One of the most commonly diagnosed bacterial problems in California (and several other western states) is dryland distemper, otherwise known as pigeon fever. This disease is caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and is seen worldwide. It usually is associated with very deep abscesses and multiple sores along the chest and midline.

One of the most commonly diagnosed bacterial problems in California (and several other western states) is dryland distemper, otherwise known as pigeon fever. This disease is caused by Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and is seen worldwide. It usually is associated with very deep abscesses and multiple sores along the chest and midline.

Since publication of this volume, equine morbillivirus pneumonia has been renamed "Hendra virus disease". Equine morbillivirus pneumonia (EMP) is an acute febrile respiratory infection of horses characterized by fever, increased respiratory and heart rates, respiratory distress, and death.

Rhodococcus Equi Pneumonia in the foal can be deadly, but good management could save the day. When foals get sick, horse owners can sometimes face many sleepless nights, as well as weeks or months of intensive management, to get these babies through the rough spots. - By Steve Giguire, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, and John F. Prescott, VetMB, PhD.

This book brings all the major equine respiratory diseases together in one single concise volume. Written by two leading equine experts, it enables the reader to relate clinical anatomy, physiology and pathology to clinical signs seen, and to form a rational basis for the control, treatment and prevention of respiratory diseases.

Pseudomonas mallei causes a disease in horses known as glanders. It is a true parasite, since it is unable to survive in nature in the absence of its host. The primary focus of infection is the lungs. The disease can be transmitted to humans from the horse.

Commonly recognized PHF symptoms include diarrhea, depression, colic, anorexia, dehydration, and signs suggestive of laminitis or founder. However, the cases at Hagyard-Davidson-McGee have not exhibited the characteristic diarrhea. The horses had low white blood cell (WBC) counts, a little heat in their feet, and were depressed.

Rabid animals were reported from every state except Hawaii in 1997, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA. Rabies was confirmed in 47 horses, donkeys and mules in 21 states and Puerto Rico (Figure 2) in comparison to 46 equid cases in 1996. These figures represent only laboratory-confirmed cases since not every neurological horse which dies is submitted for necropsy and rabies testing.

Horses with disease may show mild non-specific signs such as depression and lack of appetite, while in severe disease there is elevated temperature and horses become anaemic due to destruction of the red blood cells. One of the problems is that horses can carry the parasite for many years without showing signs of the disease.

Ken Mills of the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab said pigeon fever is known to run through cycles with years between outbreaks of the bacterial disease, but it is not common in Wyoming. "It is ongoing in Colorado and is not the first time it's been seen.