MJF College of Veterinary & Animal

Science, Chomu (Jaipur)

Dr. Om Prakash Meena

Assistant Professor

Department of Veterinary Medicine

GLANDERS AND

STRANGLES

Glanders

• Synonyms-

– Farcy

– Malleus

– Morve

– Pacin

– Carn

– It is a highly contagious disease of animals.

– The disease is chronic in nature characterized by

formation of nodules and ulcers involving upper

air passage, lungs and cutaneous tissues.

Distribution

• The disease has been recorded from variouscountries of the world.

• Etiology-

• The disease is caused by Streptococcus equi.

• The organisms is gram+ve

• It occurs in pure culture both in primary andsecondary abscesses and in the nasaldischarge.

Susceptible Hosts-

• This is essential a disease of equine.

• Horse suffers much more severely than donkeysand mules.

• Young horse within the age group of 6 months to36 months are most susceptible.

• TRANSMISSION-

– Nasal discharge of the infected animals are the mostimportant source of disease transmission.

– Organisms usually get entry through ingestion ofinfected meat.

• Occasionally sheep and goat become infected.

• Cattle and pigs are absolutely resistant.

• Natural infection may occur through alimentarytract.

• Organisms may gain entry through inoculation.

• Organisms may localise through skin invasion.

• Organisms may enter the respiratory tract throughinhalation.

• Spread of the disease takes place from commonwater and feed.

• Healthy horse may acquire the infection throughbroken skin upon contact with infectiousmaterials.

Pathogenesis

• The infective organisms on gaining access

through intestinal mucosa set up septicaemia in

acute form or bacteraemia in chronic form.

• The organisms regional lymph nodes by

pharyngeal mucosa and proliferate.

• Organisms on entrance through skin wound

reach the blood stream and localize in various

organs and from nodules and ulcers in skin.

• Involvement of lungs lead to typical signs of

broncho-pneumonia.

Clinical findings

• The incubation period of the disease varies fromfew days to several months.

• There is chronic nasal discharge from one or bothnostrils.

• The discharge is grey in color.

• There is formation of small grey or yellowishnodules of the mucosa of the upper respiratorytract.

• Submaxillary lymph nodes are oedematous innature.

• There is formation of nodules and ulcers along thelymphatic channels of the skin.

• The skin of the lower limbs and abdomen are

mostly affected.

• The skin affection is ascribed as farcy.

• The acute form of the disease will show high rise

of temperature along with occular and nasal

discharge.

• The animal will suffer from duspnoea due to

swelling of nasal mucosa and oedema of glottis.

• The ulcers formed due to the infection is very

much refractory to healing.

• Animal will die due to anoxia or septicaemia.

• The chronic glanders may persist for few

months or even years.

• This is characterized by intermittent fever,

cough and respiratory distress.

• The lymph nodes of the mandible turn firm

and nodular.

• The affected animals gradually losses their

condition with poor hair coat.

• There is oedema of the hind limbs down upto

the hock joint.

• The ulcers of the skin gradually heal up

leaving an irregular star shaped scar.

• In man the disease is characterized by

swelling, pain usually on the hand, lip or eyes

accompained with swelling of lymohnodes.

• Ulcers may develop on the nose and mouth in

some cases.

• Development of abscess and pustules in the

skin are the important features of this disease.

• Always high body temperature.

Lesions

• Lesions in the form of nodules and ulcers are

noted in the nasal septum and turbinate bones.

• Small nodules are observed throughout the

legs varying in size from pea.

• Signs of catarrhal bronchopneumonia and

purulent lymph adenitis are observed.

Diagnosis

• It is based on the –

• Hostory-

• Clinical findings

• Physical examination-

• Autopsy-

• Clinical test-

– Allergic test-(mallein test)-

– Subcutaneous test or Thermal test-

– Opthalmic test-

• Intrapalpebral or intradermopalpebral test-

• Complement fixation test-

• Indirect haemagglutination-

• Strauss reaction-

• Treatment-

– Glanders is a notifiable disease under the Glander

and Farcy Act.

