) described that this occurs in humans. Diseases associated with poor air quality are follicular pharyngitis, equine inflammatory airway disease and recurrent airway obstruction.
In man exposed to air pollution in large cities, respirable particles and toxic gas levels appear to be associated with acute and subacute cardiopulmonary mortality (Neuberger et al., 2007). Such effects have not been noticed in horse exposed to urban air pollution.
3.3.1. Follicular pharyngitis
Follicular pharyngitis in horses causes narrowing of the pharyngeal diameter and increased upper respiratory airway resistance with impairment of ventilation at high speeds. The symptoms are a snoring noise at in- and expiration during high-speed exercise. The disease is easily detected by endoscopy (Fig. 5.). The disease was previously attributed to a variety of viral infections, but according to Clarke et al. (1987) it must be considered as a multi factor disease. The disease is mostly self limiting within a variable time interval.
3.3.2. (Sub)chronic bronchitis
Cough and nasal discharge, caused by increased mucous production in the tracheo-bronchial tree, are common problems in equine medicine. It should be noticed that horses generally have a high threshold for coughing and thus cough is a strong indication for a respiratory disorder. In fact, coughing as clinical sign has an 80% sensitivity for diagnosing tracheo-bronchial disorder. Today, endoscopy is the common technique to diagnose respiratory diseases. For this purpose, 3 meter long human colonoscopes are inserted via the nasal passages and the rima glottis into the trachea. The scope is further advanced into the larger bronchi. Via the endoscope samples can be taken. Commonly, a tracheo-bronchial aspirate or a broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) is performed. Occasionally cytobrush samples or small biopsies are collected. The endoscopic image in relation to the cytological and bacteriological findings of the samples mostly leads to the diagnosis. The use of lung function tests in horses is only limited to those techniques that require little cooperation. Most commonly the intrapleural pressure in relation to airflow parameters is measured (Fig 6.).
The two most important and frequent forms of bronchitis in the horse are Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD) and Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO). In both conditions, a variable degree of airway hyperreactivity to inhaled dust particles plays a role (Ghio et al., 2006). In the case of RAO, next to bronchiolar pathology, secondary changes in the larger airways and in the alveoli will develop.
3.3.2.1. Inflammatory Airway Disease (IAD)
IAD is a respiratory syndrome, commonly observed in young performance horses (Burrell 1985; Sweeney et al., 1992; Burrell et al. 1996; Chapman et al. 2000; Wood, et al. 1999; Christley et al. 2001; MacNamara et al.1990; Rush Moore et al. 1995), but it is not exclusively a disease of the younger horse. Gerber et al. (2003a) showed that many asymptomatic well-performing show-jumpers and dressage horse have signs of IAD. These horses are generally 7-14 years, which is older than the age of affected flat race horses that mostly is between 2 to 5 years.
Although a universally accepted definition of IAD does not exist, a working definition was proposed by the International Workshop on Equine Chronic Airway Disease. IAD is defined as a non-septic airway disease in younger, athletic horses that does not have a clearly defined aetiology (Anonymous, 2003). This approach was reconfirmed in the ACVIM Consensus Statement (Couëtil, 2007).
The incidence of IAD in thoroughbred and standardbred racehorses is estimated between 11.3 and 50% (Burrell 1985; Sweeney et al., 1992; Burrell et al. 1996; Chapman et al. 2000; Wood, et al., 1999; MacNamara et al., 1990; Rush Moore et al., 1995).
The clinical symptoms are often so subtle, that they may go unnoticed. In that case, disappointing racing performance may be the only indication for the presence of IAD. Endoscopic examination is the major help in diagnosing IAD. Mucous accumulation in the airways is commonly observed. The result of cytology of collected BAL fluid (BALF) samples is an important parameter for diagnosing the disease. Various inflammatory cells can be seen in cytospins of BALF samples (Fig. 7.). In contrast to RAO, slightly increased numbers of eosinophil granulocytes may be observed.
There is consensus that the clinical symptoms (Anonymous, 2003; Couëtil, 2007) should include airway inflammation and lung dysfunction. However clinical signs are rather obscure and lung function test may only show very mild changes in respiratory resistance. At endoscopy the horses may have accumulated secretions in the trachea without necessarily displaying cough. Therefore, in contrast to other respiratory disorders, cough is an insensitive indicator of IAD in racehorses. IAD in racehorses seems to diminish with the time being in a training environment (Christley et al., 2001).
