Internal Medicine
& Nutrition Program
17 CE
Total Hours
September 23rd - 25th, 2010
Groton, Connecticut
Pre-Registration
Ends September 1st, 2010
Welcome to the NEAEP’s 2010 Internal Medicine Program. This year’s
program will focus on infectious diseases. Leaders in the field of
infectious disease will present current information on the
diagnosis, treatment and management of some of the more prevalent
infectious diseases encountered in the field. The goal of these
lectures is to enhance the clinician’s ability to recognize and diagnose
certain conditions, and to take appropriate steps when necessary to
prevent the spread of certain diseases.
Updates on some of the more commonly encountered infectious, but not
contagious,
diseases such as Lyme Disease, Potomac Horse Fever and Anaplasma
phagocytophilium will also be presented. The Program additionally
will feature informative practical sessions on frequently
encountered endocrinological disorders such as Pituitary Pars
Intermedia Dysfunction and Equine Metabolic Syndrome.


Internal Medicine & Nutrition Schedule
Speakers & Topics

Rob Holland, DVM
Sponsored By:
Upper Respiratory Tract Viral
Infections - Diagnosing and Containing the Spread
Upper respiratory tract viruses can
propagate through an equine population very rapidly, leaving in
their wake, multiple debilitated animals. It can also have a
debilitating financial effect on the affected premise. This lecture
will focus on the identification and treatment the more common upper
respiratory tract viruses and steps that can be taken to limit the
spread of disease.
Diagnosis and
management of Streptococcus equi - To scope the pouches or not?
Streptococcus equi
was first described in 1251. Up to this day outbreaks of the disease
continue to have a significant impact on horse populations,
financially crippling some premises on which the outbreaks
occur. This lecture will review the diagnosis and management of the
disease, focusing on the less commonly recognized manifestation of
the disease, guttural pouch empyema.
Streptococcus equi -
How to
approach an outbreak
This lecture will
focus on the logistical steps that should be taken to limit the
spread of disease when first encountering a patient with Strangles.
Tom Divers,
DVM, Dip.
ACVIM, Dip. ACVECC
Sponsored By:

Lyme Disease- What do we know about
Borrelia burgdorferi infection in the horse?
Characterization of Lyme Disease in the horse has been difficult.
Many horses in the northeastern U.S. have been infected and most do
not show obvious clinical signs. Mild pathology in the skin, nerves
and synovial membranes have been reported in experimentally infected
ponies. The pathology in those ponies may help explain some of the
clinical signs associated with equine Lyme disease. The most
commonly used diagnostic tests do not distinguish between past
infection and current infection. In addition the antibody response
to Borrelia infection in the horse may be prolonged, making it
difficult to determine when to treat and for how long. Doxycycline
and tetracycline should be effective treatments in horses that have
been infected for only several weeks.
Leptospirosis- An emerging disease in
the horse?
Leptospira pomona
is the most common pathogenic Leptospira serovar infecting horses in
North America. L. pomona most commonly causes disease of the
reproductive tract in females, the kidney in foals and young adults
and the eye in adult horses. L. pomona and less commonly
other serovars, are proven causes of late term abortion in mares and
incidence may vary considerably between years. Recently infected
horses generally shed Leptospira in the urine from 2 weeks to 3
months and should be considered infectious during that time.
Leptospira pomona is sensitive to several commonly used
antibiotics. There is no approved equine vaccine. The most
controversial aspect of equine leptospirosis is the association with
equine recurrent uveitis.
Steeve
Giguere, DVM, PhD, Dip. ACVIM
Sponsored By:

