TDK conference 2017

Equine grass sickness is described as an often fatal, degenerative polineuropathy in equine species. Despite the large number of studies dealt with the possible causatives (nutritional factors, toxic agents, soil contamination, bacterial/fungal/viral infections, weather factors, Clostridium botulinum toxaemia, etc.) of EGS in the last decades, the causative agent, as well as the pathomechanism is still unknown.

The aim of our study was to assess the possible heritability of the disease based on pedigree analysis methods in the studied population. The 95% confidence interval of prevalence of the disease has been estimated with the Stern-method. The independence of sires and the genetic predisposition of the disease have been tested with the Fisher’s exact test. All analyses have been performed in R statistical program.

Our study revealed the increased occurrence of the disease among the descendants of particular sires; in addition, the prevalence of the disease cumulated in particular parent-offspring connections in the studied population. According to our results, a possible genetic background is likely to occur in case of equine grass sickness.