Glanders in Horses and Other Animals - Generalized Conditions - MSD Veterinary Manual (2024)

FAQs

What is glanders disease MSD? ›

Glanders is a contagious, short- or longterm, usually fatal disease of the horse family caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei. The disease is characterized by the development of ulcerating growths that are most commonly found in the upper respiratory tract, lungs, and skin.

Clinical signs for the chronic form of glanders in horses include intermittent fever, cough, weight loss, yellow-green nasal discharge, and a bloody nose. Joint swelling in the hindquarters can lead to lameness.

Glanders is an infectious and life-threatening disease that mainly affects horses, donkeys or mules caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei. Glanders can be transmitted to humans. Susceptibility to glanders has also been demonstrated in camels, felines living in the wild, bears, wolves and dogs.

Differential diagnosis with other infections as strangles, ulcerative lymphangitis, botryomycosis, sporotrichosis, pseudotuberculosis, epizootic lymphangitis, horsepox, tuberculosis and other pathologies like trauma an allergy.

Glanders may present as an acute, chronic, or latent infection. Symptoms of acute illness include fever, weight loss, cough, and nasal discharge, which typically is thick and yellowish white. The disease progresses rapidly; death may occur within several days, owing to respiratory failure or septicemia.

Glanders is an infectious disease that is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei. While people can get the disease, glanders is primarily a disease affecting horses. It also affects donkeys and mules and can be naturally contracted by other mammals such as goats, dogs, and cats.

All patients with glanders will need to be treated with the appropriate antibiotic treatment regimen. Treatment consists of two rounds: an intravenous round and an oral eradication round. The first round of treatment usually lasts 10 to 14 days, but may last longer for patients with more severe disease.

Glanders, an often fatal contagious disease of horses and other equids, is caused by Burkholderia mallei. Control depends on detection, isolation, and culling of affected animals. Treatment may not eliminate infection and is contraindicated.

Common symptoms of glanders include fever with chills and sweating, muscle aches, chest pain, muscle tightness, and headache. Additional symptoms may include excessive tearing of the eyes, light sensitivity, ulcers, and diarrhea (loose stool/poop). Symptoms can develop 1 to 5 days after infection.

Glanders can be diagnosed by culturing B. mallei from lesions, as in animals. This organism may also be found in sputum, blood or urine, although blood cultures are often negative. PCR assays or antigen detection tests could be useful, though they are not employed routinely.

How do you prevent glanders in horses? ›

There is no vaccine for glanders. Protective immunity involves T cell responses elicited by live attenuated bacteria. Prevention and control of glanders depend on early detection and elimination of affected animals, as well as complete quarantine and rigorous disinfection of the area involved.

Glanders should not be confused with strangles. The latter is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi and occurs – by contrast with glanders – frequently in horses in the Netherlands.

Bacterial isolation and identifying B. mallei from skin lesions and nasal exudates are considered the gold standard for diagnosing glanders (Elschner et al.

Most cases of glanders do not result in death unless the infection spreads to the bloodstream. In those cases, the person will usually die within seven to 10 days. It is unknown how deadly the other forms of glanders are because there have been no cases in the United States since 1945.

The chronic, cutaneous form of glanders presents as ulcerated skin lesions along major lymph and blood vessels and is known as farcy (from the Latin farcire, “sausage”).

Common symptoms of glanders include fever with chills and sweating, muscle aches, chest pain, muscle tightness, and headache. Additional symptoms may include excessive tearing of the eyes, light sensitivity, ulcers, and diarrhea (loose stool/poop). Symptoms can develop 1 to 5 days after infection.

Glanders can be a serious disease. Without treatment with specific antibiotics, as many as 9 of every 10 people who get it die. When people with glanders get treatment with the correct antibiotics, up to 5 of 10 people die.

The bacteria that cause glanders are transmitted to humans through contact with tissues or body fluids of infected animals. The bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions in the skin and through mucosal surfaces such as the eyes and nose.

Glanders is a disease that primarily affects horses, mules, and donkeys. In World War I, German forces reportedly spread glanders to debilitate enemy cavalries. But the bacteria that causes glanders, Burkholderia mallei, can also infect humans.