GLANDERS, EQUINE - RUSSIA (CHITA)

[Treyfish]

GLANDERS, EQUINE - RUSSIA (CHITA)
*********************************
Date: Tue 3 July 2007
Source: Chita's State Broadcasting Company [trans. Assoc. Mod.NP, edited]
<http://chita.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=19689&cid=7>


Cases of animal infection which are dangerous to humans as well have
been revealed in the Chita region. In one of auxiliary farms in the
Olovjaninsky district, 11 horses have been tested positive to
glanders.

Until recently, glanders was not found in animals in the Chita
region. This spring [2007] has provided an unpleasant surprise.
Specialists of the Chita State veterinary service do not consider the
situation as alarming; all infected horses have been destroyed, and
the same policy is to be applied in relation to the in-contact
horses, totalling more than 100 head.

In the absence of a vaccine against glanders, stamping out is the
only applicable policy. Specialists of Rospotrebnadzor [Federal
Service for Monitoring Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare]
work cooperatively with the veterinaries in the Olovjaninsky district
to prevent human infection and to inform the population of the
hazard. Indeed, so far no human infections have been recorded.

According to experts, observed rules of personal hygiene and related
measures, such as the use of protective clothing will prevent
infection.

Rospotrebnadzor explained that the risk of human infection in the
Chita region will be maintained until the final eradication of the
infected focus, namely when all in-contact horses are destroyed.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Chita Region (Chitinskaya Oblast) is a territory of 412 500 sq/km
[159 267.14 sq/miles], namely 1000 sq/km [386.1 sq/miles] larger than
California. Chita is located in South Eastern Siberia on the border
with China and Mongolia, bordering the Buryat Republic on its west,
Sakha Republic on its north, and the Amur region on its eastern side.
The region consists of the Aginsk Buryat Autonomous Area and 31
administrative districts.

Glanders might have been introduced by migrating animals from
Mongolia, where the disease is present. - Mod.NP]

[Glanders is a contagious and fatal bacterial disease of horses,
donkeys, and mules, and is caused by infection with the bacterium
_Burkholderia mallei_. The disease causes nodules and ulcerations in
the upper respiratory tract and lungs. A skin form also occurs, known
as 'farcy.' Control of glanders requires testing of suspect clinical
cases, screening of apparently normal equids, and elimination of
positive reactors. It is transmitted to humans by direct contact with
sick animals or infected materials. All infected or potentially
infected material must be handled in a laboratory that meets the
requirements for Containment Group 3 pathogens. In the untreated
acute disease in man, there can be 95 percent mortality within 3
weeks. However, survival is possible if the infected person is
treated early and aggressively with multiple systemic antibiotic
therapies. For further details on the disease and its diagnosis, see
chapter 2.5.8. in OIE's Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for
Terrestrial Animals, at:
<http://oie.int/eng/normes/mmanual/A_00086.htm>.

According to OIE's Handistatus epidemiological data-base (2004), the
disease is endemic in Mongolia. - Mod.AS]:tiphat:
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/prome..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,38247

 

[Commonground]

Re: GLANDERS, EQUINE - RUSSIA (CHITA)

I googled "glanders" and came upon an interesting read from the New England Journal of Medicine, 2001.

Glanders in a Military Research Microbiologist

Case Report

In March 2000, tender, left axillary adenopathy and fever (temperature, 38.6?C) developed in a 33-year-old microbiologist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases who had type 1 diabetes mellitus. The patient had worked for two years investigating the basic microbiology of B. mallei and did not routinely wear latex gloves. The adenopathy and fever persisted despite treatment for 10 days with a first-generation cephalosporin. An evaluation after this treatment, which included chest radiography as well as cultures of blood and urine, was unrevealing. During the next few weeks, the patient had increasing fatigue, night sweats, malaise, rigors, and weight loss.


More: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/345/4/256

 

[Johnny Yuma]

Re: GLANDERS, EQUINE - India

Re: GLANDERS, EQUINE - India

Nainital is in Northern India--borders Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. I never heard of this glanders disease before.


Nainital horses test positive for glanders

Dinesh Mansera

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 (Nainital)

There has been an outbreak of glanders, a fatal bacterial disease, among the horses in Nainital. The government has ordered the diseased horses, 22 of them, be killed.

Twelve-year-old Hira is the pride and joy of Mohammed Jamal.

But now, the unthinkable has happened for Jamal as Hira has tested positive for glanders, one of the most dreaded illnesses in the world of horses.

There is no cure for the disease and it's highly contagious.

''When one has a child, full care is taken of it. This is a horse, but my livelihood depends on him and now the government has announced that he has to be killed,'' says Jamal.

A large part of Nainital's tourism rides on horses and an outbreak of glanders is a big threat. Around 600 horses have been tested ever since symptoms like lesions were noticed.

Compensation row

The horses, worth anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000, are the sole means of livelihood for many of their owners.

But shockingly, the government is offering only Rs 50 as compensation in keeping with a law that dates back to the British era in 1899.

''My livelihood depends on this animal. If it's killed, my family will be on the road,'' says Jahid Ahmed, Horse Owner.

Facing stiff resistance from the owners, the local authorities say they will not kill the animals until the dispute over compensation is resolved.

''We've written to the government regarding the issue of compensation. After we get a reply, we will go ahead with eliminating these animals,'' said R K Sudarshan, DM, Nainital.

Glanders, which has been eradicated in most parts of the world, can pass on to humans with prolonged contact.

At the moment, the diseased horses have been kept in isolation, but the dispute is compounding the danger of the disease spreading further.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013790