How is Potomac Horse Fever diagnosed?
Potomac horse fever can look clinically similar to several other diseases so a firm diagnosis requires further testing. Tests for PHF include a blood antibody test (titer), and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) of the blood and feces. A high titer to PHF suggests a recent exposure to N. risticii.
Is there a test for Potomac Horse Fever?
PCR is the optimal test to diagnose an acute infection of PHF. Serum can also be submitted for PHF Indirect Fluorescent Antibody (IFA) testing. Because the incubation period is 10-18 days, acutely ill animals often have an elevated PHF IFA titer. Vaccinated animals may have a titer in a similar range.
Where do we see Potomac Horse Fever?
PHF has been reported from most states in the United States, five provinces in Canada, South America (Brazil, Uruguay), Europe (France, The Netherlands), and India. Horses of all breeds and ages may be affected, but PHF is not common in younger horses (<1 year).
Is Potomac Horse Fever a virus or bacteria?
Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) is caused by the bacteria, Neorickettsia risticii. Equids acquire the bacteria by consuming infected aquatic insects on pasture. The common culprit is the mayfly. The disease often occurs in late summer and throughout fall, when the insect load is highest.
What is another name for Potomac Horse Fever?
Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) is a potentially-fatal febrile illness affecting horses caused by the intracellular bacterium Neorickettsia risticii. PHF is also known as Shasta River Crud and Equine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis.
Can a horse recover from Potomac Fever?
Treatment is generally continued for 3 to 7 days, and the normal recovery time is approximately one week with no other complications. If not treated quickly, horses can decompensate rapidly and develop fatal complications from the disease.
What is the agent that causes Potomac Horse Fever?
Potomac horse fever (PHF) is an acute systemic and potentially fatal disease of horses, which is also known as equine monocytic ehrlichiosis. It is caused by Neorickettsia risticii, an obligate intracellular endosymbiotic bacterium of digeneans (Platyhelminthes, Digenea) that parasitize snails and insects1,2.
What is another name for Potomac horse fever?
What is the agent that causes Potomac horse fever?
Can humans get Potomac Horse Fever?
Although the organism can be isolated from the feces, clinically ill horses are not contagious and can be housed with healthy, non-infected horses. The disease is not considered zoonotic, which means it cannot be passed from horses to humans.
Is Potomac fever in horses contagious?
Potomac Horse Fever is not contagious. If more than one horse at the same location contracts the disease, it is because of the environmental conditions that draw the vectors. The disease causes colitis, dehydration and diarrhea.