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Matheran horses down with viral disease
14 Oct 2008,
NAVI MUMBAI: Nearly 95% of the horses in Matheran have fallen prey to a viral infection, suspected to be Equine Influenza.
Secretary of In Defense of Animals (IDA) Sudnya Patkar told TOI that of the 660 horses in Matheran, Asia's only hill station where horses are used for transportaion instead of motorised vehicles, nearly 95% had been showing symptoms of the dreaded Equine flu over the last seven days. However, they got timely treatment and the animals are on their way to recovery.
Veterinarian Dr Amit Sharma of IDA said the animals were running high fever, had dry and deep coughing and running noses. "All these are symptoms of Equine Flu, but we are waiting for the confirmation report from the National Research Centre on Equines at Hisar in Haryana,'' said Dr Sharma. "A few cases of Equine Flu have been reported from Delhi and certain regions in UP.''
"The infection spreads fast as a result of which, more and more horses have been falling ill. We have advised the owners to let the animals rest and not to bring them to the Mumbai region so that the virus does not spread there,'' said Patkar.
President of Ashwapal Sangathan Ashabai Kadam said, "Due to timely treatment, our horses are recovering. We are sure that by the end of this week, they will all be cured.'' She added that though this was the first time that such a widespread outbreak had taken place in the area, none of the horses has died. Fortunately, this disease cannot be transmitted to human beings.
Of the 660 horses in Matheran, 200 are used solely to transport goods to the hill station, while the rest are used by tourists for rides. Most of the horses are of Kathiawari breed from Gujarat.
14 Oct 2008,
NAVI MUMBAI: Nearly 95% of the horses in Matheran have fallen prey to a viral infection, suspected to be Equine Influenza.
Secretary of In Defense of Animals (IDA) Sudnya Patkar told TOI that of the 660 horses in Matheran, Asia's only hill station where horses are used for transportaion instead of motorised vehicles, nearly 95% had been showing symptoms of the dreaded Equine flu over the last seven days. However, they got timely treatment and the animals are on their way to recovery.
Veterinarian Dr Amit Sharma of IDA said the animals were running high fever, had dry and deep coughing and running noses. "All these are symptoms of Equine Flu, but we are waiting for the confirmation report from the National Research Centre on Equines at Hisar in Haryana,'' said Dr Sharma. "A few cases of Equine Flu have been reported from Delhi and certain regions in UP.''
"The infection spreads fast as a result of which, more and more horses have been falling ill. We have advised the owners to let the animals rest and not to bring them to the Mumbai region so that the virus does not spread there,'' said Patkar.
President of Ashwapal Sangathan Ashabai Kadam said, "Due to timely treatment, our horses are recovering. We are sure that by the end of this week, they will all be cured.'' She added that though this was the first time that such a widespread outbreak had taken place in the area, none of the horses has died. Fortunately, this disease cannot be transmitted to human beings.
Of the 660 horses in Matheran, 200 are used solely to transport goods to the hill station, while the rest are used by tourists for rides. Most of the horses are of Kathiawari breed from Gujarat.
by a team of NGO veterinarians and those of the state government, most of the horses are now on the road to recovery.
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