Texas Equine Veterinary Association

www.texasequineva.com • 16 blood antibody levels to confirm passive transfer of immunity from the mare's colostrum. While confirmation of adequate passive transfer is critical for foals to get on the right path, these newborns still are susceptible to easily contract life-threatening infections, such as respiratory and gastrointestinal disease. The immune system in young foals is not mature, we often see SAA levels increase in sick foals a lot higher and much quicker than in more mature horses, anything >100 ug/ml is cause for concern and re- evaluation. SAA has also been shown to be helpful in a multimodal approach as a screening tool for Rhodococcus equi, in combination with thoracic ultrasound and WBC count. (6,7) How to Test SAA Like any blood test, there are several ways veterinarians can measure SAA. Submission to a reference laboratory for analysis is available; however, SAA can degrade in the sample during transport, making the values 5–10% lower than the actual SAA levels (1). Also, test results won't be available for a few days. Because one of SAA's features is its "real-time" measure of inflammation caused by infection, stall side testing with results in 10 minutes is readily available with Stablelab to provide practitioners with accurate and immediate results for their horse owners. See www.stablelab.com for additional information. Take-Home Message Equine veterinarians are finding serum amyloid A values useful in a variety of cases, but it's important to remember they are only one piece of a puzzle. Every infection has inflammation, but not all inflammation has infection. Horses with pure inflammatory conditions, such as tying-up or laminitis, that do not have an underlying infectious component will not have increased SAA levels. In these cases, other diagnostic tests are needed to help diagnose disease and monitor response to treatment. Nonetheless, the rapid stall side diagnostic test for SAA can help practitioners detect infectious conditions quickly and guide treatment strategies for optimal outcomes and return to function. The faster an infectious condition is diagnosed, the quicker the veterinarian and barn staff can work together, instituting appropriate biosecurity protocols to minimize disease spread. SAA should be added to the physical exam as standard protocol to evaluate health in high-risk horses. If you can detect a horse as early as possible, you might have time to treat the horse to still perform at the highest level. REFERENCES: 1. Nolen-Walston, R. How to Interpret Serum Amyloid A Concentrations. AAEP Proceedings 2015 130-137. 2. Jacobsen, Stine. Review of Equine Acute- Phase Proteins. AAEP Proceedings 2007 Vol 53 230-235. 3. Belgrave, R. et al. Assessment of serum amyloid A testing of horses and its clinical application in a specialized equine practice. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2013;243:113–119. 4. Viner, Mazan, Bedenice et al. Comparison of Serum Amyloid A in Horses with Infectious and Noninfectious Respiratory Diseases. J of Eq Vet Sci 49 2017 11-13. 5. Oertly, M. et al. Early Inflammation in Horses Following Long-Distance Transportation by Air. AAEP Proceedings, Vol 62. Pages 460-61. 2017. 6. Slovis NM, McCracken JL, Mundy g. How to use Thoracic Ultrasound to Screen Foals for R. equi at affected farms, in Proceedings. 51st Annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, 2005; 274-278. 7. McCracken, JL. Evaluation of White Blood Cell, Fibrinogen, Serum Amyloid A, and Ultrasonographic Grade to Refine a R. equi Screening Program, in Proceedings. 65th Annual American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, 2019; 522-530. Stablelab is a registered trademark of Epona Biotech Limited, used under license by Zoetis, Inc. For more information visit www.stablelab.com. All Trademarks are the property of Zoetis Services LLC or a Related company or a licensor unless otherwise noted. ©2020 Zoetis Services LLC. All rights reserved. LITCODE STB-00088 This article was provided by Zoetis as part of their Platinum Sponsorship of the Texas Equine Veterinary Association. Each of our Platinum Sponsors is able to submit one article, annually to The Remuda.

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