Respiratory virus infections do not appear to play a direct role in the syndrome (Anonymous, 2003), but there is still no consensus on their indirect role in the development of IAD. Bacterial colonisation of the respiratory mucosa is regularly detected (Wood et al., 2005). This could be associated with decreased mucociliary clearance. Poor mucosal clearance on its term could be the result of ciliar damage by dust or toxic gases such as ammonia. Common isolates include
It is estimated, however, that 35% to 58% of IAD cases are not caused by infections at all. Fine dust particles are assumed to be the trigger of these cases (Ghio et al 2006). Once IAD has established, long-term stay in conventional stables does not seem to worsen the IAD symptoms (Gerber et al., 2003a). Christley et al. (2001) reported that intense exercise, such as racing, may increase the risk of developing lower airway inflammation. Inhalation of dust particles from the track surface or of floating infectious agents may enter deep into the lower respiratory tract during hard exercise and cause impairment of pulmonary macrophage function together with altered peripheral lymphocyte function (Moore, 1996). In theory, intense exercise in cold weather may allow unconditioned air to gain access to the lower airways and cause airway damage (Davis & Foster, 2002), but studies in Scandinavia showed unequivocal results.
Many authors (Sweeney et al., 1992; Hoffman, 1995; Christley et al., 2001; Holcombe et al., 2001) consider the barn or stable environment the important risk factor for development of respiratory disease in young horses. Interestingly, a study in Australia by Christley et al. (2001) reported that the risk of development of IAD decreased with the length of time horses were in training and thus stabled. An explanation for this finding is the development of tolerance to airborne irritants, a phenomenon that has been demonstrated in employees working in environments with high grain dust levels (Schwartz et al., 1994). IAD of the horse partly fit within the clinical picture of the human organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS). Some evidence for this idea was presented by van den Hoven et al. (2004) et al., who could show inflammation of airways caused by nebulisation of
3.3.2.2. Recurrent airway obstruction
Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a common disease in horses. In the past, it used to be known as COPD, but as the pathophysiological mechanisms are more similar to human asthma than to human COPD, the disease is called RAO since 2001 (Robinson, 2001). The disease is not always clinically present, but after environmental challenge, horses show moderate to severe expiratory dyspnoea, next to nasal discharge and cough (Robinson, 2001). Exacerbation of disease is caused by inhalation of environmental allergens, especially hay dust, that cause severe bronchospasm and in addition hypersecretion too. The mucosa becomes swollen while accumulated mucous secretions further contribute to airway narrowing (Robinson, 2001). During remission, clinical symptoms may subside completely, but a residual inflammation of the airways and a hyperreactivity of the bronchi to nebulized histamine still remain present. A low degree of alveolar emphysema may develop as well, caused by frequent episodes of air trapping. In the past, severe end-stage emphysema was often diagnosed, but today this is rather uncommon and only sporadically occurs in old horses after many years of illness. The commonly accepted allergens that cause or provoke an exacerbation of RAO are especially spores of
Although the RAO share many similarities with human asthma, an accumulation of eosinophils in the BALF at exacerbation has never been reported. An asthma attack in humans is characterized by an early-phase response of bronchoconstriction, occurring within minutes of exposure to inhaled allergens. This phase is followed by a late asthmatic response with the continuation of airway obstruction and the development of airway inflammation. Mastcells play an important role in this early asthmatic response (D’Amato et al., 2004; Van der Kleij et al., 2004). The activation of mast cells after inhaling allergen results in the release of mastcell mediators, including histamine, tryptase, chymase, cysteinyl-leukotrines, and prostaglandin D2. These mediators induce airway smooth muscle contraction, clinically referred to as early-phase asthmatic response. Mastcells also release proinflammatory cytokines that, together with other mastcell mediators, have the potential to induce the influx of neutrophil and eosinophil granulocytes and the bronchoconstriction that are involved in the late-phase asthmatic response. Activation of other type of mastcell receptors can also induce mastcell degranulation or amplify the Fc-RI mediated mastcell activation (Deaton et al., 2007).
