GLANDERS

Anil Kumar

Asst. Professor

Dept. of VCC

UNIT-5

GLANDERS

Synonyms: Farcy/Equinia/Malleus

It is an acute to chronic contagious disease of horse, mules and donkeys characterized by nodules or ulcers in the respiratory tract and on the skin.

“Glanders” terms used when the principal lesions are seen in the nostrils, submaxillary glands and lungs & “farcy” when lesions are on the surface of limbs or body.

Etiology:

• Pseudomonas mallei
• Actinomyces mallei
• Burkholderia mallei (Gram –ve bacillus)

Host affected:

• It affects the Solipeds (mammals with single hoof like Horses, mules, donkey
• In horses chronic form occurs commonly and in mules and donkeys acute forms occurs.
• It can also infect Carnivores

• Cattle & swine are resistant
• Human & goat are susceptible
• In human it occurs in 4 forms;
• Local cutaneous form
• Pulmonary form
• Septicemic form
• Chronic form
• In World War-I, the organism was used as Biological agent to infect the Russian horses, mules & human
• In World War-II, used it to infect the horses, prisoners of the war & opponent’s horses by Japanese.

Transmission:

• Mainly transmitted by direct contact with infected animals
• In animals the disease is transmitted through ingestion & inhalation and the transmission is enhanced by shared water & feeding facilities
• In human, through Inhalation, abraded skin & mucous membrane are the main source

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Pathogenesis:

Organism after ingestion

Nodules develops on the nasal cavity and skin which ulcerates and may coalesce togather

In limbs, lymphadenitis and lymphangitis occur

The lymph nodes all along the lymph vessels are swollen and rupture with discharging dark honey color pus known as“Farcy bud”. The lymph vessels are thickened and become cord like , known as “farcy cord

The limb is swollen and appears like the limb affected with elephantiasis. This cutaneous form in known as “farcy”

In lung, bronchopneumonia occurs and the military tubercle like lesions are produced

Nasal mucosae, lower parts of turbinates

and Lungs

On Skin commonly of hind limb

Bacteraemia and Septicemia

Blood

Intestine

Clinical Signs and Symptoms: �

Glanders in equine occurs in 3 forms:

1. Nasal

2. Cutaneous and

3. Pulmonary forms

Glanders in equine occurs in 3 forms:

1. Nasal

2. Cutaneous and

3. Pulmonary forms

Nasal form:

• Characterized by unilateral or bilateral nasal discharge.
• The yellowish-green exudate is highly infectious.
• The nasal mucosa has nodules and ulcers which may coalesce to form large ulcerated areas.
• In some cases the septum may even be perforated.
• Nasal lesions are accompanied by enlargement or sometimes rupture and suppuration, of regional lymph nodes
• Lesions may also occur in the liver or spleen and, in male animals , glanderous orchitis is a common lesion

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Cutaneous Form:

• Development of multiple nodules in the skin of the legs or other parts of the body .
• These nodules may rupture, leaving ulcers that discharge a yellowish exudate to the skin surface and having tendency to heal slowly.
• Cutaneous lymphatic vessels become distended and firm by being filled with a tenacious, purulent exudate referred to as "Farcy pipes/cord” .

Pulmonary form:

• The lesions in the lungs develop along with nasal and cutaneous lesions or there may be the sole manifestation of the disease (typical of latent cases).
• The lung lesions begin as firm nodules or as a diffuse pneumonic process.
• The nodules are gray or white and firm, surrounded by a hemorrhagic zone, and may become caseous or calcified.
• Clinical signs in animals with lung lesions may range from in apparent infection to mild dyspnea, or severe coughing

Extensive pyogenic granulomatous pneumonia in a donkey

Diagnosis:

• Signs & symptoms
• Culture & isolation of bacteria
• Serological tests :-
• Indirect hemagglutination,
• Counter-immunoelectrophoresis
• Immunofluorescence
• Compliment fixation and
• ELISA
• Compliment fixation and ELISA:
• – Most reliable in horses
• – Cannot be used in donkey or mule
• Mallein test

Mallein test:

• Mallein is a protein that is not toxic to animals, but animals infected with glanders may become allergic to mallein & exhibit local or systemic hyper- sensitivity reaction after inoculation.
• A positive response is indicated by ocular swelling, photosensitivity, lacrimation & suppurative inflammation within 48 hours after injection.
• Intradermo-palpebral mallein test used, where 0.1ml of mallein is injected intr-dermally into the lower eye lid by tuberculin syringe and needle and results are recorded after1-2 days later with eyelid swelling, blepharospasms and purulent conjunctivitis.

Treatment:

• Cull the affected animals because of zoonotic importance.
• If necessary, Antibiotics are used in combination. It is long term treatment up to weeks

 Sulphadimidine for 20 days is found highly effective.

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Prevention & Control

• No vaccine is available for animal use.
• Quarantine measures (Place and Importation)
• Identification and removal of foci of infection through:
• Surveillance and monitoring of herds especially in endemic areas
• Positive animals should be isolated & slaughtered immediately & carcass should be disposed off by incineration or deep burial
• In-contact & exposed animals should be segregated , Re- tested to detect and destroy the positives according to the Glander & Farcy Act ,1899.

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