Vet World   Vol.17   September-2024  Article - 21 

Assessment of health impacts in retired antisera-producing horses: Blood biochemistry and serum amyloid A analysis

Background and Aim: Horses used for antisera production are repeatedly hyperimmunized to produce high levels of specific antibodies. This prolonged process can lead to various health issues, including amyloidosis, which involves the accumulation of amyloid proteins in organs and tissues, potentially causing organ dysfunction and failure. These horses are often retired when they no longer produce adequate antibody levels. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of prolonged antisera production on the health of retired horses by examining their blood biochemistry and serum amyloid A (SAA) levels, which are indicators of systemic inflammation and organ damage. 

Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from 12 horses for this study. Nine horses were retired antisera-producing horses that had been discontinued for 2 years, while three healthy non-antisera-producing horses were used as controls. These twelve horses were divided into four groups based on the duration of their active period as antisera producers (never been used, 2–3 years, 4–5 years, and 6–7 years). We measured key blood biochemistry parameters and SAA levels to evaluate the health status of the horses. 

Results: Total protein, fibrinogen, and globulin levels were elevated, whereas other parameters remained normal. The findings indicate that despite normal SAA levels, the horses exhibited signs of ongoing health issues related to their previous use in antisera production, such as increased total plasma protein, fibrinogen, and globulin levels, as well as the presence of amyloid deposits in vital organs such as the liver and kidneys, as observed in post-mortem examinations. 

Conclusion: Despite normal SAA levels, retired antisera-producing horses showed elevated total protein, fibrinogen, and globulin levels, indicating ongoing health issues. 

Keywords: antisera, blood biochemistry, horse, hyperimmune, serum amyloid A.

How to cite this article: Arifianto D, Esfandiari A, Wibawan IWT, Amrozi A, Maharani M, Darsono D, Setiadi H, and Setiyono A (2024) Assessment of health impacts in retired antisera-producing horses: Blood biochemistry and serum amyloid A analysis, Veterinary World, 17(9): 2136-2143.

Received: 2024-06-25    Accepted: 2024-08-21    Published online: 2024-09-20

Corresponding author: Dinar Arifianto    E-mail: dinararifianto@apps.ipb.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2136-2143

Copyright: Arifianto, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.