In horses suffering RAO, such an early-phase response seems not to appear, whereas in healthy horses the early phase response does appear (Deaton et al., 2007). This early-phase response may be a protective mechanism to decrease the dose of organic dust reaching the peripheral airways (Deaton et al., 2007). Apparently in the horse with RAO, this protective mechanism has been lost and only the late-phase response will develop. The time of exposure to dust plays a determining role, as was shown by studies with exposure to hay and straw for 5 hours. This challenge caused an increase of histamine concentrations in BALF of RAO-affected horses, but not in control horses. In contrast, exposure of only 30 minutes to hay and straw did not result in a significant increase in BALF histamine concentration of RAO horses (McGorum et al., 1993b). A study of McPherson et al., 1979 showed that exposure to hay dust of at least 1 hour is needed to provoke signs. Also Giguère et al. (2002) and others (Schmallenbach et al., 1998) provided evidence that the duration of exposure to organic dust must be longer than 1 hour. They are the opinion that the necessary exposure to provoke clinical signs of airway obstruction varies from hours to days in RAO affected horses.
The role of IgE-mediated events in RAO is still puzzling. Serum IgE levels against fungal spores in RAO horses were significantly higher than in healthy horses, but counts of IgE receptor-bearing cell in BALF were not significantly different between healthy and RAO affected horses (Kunzle et al., 2007). Lavoie et al. (2001) and Kim et al. (2003) held a T-helper cell response of type 2 responsible for the clinical signs, similar to human allergic asthma. However, their results are in contradiction with results of other research groups who could not find differences in lymphocyte cytokine expression patterns in cases with exacerbation of RAO compared to a control group (Kleiber et al., 2005).
The diagnosis of RAO is made if at least 2 of the following criteria are met: expiratory dyspnoea resulting in a maximal intra pleural pressure difference (ΔpPlmax) > 10 mm H2O before provocation or > 15 mm H2O after provocation with dust or by bad housing conditions. Any differential granulocyte count of > 10% in BALF is an indication for RAO. If symptoms can be ameliorated with bronchodilator treatment, the diagnosis is totally established (Robinson, 2001). In some severe cases the arterial PaO2 may be below 82 mmHg. After provocation with hay dust, RAO patients may reach equally low arterial oxygen levels too. Keeping the animals for 24 hours on pasture will quickly reduce clinical symptoms to a subclinical level.
The visible morphological changes are primarily located in the small airways and spread reactively to the alveoli and major air passages (Kaup et al., 1990a,b). Lesions may be focally, but functional changes may manifest themselves well throughout the bronchial tree. Bronchial lumina may contain a variable amount of exudate and may be plugged with debris. The epithelium is infiltrated with inflammatory cells, mainly neutrophil granulocytes. Furthermore, epithelial desquamation, necrosis, hyperplasia and non purulent peribronchial infiltrates may be seen. Fibrosing peribronchitis spreading in neighbouring alveolar septa was reported in severely diseased animals (Kaup et al, 1990b). The extent of these changes in the bronchioles is related to decrease of lung function, but changes may be distinctly focal in nature (Kaup et al., 1990b). Especially the function of Clara cells is important for the integrity of the bronchioles. Mildly diseased animals show loss of Clara cell granules next to goblet cell metaplasia even before inflammatory changes occur in the bronchioles. This together with the ultrastructural alterations found by Kaup et al. (1990b) supports the idea of the damaging effects of dust and LPS. In severely affected horses Clara cells are replaced by highly vacuolated cells. Reactive lesions may be seen at the alveolar levels. These include necrosis of type I pneumocytes, alveolar fibrosis and variable degree of type II pneumocyte transformation. Furthermore, alveolar emphysema with an increase in Kohns`pores can be present. These structural changes may explain the loss of lung compliance in horses with severe RAO.
Whether there is any causal relation between RAO and IAD is not yet established (Robinson 2001; Anonymous 2003). In both disorders, however, a poor climate in the stables plays a role. It could be theoretisized that IAD eventually may result in RAO, but Gerber et al. (2003a) suggest there is no direct relation between IAD and RAO. In RAO the hyperreactivity induced by histamine nebulization or to air allergens is manifold more severe than in IAD, were only a mild bronchial hyperreactivity often can be shown.
