GLANDERS: THE TRUTH

THE outbreak of the contagious bacterial equine disease glanders which has caused havoc across the kingdom could take almost a year to eradicate, a world authority on the condition has revealed.

Dr Ulrich Wernery, scientific director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) based in Dubai, was called in by the government to give his expert opinion about the spread of the illness which has led to several horses and ponies being destroyed, stables installing special precautions and public demonstrations of anger.

Speaking to GulfWeekly shortly before flying back from Bahrain International Airport after a two-day visit, he said: 'We have been completely overwhelmed and surprised by the situation here.

'It is a time for all of us to learn, be patient and work towards containing and eradicating the disease.'

He revealed that an international team of experts from the Office International des Epizooties - World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris, France - will be arriving shortly to help authorities tackle the problem.

The outbreak has affected the movement of horses and brought an abrupt end to local horse racing and competitions.

According to an OIE report on the Bahrain outbreak seen by GulfWeekly the first two horses of mixed breed which were positive without clinical signs originated from Syria and Kuwait and arrived six months ago.

Glanders is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium burkholderia mallei that occurs primarily in horses and it has spread across the kingdom.

It is believed that around 20 horses have had to be put down so far. Another 27 are on 'death row' awaiting confirmation of infection.

Glanders can also be contracted by other animals such as mules, camels and donkeys.

Dogs can also be infected in rare cases and it is also a danger to people working close to sick animals without protection.

Symptoms of glanders include the formation of nodular lesions in the lungs and ulceration of the mucous membranes in the upper respiratory tract.

The acute form results in coughing, fever and the release of a highly infectious nasal discharge. Death can occur within a few weeks, while survivors act as carriers.

It has been eradicated from the US, Australia and most of Europe through surveillance and destruction of affected animals and import restrictions.

During the first World War, Glanders was believed to have been spread deliberately by German agents to infect Russian horses and mules on the Eastern Front. This had an effect on troop and supply convoys which were dependent on horses and mules.

The reputed veterinarian with over 35 years of experience confirmed that 47 horses have been infected on the island. Dr Wernery, 67, said: 'We have to first identify all the positive cases.

'At present more than half of the horse population has to be tested. It takes time and it will take quite a while before we wipe out this disease.

'I think the problem can be solved within a year.

'We are also very astonished as there are quite a number of positive cases spread in many stables around the island.'

Dr Wernery, who has dealt with a similar but smaller outbreak in the quarantine facilities in Dubai a few years ago, said that all suspected horses had to be quarantined and kept away from healthy animals by a distance of 100 to 200 metres.

He said: 'The horses have to be kept separate until we are 100 per cent sure that they are negative or until we are 100 per cent sure that they are positive, in which case we have to euthanise them.'

Glanders expert Dr Ulrich Wernery has urged that strict rules be adhered to rid Bahrain of the killer horse disease.

He told GulfWeekly: 'All positive horses should not have any contact with other horses and there should only be one person responsible for these horses. The groom cannot move from a suspected to a healthy horse because he can spread the bacteria.

'However, it is not a highly contagious disease. It does not spread through the wind like foot and mouth disease. It spreads among horses through the infected droplets or pus that comes out of the horse's nose. Only two or three per cent have lesions on the skin although sharing the same trough of food or water can cause the infection to spread.

'Sharing the bit or brush that has come in contact with the pus can spread the infection and the groom looking after the quarantined horses could even spread the bacteria through his shoes.'

Dr Wernery also said that while the possibility of all equines contracting the disease is high, the chances of glanders spreading into the small mule and camel population in the kingdom were 'very low'.

Children could also continue riding on healthy horses, he believes, provided the stables offering lessons were taking proper quarantine measures and did not move horses from one stable to another.

Dr Wernery added: 'The disease cannot spread to humans if there is no pus coming out of the nose. The caretaker or owner has to be careful especially with a horse that is showing any sign of glanders. He should NOT touch the ulcers or clean the trough without protection. Just because a horse is positive, it does not mean that the infection will spread.'

CVRL is the only laboratory certified to test the illness in the Middle East by the European Union and OIE. Recently, the laboratory upgraded its facilities to enable a maximum of 400 tests a day and has tested more than 2, 000 horses from Bahrain.

The vet said that if a horse had come in contact with the bacteria then it would test positive within three weeks. At the same time it was not necessary for the infected horse to show any clinical signs of nasal discharge or skin lesions.

After extensive meetings with the authorities and veterinarians here, Dr Wernery said that a decision has been taken to put down a horse if repeated serology tests showed positive results or the horse showed clinical signs of the illness.

He said the rule number one was to immediately put down a horse if the blood test was positive and the horse showed clinical signs of the disease as there was no question of treatment.

The second major rule was to conduct more than one blood test on a horse that was tested positive but did NOT show any clinical signs. Dr Wernery said: 'First of all we want to exclude an error of samples. We do not want to kill healthy horses. We have to make sure we clearly identify a positive horse. Everybody makes mistakes and there could be a mix-up anywhere - on the field or even in the laboratory.

'If the second test is also positive the horse has to be put down even if it does not show any clinical signs. However, if the second test is negative we have to do another test but the horse will stay quarantined. The horses have to test negative in a couple of weeks but it is a very rare situation and it is only possible if there has been a mistake.

'In the case of a serology test returning inconclusive, a skin test will be taken that will clearly show whether the horse is positive or negative.'

The vet also added that he was very impressed with the way the Bahrain authorities have handled the outbreak to date as they had been 'transparent' and were doing a good job with limited facilities and a small number of staff. He said: 'We have seen in the last few days that they are doing a good job and they are doing the right job.

'They lack some facilities. For example, we opened up three horses in a quarantine station on the ground. There was not a proper post mortem area but this incident gave us the opportunity to highlight ways to improve the situation. They need a proper necropsy hall and a proper incinerator.

'The positive side of this is that it will improve the whole system. It is very sad to put down a lot of horses but this teaches us a lesson.

'The Bahraini authorities are also very open. There is a very good transparency and that is amazing. We have a very good overview of the situation. OIE is also very positive towards this country.'

The experts have also taken pictures of infected horses and a CD is being put together by the authorities for distribution among stable owners in Bahrain.