This article first appeared in the November 2020 digital edition of Equestrian Life. To see what’s in the current issue, click here. 

Foals with infectious diarrhoea are high-risk individuals.

Foal diarrhoea part 2: Infectious diarrhoea

By Dr Maxine Brain

Following on from last month’s article on non-infectious diarrhoea in foals, we now look at infectious causes of diarrhoea. As a generalisation, infectious diarrhoeas are typically more severe and therefore more likely to be fatal than non-infectious diarrhoeas.

Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa can all cause diarrhoea in foals, and probably of equal concern, can cause diarrhoea which is readily transmissible to other in-contact foals, resulting in outbreaks on farms and studs. Parasitic diarrhoea was dealt with in the section on non-infectious diarrhoeas, although it could be argued that it should be categorised as an infection caused by worms.

Read the full article in the November 2020 issue of Equestrian Life magazine here.