Since long time, based on observations made on members of generations of horse families, it was believed that RAO has a hereditary component. Just recently Ramseyer et al. (2007) provided very strong evidence of an inherited predisposition to RAO on the basis of findings in two groups of horses. The same research group could demonstrate that mucin genes are likely to play a role too (Gerber et al., 2003b) and that the IL4RA gene located on chromosome 13 is a candidate for RAO predisposition (Jost et al., 2007). The results gathered so far suggest that RAO seems to be a polygenic disease. Using segregation analysis for the hereditary aspects of the pulmonary health status for two stallion families, Gerber at al. (2009) showed that a major gene plays a role in RAO. The mode of inheritance in one family was autosomal dominant, whereas in the other horse family RAO seems to be inherited in an autosomal recessive mode.
3.3.2.3. Silicosis
Pulmonary silicosis results from inhalation of silicon dioxide (SiO2) particulates. It is uncommon in horses; only in California a case series has been published. Affected horse showed chronic weight loss, exercise intolerance, and dyspnoea (Berry et al., 1991).
4. Conclusion
It may be questioned whether our pets, especially dogs, cats and horses are to be considered as victims of or "Sentinels" for air pollution. They are actually victims of human activities, just like man himself. On the other hand, the dog, horse and cat breeds, as we know them today, were all bred by man during and after the process of domestication. If the horse (
References
- 1.
Anderson L. J. Sandison A. T. Jarrett W. F. H. 1969 A British abattoir survey of tumours in cattle, sheep and pigs. ,84 547 551 - 2.
Anonymous 1972 Threshold limiting values for substances in work room air with intended changes for ‘72. American Con. Of Government Hygienists, Cinicinatti, USA. - 3.
Anonymous 2003 Inflammatory airway disease: defining the syndrome. Conclusions of the Havemeyer Workshop October ‘02, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA15 61 63 - 4.
Bailey C. J. Reid S. W. J. Hodgson D. R. Rose R. J. 1999 Impact of injuries and disease on a cohort of two- and three-year-old Thoroughbreds in training.145 487 493 - 5.
Byrne B. A. Prescott J. F. Palmer G. H. Takai S. Nicholson V. M. Alperin D. C. Hines S. A. 2001 Virulence plasmid of Rhodococcus equi contains inducible gene family encoding secreted proteins.69 650 EOF 6 EOF - 6.
Berry C. R. O’Brien T. R. Madigan J. E. Hager D. A. 1991 Thoracic radiographic features of silicosis in 19 horses. ,5 248 256 - 7.
Bertone E. R. Snyder L. . Moore A. S. 2002 Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Risk of Malignant Lymphoma in Pet Cats.156 268 273 - 8.
Brockmeier S. L. Patrick G. Halbur P. G. Thacker E. L. 2002 Chapter: 13 Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex. in: Brogden, K.A., Guthmiller, J.M. (editors): . ASM Press, Washington (DC).231 258 - 9.
Buckley T. Creighton A. Fogarty U. 2007 Analysis of Canadian and Irish forage, oats and commercially available equine concentrate feed for pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins. Irish Veterinary Journal,60 231 236 - 10.
Bukowski J. A. Wartenberg D. 1997 An alternative Approach for Investigating the Carcinogenicity of Indoor Air Pollution: Pets as Sentinels of Environmental Cancer Risk. ,l05 1312 1319 - 11.
Burrell M. H. 1985 Endoscopic and virological observations on respiratory disease in a group of young Thoroughbred horses in training. Equine Veterinary Journal,17 99 103 - 12.
Burrell M. H. Wood J. L. Whitwell K. E. Chanter N. Mackintosh M. E. Mumford J. A. 1996 Respiratory disease in thoroughbred horses in training: the relationships between disease viruses, bacteria and environment. ,139 308 313 - 13.
Catcott E. J. 1961 Effects of air pollution on animals. In: World Health Organization Monograph series,41 WHO, Geneva,221 231 - 14.
Chapman P. S. Green C. Main J. P. M. Taylor P. M. Cunningham F. M. Cook A. J. Marr C. M. 2000 Retrospective study of the relationships between age, inflammation and the isolation of bacteria from the lower respiratory tract of thoroughbred horses. ,146 91 95 - 15.
