Hypogammaglobulinemia predisposing to infection in foals

Measurement of serum immunoglobulins in 46 foals less than 2 weeks old revealed 9 foals with hypogammaglobulinemia. The hypogammaglobulinemia was attributed to failure in transfer of immunoglobulins from dam to foal via colostrum. Three of the affected foals did not nurse at all, or only slightly, and 2 of these died of infections within a few days after birth, whereas the 3rd foal did not grow as well as normal foals. Six of the affected foals nursed in an apparently normal manner, and 5 of these had nonfatal respiratory infections between 2 and 5 weeks of age. Analysis of serum samples from surviving foals demonstrated that immunoglobulins were eventually produced. One other foal examined had hypogammaglobulinemia at 57 days of age, an age when the foal should have produced large amounts of immunoglobulin independent of passive transfer. This foal had simultaneous infections and hypogammaglobulinemia, but eventually produced normal amounts of immunoglobulin. Cellmediated immunity was normal at 3 months of age. This condition was designated transient hypogammaglobulinemia and was thought to be due to a temporary inability to make immunoglobulins.