Human Strain of Clostridium Difficile Reported in Quarter Horse

The same strain of Clostridium difficile that causes illness and death in human hospitals was reported in a 14-year-old Quarter Horse, according to a paper published in May issue of the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. Clostridium difficile bacteria can proliferate in the intestines and produce toxins that can damage the intestinal lining of horses, humans, and production animals such as cattle and swine. In this case, the sick horse showed clinical signs of colic for 48 hours before treatment. Suspecting a Salmonella infection, veterinarians treated the patient with antibiotics, but the horse failed to respond to treatment and was euthanized. The trouble starts when clinicians treat a horse with antimicrobial drugs (for example, for or pre- or post-surgical infection prevention). For reasons that are not entirely clear, the bacterium is then able to establish itself in the gut and produce the toxins that cause diarrhea, colic, and an acute set of clinical signs sometimes called colitis X. Foals can also get the disease in the first few days of life, when C. difficile moves into an intestinal tract that does not yet have an established normal bacterial flora...The Horse