Christley R. M. Hodgson D. R. Rose R. J. Wood J. L. Reids S. W. Whitear K. G. Hodgson J. L. 2001a A case-control study of respiratory disease in Thoroughbred racehorses in Sydney, Australia. ,33 256 264 - 16.
Christley R. M. Hodgson D. R. Rose R. J. Hodgson J. L. Wood J. L. N. Reid S. W. J. 2001b Coughing in thoroughbred racehorses: risk factors and tracheal endoscopic and cytological findings.148 99 104 - 17.
Clarke A. F. 1987 A review of environmental and host factors in relation to equine respiratory disease.19 435 441 - 18.
Clarke A. F. 1993 Stable dust--threshold limiting values, exposures variables and host risk factors. ,25 172 174 - 19.
Clarke A. F. Madelin T. M. Allpress R. G. 1987 The relationship of air hygiene in stables to lower airway disease and pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia in two groups of Thoroughbred horses.19 524 530 - 20.
Church S. Wyn-Jones G. Parks A. H. Ritchie H. E. 1986 Treatment of gutteral pouch mycosis. ,18 362 365 - 21.
D’Amato G. Liccardi G. Noschese P. Salzillo A. D’Amato M. Cazzola M. 2004 Anti-IgE monoclonal antibody (omalizumab) in the treatment of atopic asthma and allergic respiratory diseases.3 227 229 - 22.
Couëtil L. J. Hoffman A. M. Hodgson J. Buechner-Maxwell V. Viel L. Wood J. L. N. Lavoie-P J. 2007 Inflammatory Airway Disease of Horses.21 356 361 - 23.
Davis M. S. Foster W. M. 2002 Inhalation Toxicology in the Equine Respiratory Tract (Last Updated:28 Feb) In Lekeux P. (Ed.): , International Veterinary Information Service, Ithaca NY (www.ivis.org),;B0319.0202 - 24.
Deaton C. M. Deaton L. Jose-Cunilleras E. Vincent T. L. Baird A. W. Dacre K. Marlin D. J. 2007 Early onset airway obstruction in response to organic dust. ,102 1071 1077 - 25.
Dodd K. T. Gross D. R. 1980 Ammonia inhalation toxicity in cats: a study of acute and chronic respiratory dysfunction.35 6 14 - 26.
Donham K. J. 1991 Association of environmental air contaminants with disease and productivity in swine. ,52 1723 1730 - 27.
Enarson D. A. Vedal S. Chan-Yeung M. 1985 Rapid decline in FEV, in grain handlers: Relation to level of dust exposure. .,132 814 817 - 28.
Foster W. M. 1999 Effects of Oxidants. In: Swift, D.L. & Foster, W.M., (eds). Air Pollutants and the Respiratory Tract. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc.,147 179 - 29.
Gerber V. Robinson N. E. Luethi S. Marti E. Wampfler B. Straub R. 2003a Airway inflammation and mucus in two age groups of asymptomatic well-performing sport horses. ,35 491 495 - 30.
Gerber V. Robinson N. E. Venta P. J. Rawson J. Jefcoat A. M. Hotchkiss J. A. 2003b Mucin genes in horse airways: MUC5AC, but not MUC2, may play a role in recurrent airway obstruction.35 252 257 - 31.
Gerber V. Baleri D. Klukowska-Rötzler J. Swinburne J. E. Dolf G. 2009 Mixed inheritance of equine recurrent airway obstruction.23 626 630 - 32.
Ghio A. J. Mazan M. R. Hoffman A. M. Robinson N. E. 2006 Correlates between human lung injury after paricle exposure and recurrent airway obstruction in the horse. ,38 362 367 - 33.
Giguère S. Viel L. Lee E. Mac Kay. R. J. Hernandez J. Franchini M. 2002 Cytokine induction in pulmonary airways of horses with heaves and effect of therapy with inhaled fluticasone propionate.85 147 158 - 34.
Harry E. G. 1978 Air pollution in farm buildings and methods of control: A review’.7 441 454 - 35.
Hayes H. M. Jr Hoover R. Tarone R. E. 1981 Bladder cancer in pet dogs: a sentinel for environmental cancer?114 229 233 - 36.
Harbison M. L. Godleski J. J. 1983 Malignant mesothelioma in urban dogs.20 531 540 - 37.
Hillidge C. J. 1986 Review of Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi lung abscesses in foals: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. ,119 261 264 - 38.
