Connie Ballard
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I received this email from our big horse club, Ohio Horsemen's Council and I wanted to share the information...it relates to Strangles and possible concerns for humans caring for horses with Strangles. We've all been told to keep feed pans, buckets, care items...separate so not to pass Strangles to another horse....but we, humans, need to be careful working around strangles too:
Many of our members are familiar with our new treasurer, Denise Mealy. Denise is a graphic artist and operates her own business. She has revamped our club budget, prepares beautiful financial statements and submits regular reports. Detailed below is a disturbing story involving her husband, Paul. We are truly blessed to have each of them as a part of our club.
Gram Positive Beta Streptococci - Group C
Possible human contraction from an ill horse
My husband, a very healthy 58 year old, who rarely gets sick, became very ill, with flu-like symptoms. He ran a fever averaging 101 - 102 degrees, had severe chills and body aches. After three days of continued symptoms, he suddenly went into Atrial Fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm). Upon admission into the hospital and many tests (i.e., blood work, x-rays), the culturing of his blood samples confirmed his diagnosis of Sepsis (a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria). Specifically, he had Gram Positive Beta Streptococci - Group C in his bloodstream. The layman’s term for this is “blood poisoning.”
The complications multiplied, including an additional diagnosis of pneumonia. He continued having headaches, a persistent fever and low and high blood pressure readings. It was a very frightening illness. The doctor informed us that this was one of the most resistant forms of bacteria to antibiotics and he may lose his life from this. When the fever quickly returned, we were very concerned that the antibiotic wasn’t working. He was put on Rocephin (antibiotic) and although, the cultures showed there was no further growth, the fever indicated something was still wrong.
Frantically, I began searching the Internet to learn more about his diagnosis and research the possible causes of his illness. Everything kept pointing to “Strangles” in horses. Coincidentally, our colt had mild cold symptoms and some of the other horses had similar, if not worse, symptoms for the past 2 - 3 weeks. I called our veterinarian to ask if it was possible that our horses had Strangles. She said, “if so, it would have been a very mild case of Strangles and they were treated with antibiotics that would combat Strangles.” After printing out about 30 pages of information, I spoke with my husband’s Infectious Disease Specialist, who confirmed that his illness may have been contracted from an ill horse. Both, the veterinarian and the Infectious Disease Specialist said they’d have to do blood work on the horses to determine if it were in fact related. It was probably too late for this.
I learned that this bacteria, Streptococci Group C (and G) are known to most commonly live on animals such as horses and cattle and can be spread to humans through close contact. This bacteria does not survive very long away from the body or skin of the horse. What is was very interesting, is the fact that there is little known about Strep Group C and are much less common because the diseases are not often recognized.
What other infection can Streptococci C cause? Pharyngitis. Ironically, my sister, who cares for the horses on a daily basis, came down with laryngitis and her son also came down with a cold within a week or two after my husband was hospitalized. Some of the deeper infections of Strep C cause pneumonia, septic shock (extremely low blood pressure) and bacteria in the blood stream, all infections and complications my husband suffered.
After 14 days in the hospital, doubling the intravenous dosage of Rocephin and inserting a chest tube into his lungs to drain the fluid, my husband’s fever went down and he was released to go home. He is currently recuperating at home for another two weeks (at least) before he returns to work.
My husband and I, both, now believe that when you care for horses, especially those who may be ill, you should take serious precautions to avoid spreading bacteria and illnesses. We will be washing our hands, using gloves and/or masks, and sterilizing buckets, tack and the barn on a regular basis.
Submitted by:
Denise L. Mealy
5445 S. St. Rt. 202
Tipp City, OH 45371
Home Phone: (937)-669-5003
Paul’s Cell Phone: 937-877-0886
Denise’s Cell Phone: 937-877-0909
(Permission to publish in Equine Journal is granted by Paul and Denise Mealy)
Many of our members are familiar with our new treasurer, Denise Mealy. Denise is a graphic artist and operates her own business. She has revamped our club budget, prepares beautiful financial statements and submits regular reports. Detailed below is a disturbing story involving her husband, Paul. We are truly blessed to have each of them as a part of our club.
Gram Positive Beta Streptococci - Group C
Possible human contraction from an ill horse
My husband, a very healthy 58 year old, who rarely gets sick, became very ill, with flu-like symptoms. He ran a fever averaging 101 - 102 degrees, had severe chills and body aches. After three days of continued symptoms, he suddenly went into Atrial Fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm). Upon admission into the hospital and many tests (i.e., blood work, x-rays), the culturing of his blood samples confirmed his diagnosis of Sepsis (a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria). Specifically, he had Gram Positive Beta Streptococci - Group C in his bloodstream. The layman’s term for this is “blood poisoning.”
The complications multiplied, including an additional diagnosis of pneumonia. He continued having headaches, a persistent fever and low and high blood pressure readings. It was a very frightening illness. The doctor informed us that this was one of the most resistant forms of bacteria to antibiotics and he may lose his life from this. When the fever quickly returned, we were very concerned that the antibiotic wasn’t working. He was put on Rocephin (antibiotic) and although, the cultures showed there was no further growth, the fever indicated something was still wrong.
Frantically, I began searching the Internet to learn more about his diagnosis and research the possible causes of his illness. Everything kept pointing to “Strangles” in horses. Coincidentally, our colt had mild cold symptoms and some of the other horses had similar, if not worse, symptoms for the past 2 - 3 weeks. I called our veterinarian to ask if it was possible that our horses had Strangles. She said, “if so, it would have been a very mild case of Strangles and they were treated with antibiotics that would combat Strangles.” After printing out about 30 pages of information, I spoke with my husband’s Infectious Disease Specialist, who confirmed that his illness may have been contracted from an ill horse. Both, the veterinarian and the Infectious Disease Specialist said they’d have to do blood work on the horses to determine if it were in fact related. It was probably too late for this.
I learned that this bacteria, Streptococci Group C (and G) are known to most commonly live on animals such as horses and cattle and can be spread to humans through close contact. This bacteria does not survive very long away from the body or skin of the horse. What is was very interesting, is the fact that there is little known about Strep Group C and are much less common because the diseases are not often recognized.
What other infection can Streptococci C cause? Pharyngitis. Ironically, my sister, who cares for the horses on a daily basis, came down with laryngitis and her son also came down with a cold within a week or two after my husband was hospitalized. Some of the deeper infections of Strep C cause pneumonia, septic shock (extremely low blood pressure) and bacteria in the blood stream, all infections and complications my husband suffered.
After 14 days in the hospital, doubling the intravenous dosage of Rocephin and inserting a chest tube into his lungs to drain the fluid, my husband’s fever went down and he was released to go home. He is currently recuperating at home for another two weeks (at least) before he returns to work.
My husband and I, both, now believe that when you care for horses, especially those who may be ill, you should take serious precautions to avoid spreading bacteria and illnesses. We will be washing our hands, using gloves and/or masks, and sterilizing buckets, tack and the barn on a regular basis.
Submitted by:
Denise L. Mealy
5445 S. St. Rt. 202
Tipp City, OH 45371
Home Phone: (937)-669-5003
Paul’s Cell Phone: 937-877-0886
Denise’s Cell Phone: 937-877-0909
(Permission to publish in Equine Journal is granted by Paul and Denise Mealy)