Vasicular Stomatitis Control and Prevention

Vasicular Stomatitis: It is viral highly contagious disease which is characterized by erosion’s of mouth lips tongue teats and interdigital cleft.

Vasicular Stomatitis Control and Prevention

Most importantly it is a zoonotic disease, a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals. Mostly it occurs in equines horses and cattle also in humans.

  • It is also called as pseudo FMD sore mouth and sore nose

Virus which cause this infection: 

The virus belongs to family Rhabdiridae and genus is vesiculovirs. They are bullet shaped and generally 180 nm long and 75 NM wide. It has 2 stains or stereotypes.

VS-New Jersey (Most common type)    VS-Indiana

VS-Indiana has further 3 types

  1. Indiana 1 ( fort lepton)
  2. Indiana 2 ( cocal virus)
  3. Indiana 3 (Alagas virus)

Transmission:

It can be transmitted from one animal to other through direct or indirect contact with animals through saliva, nasal secretions and other body fluids , through contaminated materials and through biological vectors lie Sand fly.

Pathogenesis

  • Entry of virus into body
  • Create local infection in mouth and nose
  • Create viremia
  • Infect lips muzzle nose tongue teats and interdigital cleft
  • Create vesicles

Clinical Signs:

  • Fever
  • Anorexic
  • Rubbing of mouth
  • Drooling saliva
  • Lameness
  • Cattle and horses are more effected

Postmortem lesions

  • Erosive ulcerative lesions on oral mucosa, teats, coronet band and mouth
  • Degeneration of epithelial cells

Diagnosis:

  • History
  • Clinical signs
  • PM lesions
  • Lab tests

Treatment:

Actually it’s a viral disease so there is no specific treatment except symptomatic treatment for avoiding secondary bacterial diseases

No specific treatment but provides soft feed to avoid cachexia.  So, thats why avoid secondary bacterial infection by cleaning the lesions by mild antiseptic.

Furthermore improve management practices lie less time on pasture during insect season. Animals which are affected should be isolated from healthy animals because it can be transmitted to other animals.

Prevention and Control:

  • Don’t buy animals from diseased herd
  • Avoid grazing and peek insect feeding hours
  • Segregation of infected animals
  • Milking equipment’s should be disinfected
  • Vaccination

Zoonotic Risk: 

As the virus is zoonotic it may be responsible for influenza, mild coughing, fever headache, weakness, development of vesicles on buccal cavity and pharyngeal mucosa, lips and nose. Encephalitis is rare.

By Dr Muhammad Hamza Zafar

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.