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  Discussion on Uveitis from leptospirosis, what is risk to others?
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Posted on Wednesday, Oct 11, 2000 - 9:03 pm:

A new 18 month old quarter horse colt was brought to our barn last week, and the new owner didn't notice that the colt had a cloudy right eye and was nearly blind in that eye. The colt was purchased at a sale and it's history is unknown. The barn owner summoned a vet who diagnosed uveitis (orange dye was negative), and prescribed topical dexamethasone ointment and banamine paste. The cause of the uveitis was not determined, and as I understand is not easy to determine. However, I understand that a leading cause of this is leptospirosis. The colt otherwise appears healthy, good coat, good muscling, eats well etc. The barn owner (who has very expensive show horses, a stud and brood mare in nearby stalls) and me as another horse owner want to know if there is a risk to the other horses in the area. Should the colt be tested? Is the test reliable? I know it's spread thru urine/fecal contact, and the colt is kept in his stall and not pastured. However, can a rodent pick it up in his stall and contaminate the feed if it gets into the feed room? Are we overreacting? Thanks for any help you can give us. Dianne

Posted on Thursday, Oct 12, 2000 - 7:53 am:

I love it: Drdr,
Lets see I am afraid with the population of rodents around even a "rodent free" barn it is just a matter of time before all horses and dogs are exposed to the organism. Most go through inapparent infection and shedding and then develop some degree of resistance, though unvaccinated dogs can become quite ill. The result is a single positive titer, while correlated with increase incidence will not tell you if this horse is shedding. A rise in paired samples, say 3 weeks apart, might give you an indication of whether he is acutely infected and shedding the organism.

Unless there are pregnant mares on the farm I do not think there is much cause for concern. Of course that is not saying the same as no concern it just is that I do not see horses around RU cases developing RU nor is there anything in the literature about outbreaks. For more information on this disease and lepto in horses see the article on recurent uveitis associated with this forum.
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Oct 14, 2000 - 11:57 am:

Thanks. Since the original posting, two other horses have developed acute prurulent eyes. Apparently, humans can also get this with subsequent periodic autoimmune uveitis. I wonder if there is any data on uveitis rates amongst horse owners, vets, etc. We are now doing our best to isolate these animals and their DrOppings, and we're working with our local vet to decide whether to treat all animals or vaccinate.

Enjoy your weekend in the mountains. Our mountains (read big hills) here in TN and north GA make for some lovely riding too. Drdr

Posted on Monday, Oct 16, 2000 - 8:12 am:

Hello Drdr,
fascinating, a possible case of infectious uveitis. I know of no work to suggest that there is a infectious horse uveitis is of danger to humans. I would be interested in any information you have on this.

We don't have a "pink eye" type organism in horses so this would be quite rare. Some of the flu-like viral infections cause a mild to moderate conjunctivitis but that is secondary to the other flu like symptoms. It may be an acute lepto infection but the lack of fever and other symptoms of sepsis would make this unlikly in a fast moving infection. It also is probably not related to lepto induced recurrent uveitis: it takes time for autoimmune disease to develop. Unless there is an easier explanation this really should be investigated by having cultures and titers run.
DrO

Posted on Friday, Feb 22, 2002 - 10:39 pm:

Doc,
Could you tell where the work on Anterior Uveitis is being done? I know that you said that it is not commercial yet,how long do you think it will be yet before it is? This is my Horse`s third time with it.

Thank You Very Much
Elmer

Posted on Saturday, Feb 23, 2002 - 12:54 pm:

There are many universities that are conducting research on this problem, most recently I believe I have seen papers coming out of University of Georgia and North Carolina State veterinary colleges. For other locations check the Scientific Reports in the article on RU.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Feb 25, 2002 - 10:41 am:

Contact Dr. Brian Gilger at North Carolina State University Veterinary School. E-mail him, and he will respond. He does cyclosporin implants. I was planning to take my Paint down but he went completely blind before I could finalize the arrangements. Please let me know if you need more info.

Regards,
Joni
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