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Drought brings outbreak of horse disease
JANET McCONNAUGHEY, Associated Press
Updated 05:13 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2012
NEW ORLEANS ? Agriculture officials in Arkansas and Louisiana have warned veterinarians to watch for signs of a potentially fatal horse disease if there's another drought this year.
The disease is often called pigeon fever because basketball-sized abscesses in the chest and abdomen can give horses a pigeon-breasted look. It's also referred to as dry-land strangles, as cases seem to spike in dry weather.
The disease has been reported in at least a dozen states in the past decade. Louisiana usually has fewer than three cases per year, but the state veterinary lab confirmed 33 during last year's drought, said Sam Irwin, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. And, from what veterinarians have told her, the number may be far greater ? perhaps as many as 300, Louisiana State University veterinarian Rebecca S. McConnico said.
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Experts say about 3 percent of infected horses develop internal abscesses, which are fatal if left untreated and often fatal even with treatment. External abscesses are more common but almost never lethal, although treatment can be messy.
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It's not clear whether the bacteria that causes the disease is spreading or whether it's in dirt all over and hot, dry weather just increases the opportunity for infection.
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JANET McCONNAUGHEY, Associated Press
Updated 05:13 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2012
NEW ORLEANS ? Agriculture officials in Arkansas and Louisiana have warned veterinarians to watch for signs of a potentially fatal horse disease if there's another drought this year.
The disease is often called pigeon fever because basketball-sized abscesses in the chest and abdomen can give horses a pigeon-breasted look. It's also referred to as dry-land strangles, as cases seem to spike in dry weather.
The disease has been reported in at least a dozen states in the past decade. Louisiana usually has fewer than three cases per year, but the state veterinary lab confirmed 33 during last year's drought, said Sam Irwin, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. And, from what veterinarians have told her, the number may be far greater ? perhaps as many as 300, Louisiana State University veterinarian Rebecca S. McConnico said.
...
Experts say about 3 percent of infected horses develop internal abscesses, which are fatal if left untreated and often fatal even with treatment. External abscesses are more common but almost never lethal, although treatment can be messy.
...
It's not clear whether the bacteria that causes the disease is spreading or whether it's in dirt all over and hot, dry weather just increases the opportunity for infection.
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