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Potomac horse fever is caused by Neorickettsia risticii, an infectious agent found in snails, swallows, bats, and some flies that live near rivers. Exposure in horses often occurs when these flies--stoneflies, mayflies, dragonflies, damsel flies and caddis flies--pick up the infection in the river environment and then spread. When they die, their bodies can fall onto pastures or water troughs where horses unknowingly consume them. The resulting bacterial infection of the large intestine can result in fever, colic, diarrhea, toxemia, laminitis, and abortion. Without treatment, the disease is often fatal.
Once Potomac horse fever has been diagnosed, it can be treated using oxytetracycline, a medicine not commonly prescribed to horses due to the potential for side effects (including diarrhea, paradoxically one of the typical signs of Potomac horse fever), but that is effective in treating this disease. There have been advancements made in improving prevention for this disease and there are better vaccinations available for horses than there used to be. We now recommend vaccination for prevention of Potomac Horse Fever since the disease has been found just east of Springfield, MO this past summer. Vaccination is best done just before warm weather and fly season. |
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