Abstract
Background: Neonatal foals are born essentially agammaglobulinemic and
therefore must ingest colostrum or receive immunoglobulins to maintain
health. Failure of passive transfer treatment involves administration of
equine colostrum, plasma or commercial powdered colostrum (CPC).
Anecdotal reports suggest a risk of anaphylaxis associated with plasma
transfusion in neonates that received CPC prior to gut closure. Bovine
serum albumin (BSA) in CPC may serve as a target for BSA-specific
immunoglobulin E (IgE) in donor equine plasma. Objectives: To determine
presence of BSA-specific IgE in samples collected post-routine
vaccination in healthy horses, horses experiencing adverse vaccine
reactions and commercial equine plasma. Study Design: Prospective
Observational Methods: Serum was collected from 65 healthy horses at day
0, 14, 28, 90, 180, 270 and 365 post-vaccination, 26 horses after
vaccine reaction at day 1, 180 or 270 post-vaccination, 4 horses not
vaccinated and 10 horses from a commercial plasma donor herd.
BSA-specific IgE was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA). Results: BSA-specific IgE was not detected in non-vaccinated
horses and was identified in all vaccinated horses. Younger horses
demonstrated higher fold changes in post-vaccination BSA-specific IgE
expression compared to older horses. No significant difference in
BSA-specific IgE levels between commercial plasma donors and healthy
horses was identified. No significant difference in post-vaccination
anti-BSA IgE levels between reactor and healthy horses at day 180 and
270 post-vaccination were identified. Main Limitations: Small number of
reactor horses at day 180 and 270 post-vaccination with most samples
being collected 24 hours. There were no healthy horse samples for 24
hours post-vaccination; therefore, it was not possible to compare the
two groups at this timepoint. Conclusions: Horses may express BSA
specific IgE following vaccination. There may be risk of
hypersensitivity type reaction when veterinarians administer commercial
plasma to neonatal foals that have consumed CPC prior to gut closure.