Gujarat: 6 horses found infected with glanders disease in Surat, euthanised
Surat, Feb 16: Six horses were euthanised after they were found infected with glanders, a contagious disease, in Gujarat's Surat city, an official said on Thursday.
The city's Lal Darwaza locality, from where the cases were reported, as been notified as an affected area and measures are being taken to contain the disease's spread.
Blood samples of eight horses were taken and sent to an authorised testing laboratory after they developed symptoms of the infection and were not showing any sign of recovery, said the official.
Of these, samples of half a dozen horses tested positive for the glanders disease, said an official release.
All the six infected horses were euthanised on Tuesday and the Lal Darwaza area was sanitised, it said.
A notification has been issued to restrict the movement of donkeys, mules and horses in a periphery of 5km from the epicentre of the disease for a month, said the release.
The horses were put to sleep under the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animal Act, 2009, it said.
"As a precautionary measure, the taluka veterinary officer has declared Lal Darwaza as an affected area and restrictions have been put on the movement of donkeys, horses and mules," said the release.
While human beings can also contract glanders, the infectious disease primarily affects horses and also donkeys, mules, goats, dogs, and cats.
The disease is commonly contracted by consuming food or water contaminated by the nasal discharge of the carrier animals. It is characterized by purulent nasal discharge, nasal mucosal ulceration, lung lesions, and ulcerating nodules.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