Hirt R. A. Vondrakova K. de Arespacochaga A. G. Gütl A. van den Hoven. R. 2007 Effects of cadmium chloride inhalation on airflow limitation to histamine, carbachol and adenosine 5’-monophosphate assessed by barometric whole body plethysmography in healthy dogs.173 62 72 - 39.
Hoffman A. M. Baird J. D. Kloeze H. J. Rosendal S. Bell M. 1992 Mycoplasma felis pleuritis in two show-jumper horses. 82,155 162 - 40.
Hoffman A. M. 1995 Small airway inflammatory disease in equids. In:13 754 757 - 41.
Holcombe S. J. Jackson C. Gerber V. Jefcoat A. Berney C. Eberhardt S. Robinson N. E. 2001 Stabling is associated with airway inflammation in young Arabian horses.33 244 249 - 42.
Jones R. D. Mc Greevy P. D. Robertson a. Clake a. F. Wathes C. M. (1987 19 454 457 - 43.
Jost U. Klukowska-Rotzler J. Dolf G. Swinburne J. E. Ramseyer A. Bugno M. Burger D. Blott S. Gerber V. 2007 A region on equine chromosome 13 is linked to recurrent airway obstruction in horses. ,39 236 241 - 44.
Khan A. J. Nanchal R. 2007 Cotton dust lung diseases.13 137 141 - 45.
Kaup F. J. Drommer W. Deegen E. 1990a Ultra structural findings in horses with chronioc obstructive pulmonorary diseases (COPD) I: alterations of thje larger conducting airways,22 343 348 - 46.
Kaup F. J. Drommer W. Damsch S. Deegen E. 1990b Ultra structural findings in horses with chronioc obstructive pulmonorary diseases (COPD) I: alterations of thje larger conducting airways. ,22 349 355 - 47.
Kim C. K. Kim S. W. Park C. S. Kim B. I. Kang H. Koh Y. Y. 2003 Bronchoalveolar lavage cytokine profiles in acute asthma and acute bronchiolitis.112 64 71 - 48.
Kleiber C. Mc Gorum B. C. Horohov D. W. Pirie R. S. Zurbriggen A. Straub R. 2005 Cytokine profiles of peripheral blood and airway CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes in horses with recurrent airway obstruction. ,104 91 97 - 49.
Kunzle F. Gerber V. van der Haegen A. Wampfler B. Straub R. Marti E. 2007 IgE-bearing cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and allergen-specific IgE levels in sera from RAO-affected horses. ,54 40 47 - 50.
Lavoie J. P. Maghni K. Desnoyers M. Taha R. Martin J. G. Hamid Q. A. 2001 Neutrophilic airway inflammation in horses with heaves is characterized by a Th2-type cytokine profile.164 1410 1413 - 51.
Mac Namara. B. Bauer S. Lafe J. 1990 Endoscopic evaluation of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in association with poor performance in racing Standardbreds.196 443 445 - 52.
Mc Pherson E. A. Lawson G. H. K. Murphy J. R. Nicholson J. Breeze R. G. Pirie H. M. 1979 Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) in horses: Aetiological studies.Responses to intradermal and inhalation antigenic challenge. ,11 139 166 - 53.
Manzo N. D. Slade R. Dye J. A. 2010 Interrelationship of lung inflammation and air pollutant exposure on cellular oxidative stress and epithelial injury. , Plymouth, MA. - 54.
Marlin D. J. Deaton C. D. Smith N. C. Roberts C. A. Kelly F. Harris P. Schroter R. C. 2001 Development of a model of acute, resolving pulmonary oxidative stress in the horse by ozone exposure. In: , Edinburgh,30 - 55.
Mc Donnell P. E. Coggins M. A. Hogan V. J. Fleming G. T. 2008 Exposure assessment of airborne contaminants in the indoor environment of Irish swine farms.15 323 326 - 56.
Mc Gorum B. C. Dixon P. M. Halliwell R. E. 1993a Responses of horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to inhalation challenges with mould antigens.25 261 267 - 57.
Mc Gorum B. C. Dixon P. M. Halliwell R. E. 1993b Quantification of histamine in plasma and pulmonary fluids from horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, before and after “natural (hay and straw) challenges.”.36 223 237 - 58.
