Infectious diseases, unfortunately, often occur in such beautiful animals as horses. Many of them do not disappear on their own and are not even treated, so literally every specialist who breeds horses should be able to correctly diagnose glanders. In this article, we will talk about glanders disease, and also describe how to determine, identify and prevent it.
What is this disease
Sap is an infectious disease that is acute, because pustules, ulcerative formations, and also abscesses in the internal organs appear on the skin and mucous membranes.
History reference
In modern Russia, cases of glanders are not recorded, although at the beginning of World War I, the proportion of infected animals amounted to 20%. The first mention of pathology was recorded in the IV century, although at that time there was confusion with horse diseases.
The infectious nature of glanders disease was determined only at the end of the 19th century - Leffler isolated a pathogenic microorganism from the contents of glanders in 1882. After that, after 9 years, Russian veterinarians found mullin - a drug for diagnosis. Currently, according to the State Veterinary Surveillance, the disease occurs mainly in Asian countries.
Diagnostic Methods
The only correct and effective option for identifying glanders disease is the allergic method. Today, three samples with mallein are distinguished:
- Ophthalmic, that is, 4-5 drops are applied to the conjunctiva. It is desirable to record the reaction every next three hours for one day. Veterinarians advise you to repeat the test in a week. A positive reaction is expressed as hyperemia and discharge from the eye.
- A subcutaneous test, that is, an injection of 1 ml of the drug into the neck or underbelly. The reaction should be recorded every two hours 8 hours after the injection. It is forbidden to inject animals with fever.
- A skin test, that is, an intradermal injection of the drug is carried out, similar to the previous version. In horses with a positive reaction, depression is noted, the injection site is swollen, the temperature rises, and sharp pain is felt.
Serological diagnosis for glanders shows low efficiency - only in 20% of infected animals the diagnosis is confirmed by RSK or RA. Today, for the export and import of animals, plasma serum studies are used together with an allergic test.
Of course, scientists are trying to develop new diagnostic methods, for example, PCR or polymerase chain reaction, which allows you to detect the pathogen glanders at an early stage of development and with a hidden form of the flow.
Causative agent of infection
The source of the development of the disease is the gram-negative bacillus of the Burkholderia mallei of the Burkholderiaceae family. In the environment, this bacterium will not be able to survive, since it grows only on ordinary nutrient platforms. In soil and water, it can live up to three months, and in the feces of sick horses - from two weeks to 20 days. The pathogenic microorganism quickly dies under the influence of high temperatures and ultraviolet rays. Also, the stick is sensitive to disinfectants. Veterinary surveillance most often records cases of infection of horses in the countries of Africa, South and Central America, Asia.
Infection occurs when a pathogenic microorganism gets on damaged skin, mucous membranes of the digestive tract, eyes, and respiratory organs.
Symptoms and course of the disease
Sap in horses at the initial stage develops without obvious signs, affecting most often internal organs. Visible symptoms appear after one month from the moment of infection, therefore, the presence of “infection” in the body is determined by the presence of an allergic reaction to mallein. This reaction manifests itself during infection after 14-20 days.
Forms of Infectious Disease
Depending on the location of the infection, these forms are distinguished:
Please note that the clinical picture of the pathology directly depends on the form of its course. The incubation period for the manifestation of the disease is 1-5 days. In sick horses, the temperature begins to rise sharply to + 41-42 degrees. Against this background, headaches and joint pains, fever, muscle tremors occur. In animals, the pulse is weakened to 60-80 beats per minute, while breathing becomes intermittent and frequent.
It can be observed that during the period of the disease, the animal becomes lethargic, sleepy, and even loses its appetite. Despite the fact that with glanders, the lungs are almost always affected, the process itself develops slowly, the symptoms are practically not noticeable. Intense vesicular breathing, coughing, and wheezing are much less common. This symptomatology is inherent in the nasal and skin forms of pathology.
Mucosal manifestation
In case of glanders disease, red spots appear on the mucous membrane of the animal’s nose, and after 2-3 days yellow nodules are visible in their place. After some time, they open, as a result of which appear small weeping ulcers of a round or oval shape.
Respiratory Symptoms
When growing, small wounds can connect, due to which extensive ulcerative surfaces appear. If the lesion grows, decomposition of the nasal septum and, accordingly, of the nasal concha occurs. At the same time, pus flows abundantly from the nostrils, and breathing becomes sniff.
If the disease drags on, it takes on a chronic form. In this case, the wounds actively heal, and in their place scars in the form of stars are “born”. In addition, with pathology of the nasal region with glanders, there is a high probability that submandibular lymph nodes are drawn into this process. They increase in size, become hot and hurt a lot. After this, the lymph nodes become denser and become less mobile.
