Effectiveness of an antimicrobial treatment scheme in a confined glanders outbreak

Abstract

BackgroundGlanders is a contagious and fatal zoonotic disease of solipeds caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia (B.) mallei. Although regulations call for culling of diseased animals, certain situations e.g. wild life conservation, highly valuable breeding stock, could benefit from effective treatment schemes and post-exposure prophylaxis.ResultsTwenty three culture positive glanderous horses were successfully treated during a confined outbreak by applying a treatment protocol of 12 weeks duration based on the parenteral administration of enrofloxacin and trimethoprim plus sulfadiazine, followed by the oral administration of doxycycline. Induction of immunosupression in six randomly chosen horses after completion of treatment did not lead to recrudescence of disease.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that long term treatment of glanderous horses with a combination of various antibiotics seems to eliminate the agent from the organism. However, more studies are needed to test the effectiveness of this treatment regime on B. mallei strains from different endemic regions. Due to its cost and duration, this treatment can only be an option in certain situations and should not replace the current “testing and culling” policy, in conjunction with adequate compensation to prevent spreading of disease.

Gut Microbiome Characteristics in feral and domesticated horses from different geographic locations

“…This common trait observed in different parts of the world suggest a key role of antibiotics in the modulation of the modern domestic horse microbiota. Tetracycline-type antibiotics are the most common antibiotic group used for horses in Europe 37 , with doxycycline being frequently used to treat infectious diseases in horses around the world 38 – 40 , which may facilitate the accumulation of bacteria harboring these resistance genes in domestic horses. AMR patterns of major bacteria isolated from diseased horses in France were studied between 2012 and 2016 41 .…”

Use of the Common Marmoset to Study Burkholderia mallei Infection

“…Symptoms in animals infected with medium, medium-high, and high doses consisted of subdued behavior (decreased vocalizations and limp tails), lethargy, inappetence, decreased water intake, decreased grooming behavior with piloerection (rough coats), ocular and nasal discharges, conjunctivitis, tachypnea (increased respiratory rate), and dyspnea (difficulty breathing with abdominal lifts). Natural cases of glanders in humans and other animals exhibit many of these signs, namely malaise, excessive lacrimation (tearing), nasal discharge, conjunctivitis, tachypnea, and dyspnea [ 1 , 6 , 7 , 12 – 16 , 18 , 45 , 46 ]. These hallmarks also have been reported in murine and equine experimental models of glanders [ 26 , 27 , 31 ].…”

“…However, glanders is notorious for its varied clinical presentation. In natural cases of infection, it is not uncommon to see localized disease, disseminated disease, or even local disease that rapidly progresses to dissemination [ 1 , 6 , 7 , 12 – 16 , 18 , 45 , 46 ]. Marmoset D37 had obvious nasopharyngeal lesions ( Table 3 ), thus we suspect that bacteria disseminated directly from these lesions to the liver and spleen via the circulatory system.…”

Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of doxycycline in a Streptococcusequi subsp. zooepidemicus infection model in horses

“…The use of oral DXC in horses has been anecdotally reported as an efficacious treatment of intra‐abdominal or cutaneous abscesses (Cypher et al, 2015; Saqib et al, 2012). Oral DXC has also been used for the treatment of neuroborreliosis (Chang et al, 2005; Divers et al, 2018; James et al, 2010; Wagner et al, 2011), granulocytic ehrlichiosis, neorickettsiosis, and leptospirosis (Bernard, 1993; Davis et al, 2006; Palmer, 1993).…”