Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Glanders remains in the headlines and it seems people are staying away from their horse riding in fear of catching the disease, writes columnist Helen Blake.
Whilst, of course, no-one wants themselves or their children to be unwell, the cases of glanders infecting humans is in fact very rare, and I have spent a lot of time this week trawling the internet to find any examples of cases.
It is possible to contract the disease, but reports only state cases of people who have been in close and frequent contact with infected animals such as veterinarians and the animals' caretakers.
"Humans typically acquire glanders from equids (horses, donkeys, mules) via direct contact with broken skin or mucous membranes. A secondary mode of transmission can be through inhalation of droplets from an infected equid or patient," one expert revealed.
Cases and reports of humans with glanders are scarce; of course I agree caution with any disease is always the best policy, which is why the Ministry has stopped horses moving from stable to stable and the competitions from going ahead.
Contact me by emailing helen2blake@hotmail.com
