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By Chantal Wagner

provincial outbreak

Potomac horse fever cases rare in southern Alberta

Sep 29, 2020 | 5:59 PM

DUNMORE, AB – There has been a cluster of Potomac horse fever in the province this year.

That’s according to a senior equine specialist at the University of Calgary Dr. Ashley Whitehead.

She says it’s only the serious cases that make it to a vet, so there are likely to be plenty of others out there.

An outbreak of the illness has been declared in Alberta.

Potomac horse fever causes death in up to 30 percent of cases.

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Robyn Andersen is a Registered Veterinary Technologist at the Animal Medical Centre South in Dunmore.

She says the disease is caused when bacteria gets into the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

And that happens when horses ingest snails, slugs, and insects in their food.

Symptoms include diarrhea, depression, intestinal problems, colic-like symptoms, and high fever.

Andersen says there tends to be a rise of cases in late summer.

But it’s not seen very often in southern Alberta.

As it is more common in wet environments.

“There is the rare case down here but definitely the highway 22 corridor like Cochrane to Drayton Valley, and central Alberta that is where they get rain and where there are a lot of muskegs. More cases appear there in a year than there are here. In this practice specifically, it’s maybe one case diagnosed in the last ten years, versus a case per clinic per summer in central Alberta,” Andersen said.

Despite the low numbers in the south region, Andersen adds to be aware if you are travelling with your horse.

(with files from the Canadian Press)