I’m going to give this one more shot and I sure hope it goes away and we never have to speak of it again.
I just talked with my vet, Dr. Meg Brinton of Ridgefield Equine Clinic, to get some local up to date information about the Pigeon Fever (PF) outbreak in our area.
She has seen quite a few horses with PF and she is waiting on diagnostic cultures for a few more. She said that there are more that she has not seen directly but she is advising on their treatment.
There is no real treatment, just support. She has not had any horses die because of PF. It has high morbidity (occurrence) but low mortality.
The only control is excellent fly control – sheets, masks, fly spray and even think about keeping them in the shade during the heat of the day.
The signs are usually an abnormal swelling or abscess on the ventral midline and a mild fever. There can also be an internal abscess which is the most dangerous because it is harder to treat.
From visiting with clients, she is suspect of infected horses having some contact with Rock Creek in the past 3 weeks, either direct or indirect.
She feels that the best site for more information is the COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY News & Information report.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
Thanks Jody. Years ago in California we had an outbreak and horses had all kinds of levels. Some just had a swollen abscess under the jaw and one horse had abscesses all over her body, inside and outside. She had to be fed apple sauce, oatmeal and carrot juice with liquid chlorophyl for several weeks because on inside abscesses. She lived, but it was intense to treat.
Post a Comment