Ask Marianela Lopez, DVM, PhD, how long she has been studying Rhodococcus bacteria and she says, laughing, “Since I was born? Well, truthfully, since I began my PhD at Washington State University in 1996–it does seem a lifetime ago.”

Lopez is a member of a new team studying Rhodococcus equi infection of foals, supported by an award from the Heather Ryan and L. David Dubé

As a result of aggressive research efforts, the underlying causes and factors contributing to recurrent uveitis–a painful and debilitating condition that is the leading cause of blindness in horses–are becoming known.

“Recurrent uveitis is an immune-mediated disease, but the inciting cause of the flare-ups remains unknown,” explained Brian Gilger, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVO, a professor

Introduction

The subject of infection control has been high profile recently with numerous teaching hospital closures, racetrack and other facility quarantines, newly developed AAEP infection control guidelines, and published monographs.^1-3 Despite our increased attention to the subject, we have yet to develop a meaningful set of guidelines based