Archina
Well-Known Member
Thought i would put up some information about this infection as not a lot of ppl know about it and its a lot more common than you think.
Clostridia Difficle or better known as C. Diff or Colitis X is found in small doses in most animals aswell as ourselves and can cause no ill affects at all. But in large numbers it can cause death from 3 - 48 hours with a mortality rate of 90 - 100%. The scary thing is, vets arnt clued up about this disease and often dont test for it.
Symptoms include severe diarrhea, shock and dehydration with a high temperature in the first few hours of infection after which it returns to normal.
Its not clear what causes it, but the two main theories are exposure to another infected horse and prior antibiotic use. It can affect ANY horse young or old.
Let me give you an example of how deadly this infection is;
my 9 yr old TB mare Rhio was fine and happy at about 6pm in her stable when i fed her, at 8am the next morning when i went to go put her out she was on the ground, severly dehydrated and in clear distress. She was taken to the vets for surgery as i was told it was colic and she had twisted her gut, she was put down at about 2pm on the operating table.
Her 6 month old weaned foal Rosie got put down the next day in her stable after she went down.
My 11 year old shetland Fritz lasted 2 days after showing symptons, he died in my arms as vet couldnt get there in time to put him to sleep.
My other 5 month old foal Connie lasted 2 weeks before she gave up her fight for life and passed away in her stable without a lethal injection.
If you see these symptons in your horse please ask your vet to test for C. Diff!!! If caught early enough there is a slight chance of recovery with immediate and aggressive treatment.
In the end it was my mum who found out the cause of our horses death by searching the web, even after an autopsy on Rosie they gave a wrong diagnosis of tapeworm damage as it looks similar. This is even after the lead vet had already been through a C. Diff outbreak at his previous vet post a cpl years back.
I know its long winded but please keep what ive said in mind, it could save your horses life one day!!
Clostridia Difficle or better known as C. Diff or Colitis X is found in small doses in most animals aswell as ourselves and can cause no ill affects at all. But in large numbers it can cause death from 3 - 48 hours with a mortality rate of 90 - 100%. The scary thing is, vets arnt clued up about this disease and often dont test for it.
Symptoms include severe diarrhea, shock and dehydration with a high temperature in the first few hours of infection after which it returns to normal.
Its not clear what causes it, but the two main theories are exposure to another infected horse and prior antibiotic use. It can affect ANY horse young or old.
Let me give you an example of how deadly this infection is;
my 9 yr old TB mare Rhio was fine and happy at about 6pm in her stable when i fed her, at 8am the next morning when i went to go put her out she was on the ground, severly dehydrated and in clear distress. She was taken to the vets for surgery as i was told it was colic and she had twisted her gut, she was put down at about 2pm on the operating table.
Her 6 month old weaned foal Rosie got put down the next day in her stable after she went down.
My 11 year old shetland Fritz lasted 2 days after showing symptons, he died in my arms as vet couldnt get there in time to put him to sleep.
My other 5 month old foal Connie lasted 2 weeks before she gave up her fight for life and passed away in her stable without a lethal injection.
If you see these symptons in your horse please ask your vet to test for C. Diff!!! If caught early enough there is a slight chance of recovery with immediate and aggressive treatment.
In the end it was my mum who found out the cause of our horses death by searching the web, even after an autopsy on Rosie they gave a wrong diagnosis of tapeworm damage as it looks similar. This is even after the lead vet had already been through a C. Diff outbreak at his previous vet post a cpl years back.
I know its long winded but please keep what ive said in mind, it could save your horses life one day!!
