Maryland Rabies Update

Courtesy of The Equiery: http://equiery.com/blog/?p=1804

Hot Weather Tips

http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2010/06/when-the-rider-is-hot-the-horse-is-hotter/

Outbreak Alert - Rabies - Gaithersburg, Maryland

The following was sent to us by Jack Chellew, Mid-Atlantic Equine Sales Specialist for Merial Ltd., A Sanofi Company:

On 7/2/2013, a case of rabies was reported in a Raccoon in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Among wild animals, the disease is most often reported in skunks and raccoons but is also found in bats and foxes,^1,2 and usually is transmitted from the saliva of an infected animal into a bite wound.¹

Every case of rabies presents a death sentence to the infected horse - and a risk of infection for other horses.¹ Infected horses may show common signs including depression, lack of coordination and aggressive behavior,¹ or display more obscure signs, such as lameness or colic.³

Because the signs of rabies can vary so widely - and the disease is so serious - some experts recommend that horse owners think of rabies first whenever they see unexplained clinical signs in horses.³

Disease prevention - through vaccination and good management - is good for the horse, owner and equine veterinarian. MERIAL® vaccines provide the tools to help prevent some of the most common and most serious equine diseases, including rabies. IMRAB® is a rabies vaccine made by Merial and approved for use in six species of animals, including horses. And it is available in a combination vaccine that also helps protect against Potomac horse fever.

For more information about rabies or other equine diseases, talk with your veterinarian. 

Potential toxicity from down tree limbs

With summer storms come downed tree limbs.  Cherry trees are a particular concern since the wilted leaves may contain cyanide compounds.  Cattle are most affected but potentially horses may be as well.  Maple trees, particularly red and silver are also toxic.  They are capable of producing severe illness or death in horses with natural leaf fall as well as damaged limbs.   For a fuller discussion of maple toxicity see blog date 11/21/11.

Adequan availability

For those who have not heard Adequan will be unavailable until the first quarter of 2014.
http://www.luitpoldanimalhealth.com/pdf/AHD011_Adequan_PR6-27_FINALVERSION.pdf

Maryland’s Senator Tydings & MHC back federal equine anti-soring bill

Courtesy of The Equiery: http://equiery.com/blog/?p=1739

A Primer on Strangles (Strep Equi)

This is a bacterial disease of horses and other equines.  The incidence has been low but may be increasing.  Traditionally young horses are at greatest risk but with less chance of exposure over the last generations, older horses may not have had the opportunity to develop immunity.  After a natural infection that runs its course, there is a long lasting but not lifetime immunity.   Horses may be chronic carriers.  It is a difficult and expensive procedure to prove that an individual horse is not a carrier.
Prevention: Vaccination may help reduce the frequency and severity of the disease but does not provide a solid immunity in some horses.  There are two types of vaccine, an intranasal modified live (Pinnacle) and  an intramuscular  M protein extract (Strepvaxx II).  Some veterinarians believe that the modified live vaccine can produce disease but that has not been my experience.  The M protein extract may cause swelling and soreness at the injection site.  The disease is primarily transmitted by contact, direct and indirect.  Compared to viral respiratory diseases, it is not transmitted easily by aerosol over distances.   Quarantine sick horses.   Quarantine of new horses in a barn for two to three weeks especially if they have come from a public sale or dealer  is a good idea.   At a show do not let your horse have direct contact with other horses, graze, or drink from a common trough.  At an overnight show stabling is a potential problem.  A true disinfection of the stall is not possible.  A hand garden sprayer with dilute chlorine applied to the inside of the stall might reduce the potential load of bacteria but not help your relationship with neighbors.
Treatment:  If you have a horse with a fever and a copious nasal discharge or enlarged, painful  lymph nodes, seek advice from your vet.
If you want the full story (and want be scared to death about potential but rare complications) here is a link to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Consensus Statement on strangles .   Some of the recommendations may not be applicable to individual situations for financial or practical reasons. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2005.tb02671.x/pdf