Missing Horses on Delhi Streets? Infectious Glanders to be Blamed

Delhi government has issued a notification banning horses in West Delhi from going outside for three months.

Working horse drawn cart loaded with sacks, bags and boxes ridding in a street of Old Delhi.

In case you spot fewer horses than usual in Delhi this winter, glanders is to be blamed. It’s an infection affecting horses, mules and donkeys. Following the same, Delhi police has banned the usage of horses in the city. The authorities are bracing themselves to combat this disease which can also spread to humans.

Delhi Govt Up in Arms Against Glanders

Glanders cases have so far been detected only in West Delhi. Seven out of a total of 13 samples were found positive in the area. However, horses in the entire city are now being sampled as a precautionary step.

After positive sampling of glanders, Delhi government has issued a notification which bans horses in West Delhi from going outside for three months. Additionally, horses from other areas are not allowed to enter it. Currently, the Animal Husbandry Department is busy with collecting blood samples from 3000 horses in Delhi.

Dr Jitendra Kumar, Director, Animal Husbandry Department

Animal Welfare Department Wary Ahead of Republic Day

So far 300 horses have been sampled all over the city. A number is being tied around horses’ necks to ease identification at the time of filing the report. An area of about 50 kms is to be avoided in case of this disease. Consequently, governments of the adjacent states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan have also been alerted.

Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army and Delhi police have been asked to submit samples of their horses to the Animal Husbandry department.

This is a bacterial infection. It’s caused by the bacterium Burkholderia which is intra-cellular. This means it gets inside the cell and therefore medication cannot control it and it cannot be treated. Any animal or human is under the threat of contracting this infection if they come in contact with the bacteria. The disease hasn’t reached humans in Delhi.

Dr Jitendra Kumar, Director, Animal Husbandry Department

Glanders Found in These States Prior to Delhi

Glanders was first detected in horses in India in 2006, but it was controlled immediately. In 2016, about 400 horses in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Haryana were found with the infection.

Glanders has not claimed any human lives in India so far. It was found afflicting humans in the US in 2000. In India, sample testing for glanders is carried out in the National Research Centre in Haryana’s Hisar.

Vaccination is used in infected animals to cure them. Veterinarians advice that even the carcass of an animal, which was claimed by this disease, should be buried about six to seven feet underground to prevent contact with any other animal.

Provision For Compensation

If glanders is contracted by a horse, donkey, mule or any other animal, there is no other solution than to put the animal down. The government has announced compensation of Rs 25,000 for owners of afflicted horses and Rs 15,000 for owners of afflicted donkeys and mules.

(This story was first published on QuintHindi. It has been translated to English by Rosheena Zehra.)