osu_barrelracer
Well-Known Member
I don't think these people are thinking about the effect that their actions could have on the horse industry.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/19794765/detail.html#
http://www.kmbc.com/news/19794765/detail.html#
How bizarre. Why would they quarantine a farm because of purpura??? It is NOT contagious--it is simply an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection. Of all the horses that get strangles each year only a very small number get purpura. Barns get quarantined for strangles, but not for purpura! I know of what I speak, for we have had one case of purpura. Believe me, the only concern the vet had was for that particular horse--by the time he showed signs of purpura the illness caused by the S.equi was long gone. There was no point in quarantining for the strangles, and no need to quarantine for purpura.I know what they are doing is wrong, but I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling knowing that their horses are going to be euthanized.
I know the terror that you feel as the owner of a horse that is quarantined in this manner. A friend of mine used to breed and show Arabians and she would occasionally take a horse or two in for board; the owners/boarders were almost always friends of hers. She offered me a stall for my (soulmate) mare before/during my first show season ever because I didn't have a barn with stalls at that time (only a run-in shed). The other boarder at the time had just purchased an older Thoroughbred gelding for her daughter who was learning to ride; my friend was giving her lessons. One afternoon, his legs began to swell and in a very, very short time they had swelled so much that the skin covering his legs splint open the entire length of his legs. The owner rushed him to a major equine medical/surgical center in Lexington (Kentucky) as soon as we found him that way and they diagnosed him with purpura hemorrhagica. They quarantined my friend's property; her entire herd of Arabian (some of them were bought for the outrageous amounts of money that people were selling/paying Arabians for in the early-80s) show horses, broodmares, and stallions along with my mare. We had to check all of their temperatures rectally every four hours for two weeks and vets were constantly coming and going to check on things. I ended up with a stomach ulcer. I was so stressed and terrified! I will never forget that time in my life, it was awful.
We might be talking about something different as purpura hemorrhagica is or can be related to influenza. The horses were quarantined by our county for influenza, which was the cause of this particular case of purpura hemorrhagica. Here is an article about the link between influenza and purpura hemorrhagica. Whatever your experience has been with this disease, we were at the mercy of the county and we were under quarantine by order of the county and there was nothing that we could do about it.How bizarre. Why would they quarantine a farm because of purpura??? It is NOT contagious--it is simply an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection. Of all the horses that get strangles each year only a very small number get purpura. Barns get quarantined for strangles, but not for purpura! I know of what I speak, for we have had one case of purpura. Believe me, the only concern the vet had was for that particular horse--by the time he showed signs of purpura the illness caused by the S.equi was long gone. There was no point in quarantining for the strangles, and no need to quarantine for purpura.I know what they are doing is wrong, but I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling knowing that their horses are going to be euthanized.
I know the terror that you feel as the owner of a horse that is quarantined in this manner. A friend of mine used to breed and show Arabians and she would occasionally take a horse or two in for board; the owners/boarders were almost always friends of hers. She offered me a stall for my (soulmate) mare before/during my first show season ever because I didn't have a barn with stalls at that time (only a run-in shed). The other boarder at the time had just purchased an older Thoroughbred gelding for her daughter who was learning to ride; my friend was giving her lessons. One afternoon, his legs began to swell and in a very, very short time they had swelled so much that the skin covering his legs splint open the entire length of his legs. The owner rushed him to a major equine medical/surgical center in Lexington (Kentucky) as soon as we found him that way and they diagnosed him with purpura hemorrhagica. They quarantined my friend's property; her entire herd of Arabian (some of them were bought for the outrageous amounts of money that people were selling/paying Arabians for in the early-80s) show horses, broodmares, and stallions along with my mare. We had to check all of their temperatures rectally every four hours for two weeks and vets were constantly coming and going to check on things. I ended up with a stomach ulcer. I was so stressed and terrified! I will never forget that time in my life, it was awful.
Minimor, I am not arguing with you that it "seem(ed) pointless to quarantine for influenza after one horse comes down sick with purpura." I just wanted to point out to you, after your post, that purpura hemorrhagica can be caused by more than just "an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection" (what you stated). I backed up my statement with resources, one from a prestigious university (Cornell). Unfortunately, I am very familiar with purpura hemorrhagica as I was witness to a particularly violent case that was found to have been caused by equine influenza and not "an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection" (your statement). The case in question was treated at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.Even one of the articles you referenced states that the purpura occurs well after the influenza infection so it would seem pointless to quarantine for influenza after one horse comes down sick with purpura.
Which was the point of my post; irregardless of the disease, I was sharing my story to explain why I understand how horrifying it can be to be in a similar situation (forced quarantine).Of course you would be at the mercy of your county's regulations,
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