- Hello, Jeff - Here we go again with another disease,
nonendemic, now appearing the cold Wyoming climate - and usually found
in Southern California.
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- Patty
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- A ProMED-mail post www.promedmail.org ProMED-mail, a
program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases www.isid.org
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- Pigeon Fever Found In Horses In Part Of State
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- An unusual outbreak of pigeon fever in horses has occurred
in parts of Wyoming. Pigeon fever causes a painful swelling in the horse's
pectoral muscles that resembles a puffed-out pigeon breast.
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- Ken Mills of the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab said pigeon
fever is known to run through cycles with years between outbreaks of the
bacterial disease, but it is not common in Wyoming. "It is ongoing
in Colorado and is not the first time it's been seen. They have it in southern
California year-round. But it is unusual to see a case in Wyoming,"
Gillette veterinarian Marshall Kohr said. Kohr said it is unknown how the
disease is spread.
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- In Laramie County, 112 new cases of the disease are being
treated on top of 55 cases discovered along the Front Range areas. Smaller
outcroppings have been confirmed in Albany, Goshen and Uinta counties.
Symptoms besides swelling include lameness, fever, lethargy, and weight
loss.
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- "It is not a disease that causes death nor is it
a debilitating thing. It's not that big," Kohr said.
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- Treatment for the sores and abscesses along the chests
and midlines of the horses includes swabbing the lanced abscesses with
antibiotics and using anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers.
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- ____
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- ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
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- [Pigeon Fever is a disease caused by _Corynebacterium
pseudotuberculosis_ and is seen worldwide. It is usually associated with
very deep abscesses and multiple sores along the chest and midline.
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- Dryland distemper is another name for this disease, and
clinical signs can include lameness, fever, lethargy, and weight loss.
The disease can occur in any age, sex, or breed of horse, but most cases
occur in animals less than 5 years old.
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- The disease may take weeks or months for abscesses to
develop fully after the horse is infected. This means horses can be transported
to a region where the disease is unknown, develop active abscesses or sores,
and not be diagnosed properly, if at all. Abscesses usually form deep in
muscles, such as the pectorals. This causes swelling that looks like a
puffed-out pigeon breast, giving the name pigeon fever to the disease.
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- Outbreaks can occur when herd immunity wanes or naive
horses are exposed, and outbreaks occur more in some years than others.
There may be some seasonality to the disease, as more appears in the autumn
of the year.
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- The causative bacteria live in the soil and can enter
the horse's body through wounds or broken skin, and through mucous membranes.
It can be transmitted by various flies, including house flies and probably
horn flies.
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- The disease occurs in 3 forms: external abscesses, internal
abscesses, or limb infection known as ulcerative lymphangitis. The external
abscess form is the most common; the use of antibiotics is controversial
as it might actually prolong the infection; timing is important.
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- It is recommended that contaminated stalls, paddocks,
and utensils be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected where possible. Because
flies can carry the bacteria, pest control can serve as a deterrent to
spread or continuation of the disease.
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- The usual treatment recommendations include: 1) lancing
the abscess; 2) use of an appropriate antibiotic; 3) use of non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory agents. Prognosis for recovery is good. Recurrences
are known. - Mod.TG] ................................mpp/tg/pg/jw
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- Patricia A. Doyle, PhD Please visit my "Emerging
Diseases" message board at: http://www.clickitnews.com/emergingdiseases/index.shtml
Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health
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