Posted on 03/02/2005 5:50:42 PM PST by mommadooo3
Please Read and Disseminate
If you are a veterinarian, please do not assume you know what this is until you have read this entire report.
Horses are dying of this infection in as little as 12 hours, and multiple deaths on a farm are the norm.
THIS IS NOT MOLD RELATED, IT IS CLEARLY BACTERIAL
What's new.... This is more alarming by the minute. The vast majority of the cases have occurred in the last 60 days and the area is increasing. The extent of this has grown to include Minnesota, Wyoming, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and up state New York.
I have updated this sheet so it can serve as a reference for vets. We now have 4 survivors and all were started on Naxcel early. The two cases that were started on Naxcel later than 12 hours took much longer to recover.
I no longer believe penicillin is effective.
Botulism is no longer a viable candidate, despite the fact that many of the symptoms are a match. There is no classic paralysis of the tongue despite the fact that there are problems chewing and swallowing and botulism is unlikely to respond to antibiotics except in the rare case where the bacteria are in the animal producing toxins. In that singular case, penicillin should be effective but apparently is not. It is also far too pervasive to be botulism. The latest guess is a new strain of salmonella or a new bacterial agent. Tests for salmonella have been negative, so if it is a new strain it does not fit the mold nor respond to standard therapy.
About 80% did feed round bales, and nasal discharge has been added to the symptoms, although it is only reported in a sizeable minority of cases, it might simply be overlooked.
Some of the cases reported to me today are such a close match that the only difference between them and my experience is the name of the horse! Frankly, I never expected anything like this response and am rapidly getting over my head here. I have now involved veterinarians and am pushing to have this studied across all of the affected states.
Obviously some of these deaths may be other disorders but the symptoms are unique enough to be very alarming. I have also been asked several questions which this message should answer. Let me say that I am not a veterinarian and am not trying to play one. I am now convincing the veterinary community to look into this seriously.
Symptoms and known facts..... I am calling this Whisper Syndrome until we know what it is. Here are updated facts.
This disease is devastating and kills very fast. You must catch it early and hit it with Naxcel, but do not take this to mean a vet does not need to be involved, just make sure he is given this information.
Stage 1 symptoms:
The most reliable early indication is inability to finish meals or complete lack of appetite. Strange uncharacteristic, isolated stumble, trip, stretching step, head gesture, or other apparently neurological sign. One common characteristic is a strange step that looks either like a stretch or the animal trying to jump over a nonexistent object.
These are often dismissed due to age or other factors. Turning head sideways while lying down in apparent peace (not looking at flanks like colic) is also classic. Pawing at floor of stall, and or circling. Change of habitual patterns of behavior / confusion. Some of these symptoms obviously mimic colic, but rolling and looking back at the sides is not common. They also mimic other disorders ranging from West Nile to salmonella.
Horse will commonly lay down to rest in apparent peace during early stage. If they do this at a time or place that is uncustomary, it is a warning. This may be accompanied by the turning of the head sideways. Nasal discharge has been present in several cases and it contains both fungi and bacteria. Bloody nasal discharge has been reported in one case with otherwise classic symptoms.
Lack of appetite or chewing but not swallowing. Aversion to water. May be attracted to water and then react as if shocked when the lips touch it. Water aversion may precede other symptoms because dehydration is seen early. No elevated temperature, and possibly a subnormal temperature (96-99.8 is typical). Temperature may spike for a short period in Stage 1 and then drop to normal or below normal. Blood work will show drop in lymphocytes. Heart rate may not be elevated, and may even be depressed in this stage. Some signs of colic (caused by colitis that results). It is often treated as colic, losing critical time and resulting in death. Even if your vet is relatively sure you are dealing with colic, have him or her run blood tests immediately or start Naxcel as a precaution until you know what you are dealing with.
Stage 2 symptoms:
Difficulty walking or refusal to move from a standing position. Difficulty getting up. Sudden collapse. Shivering.
Colitis is a symptom which can cause loose and even foul smelling stools. Bloody stool has been reported in one case which is consistent with severe colitis. Severe diarrhea is reported as is strange stools with small pellets. While not caused by parasites, the syndrome is probably aggravated by them.
White count may or may not elevate.
