Analysis of risk factors for the development of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses

Abstract

Objective - To investigate risk factors for development of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horses. Design - Case-control study. Animals - 251 horses admitted to The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 1992 to 1995. Procedure - On the basis of clinical signs of neurologic disease and detection of antibody to Sarcocystis neurona or S neurona DNA in cerebrospinal fluid, a diagnosis of EPM was made for 251 horses. Two contemporaneous series of control horses were selected from horses admitted to the hospital. One control series (n = 225) consisted of horses with diseases of the neurologic system other than EPM (neurologic control horses), and the other consisted o..