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Post by heidirenee on Sept 16, 2008 14:52:00 GMT -5
How contagous is Pigeon Fever? We went for a trail ride on Sunday with some friends and a couple of his horses. Yesterday he said he found a little blister on one's belly. They were trailered together but thats about it. Anything you can do?  |
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Post by barbhorses on Sept 16, 2008 16:33:05 GMT -5
That MIGHT be caused by the bacteria called Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. I don't have my micro book with me at the moment as I am not home. They are small gram positive rods. I am pretty sure it is the pus that is infectious. Don't hold me to it though! lol Because it is a bacteria you can use antibiotics. I would use a narrow based spectrum that kills the bacteria. There are two types of antibiotics. One inhibits their replication and the other kills the bacteria. A broad based antibiotic will kill both gram postive and gram negative bacteria. Going based off of what kind of bacteria I think it is, I would use a narrow based antibiotic that kills the bacteria. I am not a vet.. just a vet nurse in TRAINING. haha If you want a for sure answer, obviously ask your vet.  |
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Post by heidirenee on Sept 16, 2008 17:03:12 GMT -5
I hope my horses dont get it. But it might be good to get them on antibiotics for preventative messures.
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Post by barbhorses on Sept 16, 2008 18:47:26 GMT -5
NO!! Using antibiotics as a preventative HELPS bacteria RESIST antibiotics! Doing that is not a good idea for our future use of antibiotics. If your horses develop any symptoms then get your vet out.
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Post by DianneC on Sept 16, 2008 20:33:32 GMT -5
Did the vet see your friend's horse? Did it get more symptoms, temp etc? How do you know its pigeon fever?
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Post by Michelle Clarke on Sept 16, 2008 20:54:02 GMT -5
I have dealt with pigeon fever (five horses 2 years ago and Chilli got it this year....). The bacteria (yes, the Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis) is actually dryland distemper - it is in the soils and mostly comes up in a drought situation. It is mostly passed by a horse rolling in the dirt with an open sore on the belly and the bacteria enters this way...like when the horses get flies that sit under the belly and bite them, opening skin up and making it vulnerable. It then usually travels up the lymph system and settles into a deep abcess. You can hot pack it, use drawing agents (I used oils) to bring it to a head, let it open and drain and go from there. We treated topically with Colliodal silver and other oils to kill all bacteria so it did not spread.
It can settle in other areas (like the sheath or leg) and they can get it by getting kicked with the bacteria being on the bottom of the other horses feet. I have not known of it being transferred through the nose, but again, if a fly that has been on one horse with it and goes onto another, it may pass this way - all gets back to the immune system. We have 80 horses here and each case has been unrelated.
This year with having another drought, whenever I saw a horse getting a raw area on the belly from flies, I treated it for a few days with a mix of aloe and colliodal silver to keep the infection from starting.
I would stay away from antibiotics until you have something confermed....but you could use a good, natural immune booster on those that where exposed - something to support the lymph system.
Have some picts of Chilli and the holes in her chest and belly if anyone wants to see....!!
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Post by nightangel on Sept 16, 2008 21:02:07 GMT -5
OOHH!! Ooohh! I DO! That was soooo nasty!
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Post by citykid on Sept 16, 2008 21:02:28 GMT -5
Pics are worth a thousand words......
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Post by heidirenee on Sept 17, 2008 9:24:07 GMT -5
We did find the horse and he was happy to see us. My friend said that his horse had some blisters on its chest and was coughing a little bit. Thats what he guessed it was. So far my horses are ok. We rode them last night and they were ready to go. I dont know how long it takes to set in though. I just hope we avoided the whole thing!
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