Stage 3 symptoms:
Shock, seizures, erratic breathing, death
Death results in 12 hours to 4 days. No horses reported have survived other than four who were given Naxcel. We are assuming here that survivors all had Whisper syndrome, but this is a reasonable assumption. Our two survivors occurred within weeks of each other and bracketed Whisper's death. The other two had absolutely classic symptoms. The occurrence among horses at the same facility at one to eight week intervals is common among horses who have died of the syndrome. Antibiotics are often not prescribed in time because of the lack of an elevated temperature. Blood work should be done immediately to determine if the antibiotics are indicated.
It strikes multiple horses at a single facility and in most but not all cases it is horses that are eating round bales. It does not appear to be communicable from horse to horse, at least directly. It may be communicated via feces but this is only speculation. It strikes where no horses have entered the population for months or years. It strikes in facilities that are well managed and clean. If there has been the death of one or more horses with these symptoms, it is crucial to watch the others very closely.
What Whisper Syndrome is:
It is probably bacterial in nature given its apparent response to Naxcel. It may also have a fungal component in the nasal cavity that is not understood. This component may simply be opportunistic. It is far deadlier than moldy hay (which is bad enough). It does not cause liver damage. Slight brain swelling may be evident at necropsy.
What we know Whisper syndrome is NOT:
It is not believed to be related to mold, although mold may be present.
It is not EPM.
It is not Rhino or EHV-1 (Equine Herpes Virus) There is a serious outbreak of EHV-1 in Virginia right now. please read http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05057/463330.stm
It is not West Nile virus.
It is not Rabies (although some symptoms look like rabies).
Where:
Owners in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York, Minnesota, and Wyoming have all reported similar cases. In most facilities where multiple horses were present it has claimed three or four horses. The location of other cases is not yet determined and it may be more widely spread. There is an intense cluster in Virginia.
If you have seen these symptoms or if you lose or have lost a horse to similar symptoms please try to have a necropsy done by a state laboratory (not an individual vet), and please let me know right away. Hollandtech @ earthlink . net (remove spaces). Ask them to test for botulism (this requires injecting a mouse).
When:
The great majority of these deaths have been within the last 60 days! Some cases go back to the Summer of 2004, and one classic case dates back to 2002.
Here is what I will need to know:
Can we contact the attending veterinarian?
Can an investigative veterinarian contact you?
How many of the symptoms were present?
Were multiple horses at the facility and were others affected?
What treatment (exact medications) was given and what were the results?
Were round bales being fed?
Was anything fed from the ground?
Was feed tested?
Where did this occur and how recently.
Was a necropsy performed? Can we have access to it?
Thanks, and I pray I will not hear of more deaths.
There were two deaths last night and one this morning reported to me. Each reminds me of the terrible death of Whisper. Please cross post at will. You do not need my further permission to do so.
Thank you,
John Holland
MissTargets, COME ON DOWN!!! LOL. Rounds for horses are pretty common in these parts. And the farmers that put them up, take pride in making sure they are of good quality.
Of course, there ARE some farmers who will sell crap as horse hay. But they get a 'reputation', and not many customers.
When we FIRST started in the horse-keeping business, I would PO hubby REALLY bad. If we brought home a bale with mold after cutting it open, I'd BURN it. He learned really quick to only buy the 'good stuff'. (Made him mad to see his money going up in smoke, made me cry to do it.)
I KNOW what you're going through, with hay, in your parts. We spent 4 months in Tiffin after our house was torched. We played ABSOLUTE HELL trying to find decent hay for our horses. They charged outrageous prices for garbage hay.(nothing MORE than kick bales) And my dear hubby played nagging hell, because I kept asking to come down home to haul hay all that way.
It's AWFUL trying to find good hay at good prices, from Columbus UP.
If it is just a 'common' thing, then why don't the vets recognize the symptoms/possibility?
NOT trying to 'argue' your points. It's just puzzling to me that the 'trained professionals' are missing the mark in this outbreak.
If this usually happens in wet conditions, do you think, that someone like me, would be wise to run a course of antibiotics? (since this 'germ' lays dormant, like strangles, parvo, etc)
Really? I used to live up near Tecumseh, Michigan (about 12 miles north of the Ohio state line and about 25 miles west of Toledo) and I mostly fed round bales up there. I kept a few square bales in the hay loft in case I needed to stall a horse up for a few days or if the snow was too deep to move round bales around.
The farmer I bought hay from in Michigan had about 300 acres of just hay fields and that's where he made most of his income. It was stored in a barn and was always clean and dry.
And as far as green grass goes, when the grass turned green in the spring my horses stayed out on it full time day and night and never had any problems except for the first couple of days and that was just loose stools.
Now that I'm in South Carolina, they get a little green grass year round, so that ain't even a problem.