Mc Gorum B. C. Ellison J. Cullen R. T. 1998 Total and respirable airborne dust endotoxin concentrations in three equine management systems. ,30 430 434 - 59.
Mills P. C. Roberts C. A. Smith N. C. 1996 Effects of ozone and airway inflammation on glutathione status and iron homeostasis in the lungs of horses.57 1359 1363 - 60.
Moore B. R. 1996 Lower respiratory tract disease.12 457 472 - 61.
Muscatello G. Anderson G. A. Gilkerson J. R. Browning G. F. 2006 Associations between the ecology of virulent and the epidemiology of R. equi pneumonia on Australian thoroughbred farms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology,72 6152 6160 - 62.
Neuberger M. Rabczenkob D. Moshammer H. 2007 Extended effects of air pollution on cardiopulmonary mortality in Vienna.41 8549 8556 - 63.
Outram A. K. Stear N. A. Bendrey R. Olsen S. Kasparov A. Zaibert V. Thorpe N. Evershed R. P. 2009 The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking. ,323 1332 1335 - 64.
Pickrell J. 1991 Hazards in confinement housing- gases and dusts in confined animal houses for swine, poultry, horses and humans.33 32 39 - 65.
Pirie R. S. Dixon P. M. Collie D. D. Mc Gorum B. C. 2001 Pulmonary and systemic effects of inhaled endotoxin in control and heaves horses.33 311 318 - 66.
Pirie R. S. Collie D. D. Dixon P. M. Mc Gorum B. C. 2003 Inhaled endotoxin and organic dust particulates have synergistic proinflammatory effects in equine heaves (organic dust-induced asthma).33 676 683 - 67.
Ragland W. L. Gorham J. R. 1967 Tonsilar carcinoma in rural dogs.214 925 926 - 68.
Ramseyer A. Gaillard C. Burger D. Straub R. Jost U. Boog C. Marti E. Gerber V. 2007 Effects of genetic and environmental factors on chronic lower airway disease in horses.21 149 156 - 69.
Ranivand, L. & Otto, C. ( 2008 ). Feline asthma trends in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1896-2007. 26th Annual Symposium of the VCRS - 70.
Reif J. S. Dunn K. Ogilvie G. K. Harris C. K. 1992 Passive smoking and canine lung cancer risk135 234 239 - 71.
Reif J. S. Bruns Chr. Lower K. S. 1998 Cancer of the Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinuses and Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Pet Dogs147 488 492 - 72.
Reineroa C. R. Amy E. De Cluea A. E. Rabinowitzb P. 2009 Asthma in humans and cats: Is there a common sensitivity to aeroallegens in shared environments? ,109 634 640 - 73.
Robinson, N.E. (Ed.) ( 2001 ): International workshop on equine chronic airway disease, Michigan State University 16-18, June 2000. Equine Veterinary Journal,33 5 19 - 74.
Moore B. Krakowka S. Robertson J. T. Cummins J. M. 1995 Cytologic evaluation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid obtained from Standardbred racehorses with inflammatory airway disease.56 562 EOF 7 EOF - 75.
Scherer M. Unshelm J. 1995 Untersuchungen zur Belastung von Mastschweinen sowie der Umgebung von Mastschweinstallen durch atembaren Feinstaub, stallspezifische Bakterien und Ammoniak 196,399 415 - 76.
Schmallenbach K. H. Rahman I. Sasse H. H. Dixon P. M. Halliwell R. E. Mc Gorum B. C. Crameri R. Miller H. R. 1998 Studies on pulmonary and systemic -specific IgE and IgG antibodies in horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Vet Immunol Immunopathol,66 245 256 - 77.
Schwartz D. A. Thorne P. S. Jagielo P. J. White G. E. Bleuer S. A. Frees K. L. 1994 Endotoxin responsiveness and grain dust-induced inflammation in the lower respiratory tract.267 L609 L617 - 78.
Sweeney C. R. Humber K. A. Roby K. A. 1992 Cytologic findings of tracheobronchial aspirates from 66 Thoroughbred racehorses.53 1172 1175 - 79.
Snyder J. C. Reynolds S. D. Hollingsworth J. W. Li Z. Kaminski N. Stripp B. R. 2011 Clara cells attenuate the inflammatory response through regulation of macrophage behavior. ,42 161 171 - 80.
