Salmonella in a horse

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_jetset_

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I was just wondering how a horse can get this?

A horse I know had colic surgery last night and has been tested for salmonella due to a pocket of infection found in his gut...
 
some info
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http://lacs.vetmed.ufl.edu/Infection_Control/index.htm

http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newsletters/2005/Winter/equine-es.htm
 
I know someones horse that got it just last year. Not sure how! Also, I think it was HenryHorns foal William that contracted ecoli and became terrible ill.
 
Got no idea but vet thought a horse down my old yard had it and he said if it had it the yard would have to be quarntined (sp) as its really infectious.
 
I think that all horses (and many other animals) have salmonella in their gut naturally, but the beneficial bacteria keep the salmonella at bay. At times of stress or illness, the salmonella can 'win out' over the good bacteria causing problems (diarrhoea etc) - a typical example would be after a colic episode or surgery.

Reptiles are particularly prone for shedding salmonella bacteria even though they don't show signs of illness - a reason why it is vital to wash hands after handling snakes, lizards etc. Useless fact there
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Don't know if that helps!
 
Marnie, that is exactly what I was thinking... I thought we all had it lying dormant in our gut but then someone said they did not think this was the case.

The horse developed bad colic, and at the moment they are not sure whether this pocket of infection was the cause or a reaction to it.
 
My mare contracted it and i had to have her pts the vet said that she probably picked it up through bird poo on the grass or fox poo> it is very highly contagious and the animal has to be segregated from any others.If the horse comes through it they then have to have a stool sample done normally every month because they can still shed the salmonella in their droppings even though the clinical signs are no longer there. Apparently horses can contain it in their guts and a stressfull situation or illness can lead to the diorrhea and other symptoms that you see.My old girl was to weak to fight it off and lost so much weight she no chance of surviving.A fit healthy horse would probably be ok.But then a horse that is contagious can pass it onto humans because i contracted it from her having type two salmonella i lost heaps of weight.
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Heard of a case this year where the horse contracted it through a chicken carcass being moved around it's field by foxes, the horse was PTS
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