Glanders in horses: A review of the literature

AbsTRACT Glanders is a common infectious disease of horses in certain parts of the world. The disease also affects other animal species and is of zoonotic importance. The causative agent is newly classified under the genus Burkholderia and the biochemical characteristics of the bacteria are listed. Clinical signs of the disease vary among horses but may be manifested by cutaneous nodules, bronchopneumonia and/or nasal ulceration. The diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and control of glanders are discussed. Key words: glanders, equine, horses, bacterial disease, Burkholderia mallei, zoonosis introduction Glanders is primarily a disease of the skin, lymphatics, and respiratory tract of mature horses (RAF, 1984; JULINI, 1990). Aristotle made the first authentic description of the disease in horses in 330 b.c. under the name malignant or bad disease (HENNING, 1956). Many synonyms have been given to this disease, including cutaneous Droes, Farcy, Farcy Pipes, Farcy Buds, Malleus or Equinia. However, glanders has generally been accepted as the term of choice (JUBB et al., 1985). There are many clinical disorders associated with glanders which have been recognized with increased frequency in horses (RHEE e