Specific Immune Response of Mares and their Newborn Foals to <it>Actinobacillus </it>spp. Present in the Oral Cavity

• Main Author: Sternberg S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2001-06-01
• Series: Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
• Subjects: horse; foal; Actinobacillus; immune response; immunodiffusion; bacteria
• Online Access: http://www.actavetscand.com/content/42/2/237

<p/> <p>Oral swab samples, serum and colostrum was taken from 15 mares and 14 of their foals, within 24 h of birth. The presence of antibody against <it>Actinobacillus </it>spp. isolated from the oral cavity was investigated using agar gel immunodiffusion. Antibodies against 48 out of the 77 <it>Actinobacillus </it>isolates from all horses in the study were present in the respective sera of 13 mares and 9 foals. In 11 mother-foal pairs, the antibody content of the foal serum was similar to that of the mare, and in 9 cases this was reflected in the antibody content of colostrum from the mare. The results indicate that an immune response to <it>Actinobacillus </it>spp. colonising the oral cavity is present in many adult horses and that this immune response can be transferred from mother to foal via colostrum.</p>