![]() The only evidence afterward was a small shaved rectangle on his croup with a stitch in it, which dissolved and came out after a few days. While he was still standing a long needle (about 8 inches long and I shudder to even think about it) was inserted into the lumbar cistern and the fluid was withdrawn. When Annapolis had his tap done, it was performed at the lumbosacral space, between the last lumbar and first sacral vertebrae of the spine, right under the horse’s croup.įor this procedure he was given a local anesthetic and the site was shaved and scrubbed. This test can be performed at two different locations on the horse’s spine. The spinal tap involves inserting a long needle into the horse’s spinal cavity and withdrawing a sample of the spinal fluid. ![]() The antibodies will only be present in the case of an active infection. The definitive test for EPM is considered to be the Western Blot test or the spinal fluid test (CSF), which is where spinal fluid is tested for the antibodies that will be produced if the horse is actively infected by Sarcocystis neurona, the protozoal organism responsible for EPM. ![]() It has been known for quite some time now that blood tests for EPM are non-conclusive, since so many horses (approximately 50% in the midwestern United States) have been exposed to the disease and will produce a positive result, even though they do not have the disease. I have done quite a bit of reading on the subject, both on the Net and in periodicals such as The Whole Horse Journal. ![]() Since my own horse had Equine Protozoal Myleoencephalitis, or EPM, a few years ago and I have participated in discussions on forums on the subject, I get a lot of email from people wanting to know about the diagnostic procedures. ![]()
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