by Denise Steffanus

Researchers at the University of Queensland have found that a 2004 abortion storm in Australia was caused by hairy caterpillars and appears to be mare reproductive loss syndrome.

Eastern tent caterpillars, which have been linked to the 2001 MRLS outbreak in Kentucky, are not native to Australia, but mares in New South Wales's Hunter Valley that were exposed to processionary caterpillars—nicknamed forest tent caterpillars—experienced the same type of abortion caused by Eastern tent caterpillars in the United States.

Judy Cawdell-Smith, B.V.Sc. (Hons), coordinator of Equine and Livestock Health at the University of Queensland, and Professor of Animal Science Wayne Bryden, Ph.D., conducted the research that found that ingestion of both whole caterpillars and their exoskeletons caused bacteria to migrate from the mare's intestine into her circulatory system and through the placenta to cause abortion.

Denise Steffanus is a Thoroughbred Times contributing editor