Frequency of endoscopic findings of equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) in rural horses and its association with Helicobacter pylori virulence genes

Abstract

Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a multifactorial disorder and one of the most common diseases in horses. The objective of this research was to detect one of the potential risk factors of equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD), the Helicobacter pylori specific gene, and tracing the presence of the duodenal ulcer-promoting gene (dupA) as a possible virulence marker. Gastric fluid together with faecal samples were collected from twenty rural horses from around Tabriz, Iran. Throughout the endoscopic examinations, the type, numbers, severity, and the location of the lesions were documented. Nine of twenty horses exhibited macroscopic lesions in the squamous mucosa that were later classified into grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. Only three of these horses exhibited H. pylori in their gastric fluid samples, whereas all faecal samples were H. pylori-negative. All the H. pylori-positive cases manifested severe forms of ESGD (grades 3-4). The age and sex were both unrelated to the lesion severity and ESGD status in this study. Research is required to further discuss the virulence aspects of dupA regarding ESGD.