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  Discussion on Pigeon Fever Prophylaxis
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Posted on Monday, Jan 8, 2001 - 3:25 am:

Dr. O,

The owner of the stable where I board told me that there has been an outbreak of Pigeon Fever in our area (Placer County, CA). Her Vet has recommended worming monthly for 3 months as a preventative measure. (I'm afraid I didn't ask which worming medication she is using, but I plan to find out.)

Your article is the only reference I've been able to locate on this disorder. The use of an anti-helmenthic to prevent a bacterial infection doesn't make much sense, unless perhaps the intestinal parasites act as a vector.

Can you shed any light on this, and what is the latest on a vaccine for this organism?

Thanks,

Gordon Worley

Posted on Monday, Jan 8, 2001 - 6:38 am:

Hello Gordon,
I am clueless, unless the vet feels that the bot fly is a reservoir or fomite for this disease and this program need institting to control the bot fly? Definately the vet needs to be queried and PLEASE let us know what they say.
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jan 8, 2001 - 9:44 pm:

Dr. O,

I spoke with the stable owner's Vet today, and he told me he felt that worming the horses would prevent the transmission of the bacteria from infected worms in the manure to the flies, and in turn to the horses. He advised Ivermectin monthly for 3 months.

He gave me me a fairly simplistic explanation, and since I don't really know him (not my regular Vet), I didn't press too much. I like to understand the scientific reasoning behind anything done to my horse, I'm an ER nurse and my Grandfather was a country Vet, so my level of understanding is fairly good.

I'm not fully convinced, and flies aren't much of a problem here at this time of year, but the treatment is comparatively benign, so I don't see any harm in it. I intend to keep researching this and I'll let you know about anything else I find out.

Yours,

Gordon

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 9, 2001 - 2:13 pm:

Currently the transmission of this disease is poorly understood but environmental contamination with C. pseudotuberculosis and exposure to the organism through insects that have come into contact with the bacteria is very likely to be an important mode of transmission. I know nothing about intesinal parasites as a vector for this disease however. I will keep my eyes open for more on this.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2001 - 12:38 am:

PIGEON FEVER

I first contracted pigeon fever on November 1, 1999. A mare I own was 8 years old and was severly affected by "noseeums"(little biting bugs). She continuously scratched her mane and tail until sores appeared. During that time in October I allowed a friend to bring a horse on my property that they recently purchased in Santa Rosa, California. For a week I noticed that the visiting horse had swellings in both sides of his chest and significant adema between his front legs. The veterinarin was called in who diagnosed the swelling as pigeon fever. The owner imediately removed the horse from my property to a 2 mile distance. Shortly thereafter (2 weeks) my mare with the "noseeums" developed pigeon fever(I also had 5 other horses on my property, and none encountered the disease). Now in all the 27 years I have owned horses in Comptche, California I had never heard of Pigeon Fever. My vet told me that it was very contagious but only when the absess was opened. As I said the owner removed the horse immediately and did not deal with the absess until it was at least 2 miles away. How did my horse contract it?

Anyway, it did and after 3 months and $3,000 of treating my beautiful mare and quarantining her at least 100 feet from the other horses and fly wiping them all every day she was back with the herd.
Low and behold pigeon fever appeared again on September 19, 2000 in one of my horses that had suffered a fetlock wound.

I am extremely confused by my vet's explanation of how this disease is transferred. Firstly, last year it was apparently transferred by an unexposed absess. I was told that was not possible. This year it must have transferred by my second infected horse by ingesting it in a portion of the field that I did not disinfect, this is the explanation given to me by my vet. Remember he had an open wound as did my first horse with the "noseeums". Due to his age and other ailments he suffered from I made the decision to put him down long before the abscesses were exposed.

Now 4 months later my neighbor who rents her property to horses has a horse that has develped pigeon fever. Apparently this horse who is 10 years old has had pigeon fever during his early years.
My question is what is the host or vector for this disease? None of my other 4 horses have any signs of the disease, nor any other horses in the area. Also my horses have not been in the portion of the pasture where I quarantined my initial exposure to this disease since last August 2000. Also it has been a cold winter here in northern california and I am now curious as to the incubation period of the biting insects and how they may transfer this disease from one horse to another.

My other neighbor also owns 3 goats that I have heard get a different form of pigeon fever than the equine type. What information do you have about the possibility of goats transfering the disease?

I am confused and very concerned about my neighborhood and I would like to minimize this problem as much as possible. Please help!

I hope this all makes sense as I am trying like hell to make sense out of all this.

Sincerely,
Patty

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 6, 2001 - 8:00 am:

Hello Patty
How did my horse contract it?
This is not a hard question Patty. If the other horse was confirmed to have PF and your horse was confirmed and you have never had a case before, I would have to say it is likely it came from the horse that brought it on to your farm. He may have had contaminated skin, from open abscesses where he came from, and flies transmitted it to your horse.

My question is what is the host or vector for this disease?
This is discussed in the article.

What information do you have about the possibility of goats transfering the disease?
This is a good question that we do not know the answer to for sure. Goats, sheep, and horses all contract C. pseudotuberculosis. However there are easily found differences between the organisms found in ruminants and horses. So it is probably just a matter of time that they either subspeciate or create two different species. At this time it appears that the ruminant variant does not commonly infect horses but that is not the same as saying it is not possible.
DrO
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