By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky is known the world over for its horse industry. One reason for its success is the availability of resources that continually monitor conditions affecting the equine population, including the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture and the UK Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

A recent report from the Gluck Center noted an increase in the number of cases of fetuses and placentas submitted to the laboratory and diagnosed with nocardioform placentitis, according to UK.

According to information, the condition is a “unique form of bacterial placentitis affecting late gestation mares, causing abortion, stillbirth or foals born alive but compromised. This form of placentitis was first diagnosed in central Kentucky in the 1980s and has also been reported in other areas of the United States and abroad.”

Dr. Mats Troedsson, director of the Gluck Center and chair of the UK’s Department of Veterinary Science, said efforts are under way to better understand this and other types of placentitis. He said it should be noted that just because a mare is found to have the condition doesn’t mean she will lose a foal.

“The last number I had was somewhere between 140 and 160 diagnosed cases and only half of those caused abortion; the rest produced live foals,” he said. “We need to keep in mind the increase in cases still represents less than 1 percent of the pregnant mares.”

Troedsson added it is always traumatic for a horse owner to lose a foal but the increase in numbers of nocardioform placentitis does not mean there is anything wrong in the state to cause the condition. According to a chart from UK, the number of cases fluctuates from year to year but, for the most part, is nonexistent much of the time. Last year only six cases were reported.
“The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has constant surveillance for trends and emerging problems that allowed for early identification of the increase in placentitis cases,” said Neil Williams, professor and the lab’s associate director. “We will continue to monitor for the occurrence of this and other problems through epidemiology and diagnostic testing. The increased capabilities for surveillance we have built in the past several years allow us to catch syndromes early.”

The equine industry has been a leader in agriculture receipts every year and while those figures have dropped in the last two years, it still means about $800 million to the state annually.

Troedsson pointed out the condition is found here and other places every year and researchers are still trying to understand its causes and why it increases from time to time. But, it is important to note this is not something endangering the mare population in Kentucky – and it should be kept in perspective.
“One of the problems with the disease is, although we know bacteria causes the disease, we don’t fully understand when and how the bacteria gets into the uterus and that’s one of the things we are interested in looking at in the research we are currently doing,” he said.

“If we understand how it gets in, it may be easier to prevent it from happening. The current belief is that it gets in at the time of breeding, but that has never been proven.”

In fact, as part the center’s studies, the disease has shown up in research animals that were artificially inseminated.

One hypothesis is that it comes from the soil. Troedsson said the bacteria that causes the disease is common in the ground, not just here but everywhere. But while the disease shows up in many parts of the country, to his knowledge, Troedsson does not believe it has ever been reported in the western U.S.
He  said another problem is that it is relatively uncommon, and it is difficult to do research on something that doesn’t happen that often. Troedsson added their research includes trying to create a model to produce it in research animals, noting it would be easier to understand the disease and keep it from happening.

Nocardioform placentitis is not restricted to certain breeds and while it may seem to be showing up more in Thoroughbreds, that comes from the fact there is such a large population of these horses in Kentucky, said Troedsson.
He emphasized while research is important at the Gluck Center, the need to respond to problems such as this disease, and respond quickly, is another important part of its mission.