INFECTIOUS DISEASE FORUM

With West Nile virus (WNV) marching across the United States and affecting both horses and humans, infectious disease prevention has been a hot topic in barns, the media, veterinary clinics, and elsewhere. During the Infectious Disease Forum, moderated by Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of equine medicine at Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Biomedical Sciences Department in Fort Collins, Colo., and Steve Conboy, DVM, a private practitioner in Lexington, Ky., three infectious diseases were discussed by attendees–Clostridium difficile-associated disease, WNV, and strangles.

Traub-Dargatz started the discussion with whether people recognize disease associated with C. difficile in clinical settings. C. difficile is a Gram-positive anaerobic bacillus that can cause disease in both foals and adults. Typically C. perfringens and C. difficile both cause diarrhea in foals; however, diarrhea caused by C. perfringens is more common than C. difficile and has a much higher mortality rate. C. difficile can be very difficult to culture, therefore it might not be diagnosed based on culture of feces from ill animals