Bozok Veterinary Sciences

Abstract

Proliferative enteropathy (PE) is a disease caused by Lawsonia intracellularis, an obligate intracellular bacterium, that can present with severe clinical findings, especially in foals under 1 year of age, and usually asymptomatically and rarely with clinical findings in horses over 1 year of age. While transmission of the agent can occur via fecal-oral route from symptomatic and/or asymptomatic foals and adult horses, domestic and wild animals such as pigs, cats, dogs, rabbits, opossums, skunks, mice, and jackals can also play a role in the shedding and transmission of the agent by acting as reservoirs. Clinical findings of the disease include high fever, lethargy, peripheral edema, diarrhea, colic, weight loss and associated developmental delay. In diagnosis, methods such as hypoproteinemia, thickening of the small intestine wall on ultrasound examination, positive serology and detection of the agent in the stool by molecular methods are used along with clinical findings. In antimicrobial treatment, macrolide group antibiotics and their combinations such as rifampin, chloramphenicol, oxytetracycline and doxycillin are generally used. In facilities where the disease is endemic, monitoring foals for clinical findings, measuring serum protein and albumin levels at certain periods, and performing serological examinations are important within the scope of prevention and control measures. This review article aims to provide information about the etiological characteristics of L. intracellularis and the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical findings, methods used in diagnosis, treatment methods and prevention and control measures of the disease caused by the agent.