Update on infections caused by Rhodococcus equi in
foals
An
evidence based session on the diagnosis, pathogenesis, immunity,
epidemiology, therapy, and control of the disease.
Respiratory Disorders of the Neonatal foal
The detection of respiratory disease in the newborn
foal can be challenging. Clinical signs that are often associated
with pulmonary tract disease in older foals and adult horses are
typically lacking in the sick neonatal foal. The transition from
the fluid-filled lung of the foal to an organ that is responsible
for efficient gas exchange is both rapid and complex. The process
can be complicated by a number of factors, including prematurity or
dysmaturity, thoracic trauma,
aspiration of meconium or
milk, and bacterial or viral infection.
Respiratory diseases of older foals
Respiratory disease is one of the leading cause of
morbidity and mortality in older foals. Common infectious and
noninfectious respiratory disorders of older foals will be reviewed
with a special emphasis on diagnostic and therapeutic measures.
Gillian
Perkins, DVM, Dip. ACVIM
Sponsored By:
Update on Potomac
Horse Fever
Potomac Horse
Fever (Neorickettsia risticii) causes high fevers,
inappetence and colitis and is frequently accompanied by electrolyte
derangements, dehydration and protein loss. Laminitis is often a
secondary sequelae. The disease is oxytetracycline-responsive,
especially if treated early. This talk will focus on experiences
managing cases at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals along
with an overview of the epidemiology and pathophysiology.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum: A
complex pathogen
Anaplasma phagocytophilum,
previously known as Ehrlichia equi, is a common tick-borne
disease encountered in the North East. The symptoms most commonly
are fever, inappetence, petechiae and limb edema, however,
rhabdomyolysis, mild ataxia and seizures have been documented.
Thrombocytopenia, mild anemia and leucopenia are seen along with
inclusions in the neutrophils depending on where in the course of
the disease the blood sample is submitted. A review of the
literature and discussion of clinical symptoms, diagnosis and
treatment will be presented.
Harold
C. Schott II, DVM, PhD, Dip. ACVIM
Sponsored By:
Equine Metabolic Syndrome:
Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management:
A syndrome of middle-aged obesity
accompanied by insidious-onset laminitis has been recognized by
equine practitioners for decades. Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is
a recently coined name that has gained acceptance to describe this
condition that is associated with insulin resistance. Clinical signs
of laminitis commonly develop while horses are grazing spring
pasture but can also occur at other times of the year and in horses
without pasture access.
Diagnosis and Management of Pituitary
Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID):
Increased recognition of PPID is a
consequence of clients maintaining their horses to more advanced
ages as well as improved health care being provided to older horses.
Diagnosis of PPID in advanced cases with hirsutism is
straightforward but diagnosis of earlier stages of the disease
remains challenging. The dopaminergic drug pergolide has clearly
been demonstrated to be an effective treatment for PPID but do all
horses with PPID need to be treated?

Rodney
Belgrave, DVM, MS, Dip.
ACVIM
Sponsored By:

Diagnosis, Treatment and Management
of Bacterial Pneumonia/Pleuropneumonia
This presentation will focus on the
diagnosis and medical management of the more common causes of
bacterial pneumonia. The discussion will include the clinical
examination findings of affected patients, the typical ultrasonographic and radiographic findings seen in bacterial
pneumonia, the collection of samples from the respiratory
tract, and therapeutic management of cases in the field and in
hospital.

Randel Raub, Ph.D
Sponsored By:
Feeding The Sick Horse
Nutritional research and recommendations will be presented as
related to specific disease conditions, and to facilitate recovery
of the convalescent horse.
Horse Feed Safety, Quality And
Ingredient Issues
How
ingredient specifications, quality and their use in formulation can
impact feed performance will be discussed. In addition, technologies
and programs that effect horse feed safety and quality will be
presented. Attendees will learn what specific questions they should
ask to better understand the safety and quality of the horse feed
they may be buying.
Marybeth
Gordon, PhD.
Sponsored By:
Feeding For Athletic Performance
The nutritional
demands of competition horses can be greatly elevated. Feeding
strategies to optimize performance will be outlined, including a
discussion of how to critically evaluate the proper usage of dietary
supplements
Feeding back to health the
malnourished and starved horse
Practitioners will
unfortunately be faced with treating the malnourished and starved
horse at some time or another. How to avoid complications such as
re-feeding syndrome while bringing a horse back to optimal body
condition will be discussed. Feeding strategies for different
classes of horses and special cases will also be covered.