 |
[RC] Leptospirosis (was: Anyone familiar with this?) - Linda MiramsOn Fri, 1 Jun 2007 16:26:56 -0700 (PDT), Skyla Stewart wrote I found this from another forum and was curious if anyone is familiar with it? Is this something that we might want to be aware of due to the nature of where the horses drink on many of the rides? Just wondering is all. http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=37888&source=rss First paragraph reads: The University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center said March 7 it has confirmed 40 cases of equine leptospirosis in the Central Kentucky region from July 2006 until now, and most of the observed cases have resulted in foal loss by pregnant mares... Yes, lepto is something I now know far too much about. Both my mares are kept out on 24-hour pasture in east Tennessee. After over two years with no problems at all, both came down with "Moon Blindness" in late 2005. There had a relapse in spring 2006. This is horrible stuff, very painful for the horse, and once an eye flareup occurs, it is extremely difficult to get rid of. The reservoir, in my horse's case, now appears to be racoon urine, not the ponds and springs that provide the pastures with water. What was happening is that I'd go out and feed my horses in their feed tubs, then leave. The feed tubs sat out essentially all the time. Occasionally I'd give them a scrub, but only about once a week or so. Well, the racoons would come by and "lick the bowl" and pee into the feed tubs. The horses would pick up the bacteria from the dry urine when they ate. Now, I feed the horses, hang around the 40 minutes or so it takes them to finish, then immediately pick up the tubs and lock them up in a steel garbage can so that the racoons can't get at them. I also grind into dust any feed that falls on the ground so that the horses won't try to nibble on it after a racoon has peed on it. The feed itself is also kept in steep garbage cans. Any sign an animal has gotten into the feed, it gets dumped and I buy a new garbage can. Coyotes can also be carriers. Ditto cows. And dogs. It's been 15 months since I started taking these extra precautions, and so far there has been no reoccurrence. I'm praying I've licked it for good. However, if I ever breed my mare again, I am going to: - put her on a full course of antibiotic (lepto likes to hang out mostly in the urinary and reproductive organs) - remove her from this farm to a more conventional stable where she'll be fed under controlled circumstances, and watered from deep wells from prior to her conception to well after her delivery I'd also be very leary of letting a horse have close contact with an infected horse, particularly keeping them in the same stall where an infected horse has urinated. Note also that some vets are a little out of date in their knowledge of this disease. (Vets actually are among the people most likely to catch it.) Vets must use gloves when examining and treating your horses, including the eyes, and absolutely must change gloves before moving on to the next animal! You wear gloves, too! The best single technical source on this that I've found is the UN World Health Organization's report on lepto: WHO: HUMAN LEPTOSPIROSIS: GUIDANCE FOR DIAGNOSIS, SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL. See at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2003/WHO_CDS_CSR_EPH_2002.23.pdf Linda Mirams =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|