In view of confirmation of the incidence of Glanders disease, which primarily affects horses, in the districts of Yamunanagar and Sonepat, Haryana Government has issued an advisory highlighting the precautionary and zoo-sanitary measures to be undertaken to prevent its spread to other parts of the State.
A spokesman of the Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department said that two cases of the disease had been confirmed in Yamunanagar district and three in Sonepat district.
Glanders is a highly contagious and usually fatal disease caused by the bacterium ‘Burkholderia mallei’. While it primarily affects horses, it can also affect donkeys and mules and can be naturally contracted by other mammals. It is characterised by serial development of ulcerating nodules that are most commonly found in the upper respiratory tract, lungs and skin.
The disease may also affect humans, with a high fatality rate in untreated septicaemia cases. The causative organism is present in nasal exudates and discharges from ulcerated skin of infected animals, the spokesman said.
After an incubation period of three days to two weeks, acutely-affected animals usually have septicaemia, high fever as high as 106°F, weight loss and subsequently, a thick, mucopurulent nasal discharge and respiratory signs. Inflammatory nodules and ulcers develop in the nasal passages and give rise to a sticky yellow discharge.
He said that in order to minimise the spread of the disease, the owner should isolate the animal exhibiting such symptoms and avoid mixing with sick and healthy animals. The owner should also keep separate feed and water troughs for sick and healthy animals and bury the leftover feed or fodder rejected by the sick animals instead of throwing it out in the open.
The movement of sick animals should be restricted and these should be immediately moved to a designated isolated place.
Separate persons should handle these and they should wash their hands with soap and water immediately after handling the suspected animal or giving them their feed or water, said he.
A detailed advisory can be accessed through the Department’s website http://pashudhanharyana.gov.in. Instructions in this regard have been issued to the Chief Superintendent, GlF, Hisar and all Deputy Directors of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department and Intensive Cattle Development Project and Deputy Director, State Diagnostic laboratory, Sonepat, the spokesman added.