Tyler W. Jones J. Birks E. Julian D. Snyder J. Pascoe J. Steffey E. Jarvis K. Tarkington B. Berry J. Hinds D. 1991 Effects of ozone on exercising horses. 3:490 502 - 81.
Van den Hoven. R. Duvigneau J. C. Hartl R. T. Riedelberger K. Teinfalt M. Gemeiner M. 2004 The Expression of Messenger RNA for Tumor Necrosis Factor-α; Interleukins 1ß, 6, 8, and 10;Tissue Growth Factor-ß; and Interferon-γ in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cells from horses challenged with lipopolysaccharide and treated with clenbuterol.24 29 36 - 82.
Van den Hoven. R. 2006 Equine exercise physiology- Transforming laboratory studies into practical concepts. Pferdeheilkunde,22 525 530 - 83.
Van den Hoven. R. Duvigneau J. C. Hartl R. T. Gemeiner M. 2006 Clenbuterol affects the expression of messenger RNA for interleukin 10 in peripheral leukocytes from horses challenged intrabronchially with lipopolysaccharides. ,30 921 928 - 84.
Van den Hoven. R. 2007 A jack-in-the-box of respiratory research: is the technique of barometric whole body plethysmography a disappointing surprise?173 250 251 - 85.
Wood J. L. N. Newton J. R. Chanter N. Mumford J. A. 2005 Association between respiratory disease and bacterial and viral infections in British racehorses.43 120 126 - 86.
Vandenput S. Istasse L. Nicks B.. Lekeux P. 1997 Airborne dust and aeroallergen concentrations in different sources of feed and bedding for horses. ,19 154 158 - 87.
Van der Kleij H. P. Kraneveld A. D. van Houwelingen A. H. Kool M. Weitenberg A. C. Redegeld F. A. Nijkamp F. P. 2004 Murine model for non-IgE-mediated asthma.28 115 125 - 88.
Wada R. Kamada M. Anzai T. Nakanishi A. Kanemaru T. Takai S. Tsubaki S. 1997 Pathogenicity and virulence of in foals following intratracheal challenge. Veterinary Microbiologie,56 301 312 - 89.
Wathes C. M. Phillips V. R. Holden M. R. Sneath R. W. Short J. L. White R. P. P. Hartung J. Seedorf J. Schroder M. Linkert K. H. Pedersen S. Takai H. Johnsen J. O. Groot Koerkamp. P. W. G. Uenk G. H. Metz J. H. M. Hinz T. Caspary V. Linke S. 1998 Emissions of Aerial Pollutants in Livestock Buildings in Northern Europe: Overview of a Multinational Project. ,70 3 9 - 90.
Wilson M. R. Takov R. Friendship R. M. Martin S. W. Mac Millan. I. Hacker R. R. Swaminatan S. 1986 Prevalence of respiratory diseases and their assocaition with growth rate and space in randomly selected swine herds.50 209 216 - 91.
Whittaker A. G. Hughes K. J. Parkin T. D. H. Love S. 2009 Concentrations of dust and endotoxin in equine stabling. ,165 293 295 - 92.
Wood J. L. N. Newton J. R. Chanter N. Mumford J. A. Townsend H. G. G. Lakhani K. H. Gower S. M. Burrell M. H. Pilsworth R. C. Shepherd M. Hopes R. Dugdale D. Herinckx B. M. B. Main J. P. M. Windsor H. M. Windsor G. D. 1999 A longitudinal epidemiological study of respiratory disease in racehorses: disease definitions, prevalence and incidence. In: , Eds: U. Wernery, J.F. Wade, J.A. Mumford and J.O. Kaaden, R&WPublications Ltd., Newmarket,64 70 - 93.
Wood J. L. Chanter N. Newton J. R. Burrell M. H. Dugdale D. Windsor H. M. Windsor G. D. Rosendal S. Townsend H. G. 1997 An outbreak of respiratory disease in horses associated with Mycoplasma felis infection.140 388 391 - 94.
Woods P. S. Robinson N. E. Swanson M. C. Reed C. E. Broadstone R. V. Derksen F. J. 1993 Airborne dust and aeroallergen concentration in a horse stable under two different management systems. ,25 208 213