Anthrax in Horses
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

Anthrax is an acute, febrile infection that has a rapidly fatal course. It is one of the oldest and most destructive disease of livestock and has caused the loss of many human lives as well. The specific case of anthrax is a micro-organism known as Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease with worldwide distribution. Though it can occur anywhere it is most commonly reported in the US in the lower Mississippi river basin, coastal Louisiana and Texas, and some areas of the Great Plains. Though horses are more resistant than other herbivore, they can contract the disease.

By mid-July 2001, seven ranches in Val Verde, Uvalde and Edwards had laboratory confirmed cases of anthrax in deer and livestock, including two horses. Private veterinary practitioners and ranchers in these counties and Real, Kinney and western Bandera Counties also had reported losses due to the disease. A "significant" white-tailed deer death loss was reported along in southeast Edwards and southwest Real Counties.

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