Info Pages:
Habronema Larvae
Some of our animals have come to the Sanctuary
with uncommon diseases. We
are not experts by any means, but I am always surprised to talk to long time
equine owners that have never heard of some of these problems.
The internet has been my classroom, as I’ve tried to educate myself to
help these animals. Of course your
first line of defense should always be your Veterinarian.
Your vet may be the most caring person you have ever known,
but there is no way, one person, probably working long days, with
emergencies thrown in, is going to be able to keep up with the rapidly changing
face of equine health care.
There are wonderful Yahoo Groups out there, devoted to sharing
information, on almost any subject. I
belong to one group that has over 6,000 members.
There are vets, vet techs, medical doctors, equine dentists, pharmacists,
farriers, barefoot trimmers, nutrition experts,
equine food company representatives, ranchers, boarding stable owners,
hay growers, down to the one horse owner that wants what is best for their
companion & the rest of us in between. The
wealth of knowledge available can be overwhelming.
But, the information is there, & everyone is willing to share.
If you have taken on the responsibility of an animal, it is your job to
provide the best care possible for this animal to have a long healthy productive
life. One way to do this, is to be
an informed caregiver.
Habronema
Larvae:
The
2nd donkey we got was literally being eaten alive by habronema larvae.
His face was raw where he had scratched
to the point of self-mutilating because of the intense itching.
His sheath was a bloody mess most of the time, & ultimately after 7
months, he had to be euthanized because of the damage.
A search of the web will bring up lots of information on these larvae.
Stomach worms lay eggs that are passed in manure.
House & stable fly pupae eat the eggs in the manure, & once they
mature into flies can leave eggs when they land on equines.
The eggs can survive if they find a nice moist place like eyes, noses,
mouths, sheaths in the males or open
wounds. Once the eggs find a spot
& hatch, as the larvae grow, that is when the horrible itching starts.
Some
animals seem to be more inclined to develop “summer sores” than others.
Their system seems to over react with oozy areas of inflammation that are
very itchy, like an allergic reaction. The GENERAL TREATMENT for habronema is:
regular worming, controlling flies, keeping any sores dry & covered
to keep flies from reinfesting , using fly masks during daylight hours,
and using fly repellant. This
is all good information, BUT, in my experience it isn’t enough.
When we got in another donkey in almost as bad shape as the one that was
euthanized, I promised myself I would not lose this one.
This first picture shows a growth that developed on his sheath over a
period of months. We never knew
exactly what type of growth it was, nor did the Vet that removed it.
When it was cut open it looked like a large piece of lard with very few
very small blood vessels. There were
2 or 3 very large veins feeding it from the outside that bled profusely when
cut.
This
second picture shows the effort we made to protect him from further infestation.
He lived in this “outfit” for almost 6 months the first year he was
here. I spent most of the days that
summer in his corral, constantly doctoring him when he became uncomfortable from
the intense itching. I didn’t know
then what I know now & could have made him more comfortable, if I had access
to more information than the general treatment protocol.
Over
a period of more than 2 years, he was treated with TMP/SMZ, Azium, Bute, neo-predaf,
panalog, thunja zinc oxide, & anything else anyone mentioned or I read
about, that might help to make him more comfortable, & possibly help him to
heal. My vet even had me worming him
weekly for awhile. When his sheath
was oozy & weepy, I would keep it covered with flour or cornstarch.
Sometimes it was so wet, I couldn’t keep it dry, no matter what I did.
I tried Immunsyn, Missing Link,
many types of herbs & the bottom line was………nothing by itself
worked………!!! This is a hands
on disease, that has to be monitored constantly.
You can’t slap some medicine on it & have a good outcome.
Cisco II was a case of horrible infestation & an immune system that
just won’t tolerate flies, let alone habronema.
After 8 years, he is doing well. We
have developed a system that keeps him comfortable.
Starting early in spring he gets allergy pills twice a day.
He also is wormed more often than the others throughout fly season.
His sheath has been so mistreated by him, by surgery, & by me
doctoring, that it has to be coated with thunja zinc oxide, constantly from
spring till fly season is over usually November.
Otherwise it gets very dried out & he will drop to the ground &
scoot until it is a bloody mess. He
will also come to me, if he is uncomfortable, stand in front of me lift his leg
& act like he is going to bite himself.
When he does that, I run for the thunja zinc oxide….and he knows I
will…..!!!!