We have a friend who makes his living with hay too. He round bales as it is a lot quicker and he then stores them under huge open barns. During the year, under cover he uses a machine that he has patended to unravel those bales and they then get turned into managable square bales. We have NEVER had any problems with mold or bad quality hay from him. They have about 12 horses themselves so need to make sure the hay is good!
I guess it varies from farmer to farmer as well as from state to state. I prefer square because I like the portable size!
: )
I wouldn't start a course of antibiotics without a specific reason - ie a sick horse. You don't want them to become immune to an antibiotic and it not work then when it's needed.
That's cool, you have the family ranch.
In many cases a choice of antibiotics is made empirically with all of the information at hand and a laboratory diagnosis later to confirm the clinician's hypothesis. Running a course of antibiotics with no symptoms or no disease is asking for the creation of a superbug.
Medicine is the same for animals and humans, the first several individuals in an outbreak or a disease season don't fare too well.
I wonder if there's a PCR test for L. monocytogenes now? Here's an interesting case report from '99: http://www.afip.org/vetpath/WSC/wsc98/98wsc17.htm
My real concern with the email account posted here is the lack of scientific method applied to the cases and the conclusions reached by the author w/o any real solid connecting of the dots. I'm also concerned that he advocates the usage of antibiotics with no empirical evidence that antibiotics made the difference - it really upsets me that he advocates lay people use antibiotics. I don't mean to offend anyone here, it's just that there's been so much indiscriminate use of antibiotics. And people wonder why we have so many superbugs and fewer and fewer antibiotics that work?
All that said, the one thing I learned in practice was to listen to my clients. They know their horses better than I ever will - they know when the horse is "off." So, I guess I'd be interested in finding out first if this guy is legit; who his vet is, and then talk to the vet. He may very well simply be doing his best to get the info out to save other horses.
I've received nothing from the AAEP, and I'm a member - no emails, etc. However, if this truly is an outbreak of something new (or something not commonly seen up to now) it would take time to filter up to AAEP.
This guy sounds like these deaths have occurred in the past week? That's not enough time for info to get widely disseminated.
It would be interesting to talk to the pathologist at Va Tech to see what the histopath looked like. You'll notice in the link that equine listeriosis is tough to diagnose - as you mentioned in your post, but there are some distinguishing histopathological characteristics (grin, at least in the case from 1999). In that case, they were lucky to be able to isolate the organism. That's why it'd be great if they've developed a PCR test - you'd think they'd do that because listeriosis is much more common in humans.
I agree that the clinical signs sound like an encephalopathy. What's scary, again, assuming this email is legit, is the peracute nature of the syndrome.
I'm meeting with a racetrack vet in Chicago tomorrow. I'll ask him if he's heard anything.
He has posted the name of his vet, with the vet's permission on a board today. And it has apparently gone to the Virginia Tech vets today. I'll try to find the information again and get it to you in a private reply.
I'm not 'literate' enough to make a link, but a cut-n-paste will take you to the Yahooo messages. This John Holland has started a group for this illness.(or whatever it should be called)
Have we found out anything else on this illness? My vet here in Texas doesn't know anything about it.
Several of FreeRepublic Saddle Club people suggested she post this information.
It was not known, if it was bogus or not. It was to find out if anyone else had heard about these deaths.
IF legit, at least we will be aware. Have a nice day. ;')
Apparently, the days of FReepers working TOGETHER at discovering truth, are fast fading.
Yeah...how dare I deposit my 2 cents into a idiotic thread about a "spooky" email someone got. Man, some people are soooo ....ahhh...nevermind....
I'd say pretty positive outcome whether it was bogus or not and folks did work together to get to the bottom of the information. Impressive I'd say.
I always had great faith in FReepers. And I will always admire the way MOST of them investigate, investigate,investigate, until the truth be known.
I'm sure you've been here long enough to have seen some of the 'tin foil' threads. And how some of them turned out to be NOT so tin-foily. LOL.
I especially appreciate your input on this because you ARE a vet.
Many thanks!
I just called the AAEP in Kentucky and the woman who answered the phone had no clue what I was talking about. She transferred me to someone else and I had to leave a message.
Odd, that if this is so prevalent that the girl answering the phone had never heard of it.
It's a hoax. I just got a call back from the AAEP and they had some consumers call about it, she was trying not to giggle, but said she knows of no vets who have seen it, treated it or called them about treating a horse with this mysterious disease. She did think it was an internet hoax.
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