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St. Louis-area horses stricken with feverST. LOUIS (AP)--An unusually high number of horses in the St. Louis area have come down with a potentially fatal disease, a University of Missouri veterinarian said Aug. 18. Veterinarian Philip Johnson said he has treated six cases of Potomac Horse Fever this summer and was aware of about a dozen additional cases being treated in the St. Louis region, both in Missouri and Illinois. "Potomac Horse Fever crops up as mini-epidemics when conditions are right," Johnson said in a statement. He explained wet weather earlier this summer and flood conditions in parts of the region likely contributed to the spread of the disease's infectious agent. The disease is not common in the Midwest, but veterinarians are able to test for and treat the disease. It is caused by an infectious agent found in snails, swallows, bats and flies that live near rivers. Horses are often exposed to it by flies that pick up the infection near a river. When the flies die, their bodies may fall in pastures or water troughs where horses unknowingly consume them, he said. Horses then get a bacterial infection of the large intestine that can result in fever, colic, diarrhea and other symptoms. An infected pregnant mare may lose her offspring before birth. Veterinarian Stuart Robson said the Fox Creek Veterinary Hospital in Wildwood has seen five cases of Potomac Horse Fever this year, and he said normally he'd see about one case every few years. He said it's important that horse owners not panic, noting the disease cannot be spread from horse to horse, and a very large outbreak is unlikely. But, he said, if one horse has symptoms, others in the area may have been exposed to the infectious agent. He said there is a vaccine available for Potomac Horse Fever. It requires a booster a few weeks after it is given, and he noted with several different strains of the disease, even vaccinated horses may become sick. In those cases, the vaccinated horses usually have less severe symptoms. He said one of the horses he was treating had developed laminitis due to the Potomac Horse Fever, a painful condition where the horse's bone separates from the hoof wall. He recommended that if a horse owner thinks an animal may have Potomac Horse Fever, the owner not wait to contact a veterinarian. He said untreated horses "are usually about as sick as they can get," but he added there is an antibiotic treatment that works. More information is available from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Clinic at 573-882-3513. 9/1/08 Date: 8/28/08
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