Manifestations of the skin
According to the testimony of the State Veterinary Supervision in the skin type of the disease, the lesions are most often localized in the neck, head, limbs. Initially, edematous swelling appears on the skin, which is accompanied by severe pain. Pathology disappears after 1-2 days, and in its place there are dense formations that turn into wounds after a while. At the same time, the lymph nodes can also become denser, along their contour clear thickenings appear, which soften and open themselves.
Forms of the pathology
The duration of the acute form is from 8 to 30 days, after which death occurs, or it flows into a chronic form. In most cases, the disease in acute form develops without an obvious clinical picture. The main signs of the disease are: dry cough, pulmonary emphysema, weight loss.
On the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, scars in the form of a star can be seen that appeared on the site of the healed ulcers. In this case, submandibular nodes can significantly increase in size and become denser. In some cases, when the skin form of glanders on the pelvic limbs form strong thickenings, which are also called "elephantiasis".
If we talk about the latent form of glanders, then we can see that basically its course occurs in stationary disadvantaged areas. It can pass without visible signs (mainly affected internal organs) for many years.
Pathological changes
Only in rare cases (for example, for making the correct diagnosis) an autopsy is allowed. In this case, conditions must be clearly observed that prevent the further spread of infection. At autopsy, such changes due to illness can be detected:
- Nodules form on the mucous membrane of the larynx and trachea.
- With lung tissue, nodular glanders or glanders pneumonia can also be present.
- Lymph nodes are enlarged, with an incision in horses, necrotic foci can be observed.
- With the spread of glanders, such neoplasms can be located in the liver, spleen and other important organs.
Glanders treatment
All sick animals must be placed in the infectious diseases department. During the course of drug therapy, sulfonamides - “Sulfathiazole”, antibiotics - “Penicillin” and “Streptomycin” are prescribed, the price of which is affordable. In addition to active drug therapy, horses are given vitamins and drugs to improve blood composition. In the event of a shock condition, anti-shock measures are allowed.
According to the instructions for use, Norsulfazole, like Streptocide, also belongs to the group of sulfonamides, which are easily absorbed, but can accumulate in organs and systems. The drugs are considered universal and are used to treat various infectious diseases. “Streptomycin”, the price of which is 5-10 rubles per bottle with a powder for creating a solution for i / m administration, like other antibiotics, can negatively affect the peripheral nervous and urinary systems.
Prevention and elimination
In order to prevent the manifestation of the disease, only healthy animals are allowed into the territory of Russia. In this case, all sanitary and veterinary rules are followed. Imported horses must be sent for glanders diagnostics, and in case of their detection - for quarantine.
In addition, all adults are inspected and tested with serum in spring and autumn. If the disease is not detected, then animals are used without any restrictions. If the result of the laboratory test was positive, such horses are considered suspicious. In this situation, they are separated into a separate room (mainly in the one in which they were kept) and tested with a mallein test. If the result of the study turns out to be negative, the horses are considered healthy. When a disease is detected, animals are subject to extermination and future pathological research.
If certain changes are revealed during an autopsy, the diagnosis of glanders is considered established. Such horses are cremated, and all premises where they were located, and the surrounding area, tools, carts, shoes and clothing of workers must be disinfected. Also, the entire herd where the sick horse was discovered is isolated and inspected.
Glanders prophylaxis includes the processing of surrounding objects and environments:
- Liquid wastewater is covered with bleach and mix well. A proportion of 200 grams per cubic meter is used. dm.
- The premises should be cleaned regularly. Initially, the area is sprayed with a disinfectant solution, then mechanical cleaning and subsequent disinfection are carried out.
After such actions are carried out:
- Wall treatment with a solution of lime 20%.
- Litter, manure and residual feed must be burned after disinfection.
- The earth is being disinfected. To do this, use a hot solution of caustic soda, formalin or bleach.
- Literally daily boiling of work clothes and towels with a soda solution for 20-25 minutes should be carried out.
- It is also important to treat aprons and rubber gloves by soaking them for an hour in a solution of chloramine.
- Every 15 minutes, wipe the boots and harness with a solution of chloramine.
- It is important to regularly treat exposed areas of the body with a solution of chloramine and alcohol.
- Vehicles are treated with chloramine in a proportion of 300 cubic meters. cm per square meter m
In the absence of characteristic changes, bacteriological and histological tests are performed. Since glanders are an incurable disease, it is important not only to systematically examine horses, but also to protect them as much as possible from potentially dangerous sources. Only in this way is it realistic to keep the herd in full force.