How to Diagnose Equine Respiratory Syndrome

This condition is caused by a lethal virus called equine morbillivirus. First discovered in Australia in 1994, there's evidence that acute equine respiratory syndrome (AERS) is zoonotic, meaning transmissible to humans. It's the first morbillivirus to infect horses, resulting in death in 1 to 3 days. There are similarities between this disease and the human severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Pinpoint shallow breathing and extreme respiratory distress. The horse will be quite agitated and exhibit behaviors never seen before. He will also abruptly stop eating. Notify your veterinarian immediately.

2. Check your horse for signs of lethargy and unusual nervous disorders. Run a check on all other horses in the same area as the horse exhibiting unusual behavior. Monitor the appearance of red foam around the horse's nostrils.

3. Examine the horse for swelling in the jaw, legs and sheath. Check the horse for a high fever, which may run as high as 41 degrees C. Notify the animal control officials in your area if your horse is staggering and head butting.

4. Request a quarantine of your premises. Equine respiratory syndrome is fatal, with the horse dying of cardiac failure. Request that the veterinarian perform mercy euthanasia.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not put your hands in the horse's mouth or handle the discharge from his nose without a proper protective mask and gloves. This disease has the potential to infect human handlers, not from inhalation of the bloody foam but from direct contact with it or mechanical transfer.
• Be aware that equine respiratory syndrome is also similar is some aspects as African horse sickness, equine influenza, equine herpes virus, equine viral arteritis and the equine viral encephalitides. If you are not sure what you are dealing with, take no risks and call the veterinarian.

Who Can Help Sponsored