Galey F D
Department of Veterinary Sciences and Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA.
Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract. 2001 Dec;17(3):579-88. doi: 10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30053-6.
Botulism should be considered in cases where weakness, paralysis, or intolerance to exercise might be seen in the horse. Dysphagia may also be present, although it is not a consistent finding. Potential sources include carrion in hay, moldy or otherwise rotted vegetation or forage, birds carrying material from animal burial or other similar sites, and contaminated carcasses on-site. Horses, especially foals, may also suffer from toxicoinfectious botulism, a condition where the C. botulinum might colonize and produce toxin within the gastrointestinal tract. Wounds also may harbor the organism and otherwise promote botulism. Diagnosis of botulism is often a clinical diagnosis backed up by elimination of other possible infectious, injurious, or toxic causes of weakness of the horse. Definitive diagnosis and type identification in the laboratory are difficult and usually require a suitable sample of the source material. Treatment often is unrewarding unless a case is identified early and the proper antitoxin is readily available. Prevention involves common sense approaches to feeding and care of the horse and, where possible, judicious use of vaccination in endemic areas.
在马匹出现虚弱、麻痹或运动不耐受的情况下，应考虑肉毒中毒。吞咽困难也可能存在，尽管并非始终会出现。潜在来源包括干草中的腐肉、发霉或其他腐烂的植被或草料、从动物埋葬地或其他类似地点携带物质的鸟类，以及现场受污染的尸体。马匹，尤其是幼驹，也可能患上中毒性感染性肉毒中毒，即肉毒杆菌可能在胃肠道内定殖并产生毒素的一种病症。伤口也可能藏有该病菌并引发肉毒中毒。肉毒中毒的诊断通常是临床诊断，通过排除马匹虚弱的其他可能的感染性、损伤性或中毒性原因来支持。在实验室进行确诊和类型鉴定很困难，通常需要合适的源材料样本。除非早期发现病例并能及时获得合适的抗毒素，否则治疗往往效果不佳。预防措施包括对马匹进行合理的饲养和护理，并在可能的情况下，在流行地区明智地使用疫苗。