– As per the provision of the Act, animals declared

positive must be destroyed and safely disposed.

Control

• The carcases must be burried or incinerated.

• The permises should be vigorously disinfected.

• All the incontact, suspected and imported

animals must be isolated, properly tested all

the positive animals slaughtered.

• Manure ,bedding, feed residue should be burn.

Strangles

• Synonyms-

– Distemper-

– Infectious adenitis-

– It is an acute infectious disease of equines

characterized by catarrhal inflammation of the upper

respiratory tract with suppuration and abscessation

of the associated lymph nodes.

– Distribution-

• The disease has been recorded from various

countries of the world.

Etiology

• The disease is caused by Streptococcus equi.

• It is a gram +ve bacteria.

• It occurs in pure culture both in primary and

secondary abscesses and in the nasal

discharges.

–Susceptible Hosts-

• This is essential a disease of equines.

• Young horse within the age group of 6

months to 36 months are most

susceptible.

Transmission

• Nasal discharge of the infected animals are the

most important source of disease transmission.

• Organisms usually get entry through ingestion

of contaminated materials.

• Droplet infection is also possible.

• The disease may be transmitted by stallion

through copulation or foal suckling.

• Transmission may also take place from

fomites.

Pathogenesis

• The organisms on entry localizes in the

pharyngeal and nasal mucous membrane and

set up pharyngitis and rhinitis.

• Guttural pouches are filled up with pus.

• There is abscess formation in the adjacent

lymph nodes.

• The infection may spread to liver, spleen and

joints.

Clinical Findings

• The incubation periods 2 to 5 days.

• High body temperature.

• Animal depressed.

• Nasal discharge which ranges from serous tomucopurulent and finally purulent.

• Pharyngitis and laryngitis.

• Inflammatory swelling of submaxillary lymph glands.

• Abscess formation which brust out liberating largequantities of thick yellowish or white or creamy pus.

• Suppration of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes.

• Abscess formation on mediastinal, bronchial andmesentric lymph nodes.

• Development of purpura

haemorrhagica.

• Bronchopneumonia due to extension

of infection from guttural pouch.

• Vaginal infection following coitus

with an infected stallion.

• Death due to secondary pneumonia.

Lesions

• Oedema and congestion of nasal mucousmembrane.

• Abscess formation in pharyngeal andsubmaxillary lymph nodes.

• Empyema of the guttural pouch.

• Suppurative pneumonic changes.

• Changes in pleura and pericardium.

Diagnosis

• This is based on the following criteria-

– Epidemic nature of the disease in young horse.

– Swelling of lymph glands particularly of

submaxillary lymph glands.

– Detection of Str. equi. in suppurative material by

microscopic and serologic tests.

– Signs of leukocytes with neutrophil.

Differential diagnosis

• The disease may be confused with glanders.

Strangles Glanders

It is an acute nature of disease. It is a chronic nature of disease.

Nasal mucosa shows inflammatorychanges only

Nodules, ulcers are formed on nasalmucosa.

Lungs lesions are not of tubercle like. Lung lesions are tubercle like.

No ulcer or nodules are formed onthe skin.

Ulcerative nodules are formed on theskin.

Pus material shows presence of grampositive streptococci.

Pus material shows presence of gramnegative pleomorphic rods.

Treatment

• Good care

• Adequate nursing

• Well ventilation of stable are to be provided.

• Affected one should be given easily digestiblefood substances.

• The organisms is gram positive, penicillin is thedrug of choice.

• Initially Crystalline penicillin through intra-muscular route.

• Drug like Teracycline may also tried @10 mg/kgbody weight.

Control

• The infected animals should be kept in isolation.

• Infected bedding should be burnt.

• In contact animals may be passively immunizedby injecting immune serum subcutaneously at adose of 200-300 ml for few days consecutively.

• Vaccination –Foal up to 6months of age 4injection at 10-14 days interval consisting of 1ml,2ml, 4ml and 8ml through subcut andintramuscular route.

Thank you