GLANDERS: THE RETEST

THE war against the bacterial equine disease glanders in Bahrain - which is believed to have claimed 126 victims - is almost won, according to ministry officials, writes Stan Szecowka and Shilpa Chandran.

But international expert Dr Ulrich Wernery - who predicted it would take a year to rid the island of the scourge - is urging caution and believes there is a discrepancy over the number of destroyed animals.

The Ministry of Municipalities Affairs & Agriculture claims that every horse that has tested positive has been destroyed and currently all horses and ponies on the island are being retested to ensure Bahrain is completely free of the disease.

Since May all equine shows have been cancelled, movement between stables suspended and horse trading banned to prevent the spread of the highly-contagious condition which is incurable and can lead to its victims suffering an agonising illness and eventual death. Some animals, however, can carry glanders and show no symptoms for several months.

Dr Salman Abdul Nabi Alkuzaei, Assistant Under-Secretary for Agriculture Affairs, said: "We have now begun re-testing the 'negative' horses. We sent a completed report to the international authority, Office International des Epizooties - World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris, France, and have received a reply allowing us to lift the ban of horse trade in Bahrain.

"By the end of October the ban will be lifted and things will become normal once again."

The authorities would welcome Bahrain being declared officially 'glanders free' before an international agriculture exhibition is staged here in November and the start of the regional racing season which would normally attract entries from the kingdom's leading stables.

Dr Wernery, scientific director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) based in Dubai, was called in by the government in mid-May to give his expert opinion about the spread of the disease which had already led to several horses and ponies being destroyed, stables installing special precautions and public demonstrations of anger.

He said: "There were a total of 4,050 horses in Bahrain and every single one of them was tested. Of this, 126 horses were positive with the disease, which equals to three per cent of the total horse population.

"From government veterinarians we have come to know that 53 of the affected horses have been killed. However, we are not quite sure about the remaining 73.

"We have heard that some owners have refused to hand over their horses because they are not receiving any form of compensation."

The two bodies are also in dispute over whether glanders has spread into the camel population in Bahrain. Dr Wernery claims three camels have tested positive which had been living in close proximity to horses carrying the disease.

He said: "This was a very interesting find for me as a scientist because it rarely happens. There are around 2,000 camels in Bahrain and we are not 100 per cent sure how many are affected. My personal view is that they should all be tested."

One sick camel was destroyed by a veterinarian in Bahrain, a post mortem was carried out and samples were sent to the CVRL in Dubai. Dr Wernery said: "We isolated the bacteria from the camel which had shown very typical clinical signs of the disease and confirmed the bacteria identification through an independent laboratory in Europe.

"We also tested around 60 donkeys from the same premises but they were all negative. There have been cases in the past where donkeys have been affected but it was camels in this instance."

The Bahrain authorities strongly dispute his conclusions. Dr Salman said: "It may have been some seasonal disease that people have got confused with glanders."

Many horse and stable owners on the island are furious that no compensation was offered to owners of animals which had tested positive to glanders and others have voiced concern that not all riders have kept horses in secure paddocks during the outbreak.

Horse-loving businesswoman Britta Tappendorf, 39, from Barbar, even created a page on social networking site Facebook entitled 'Stop Glanders in Bahrain'. She lost a horse to the disease from her collection of seven.

She said: "There are still instances of glanders and I know of someone who just recently lost a horse to the disease. The man from Tubli bought it thinking that the island was clear of the disease but it started showing odd symptoms and soon fell ill. The horse was bought from Salmabad and its owner had hidden the fact that it had glanders.

"It would appear some people are willing to sell off horses carrying the disease because they know they will receive no government compensation and cannot afford the losses."

Strict rules are still in place at the Dilmun Stables which has been glanders-free throughout the outbreak, thanks partly to its isolation. Visitors must soak their shoes in a disinfectant wash before entering the premises.

Manager Lisa Powick welcomes the news that all horses on the island will be undergoing a compulsory second test. "Nothing would make me happier than to see Bahrain rid of this disease."

She believes it would be helpful if the testing process could be speeded up because it can currently take three weeks to receive results.

According to Dr Wernery's team the disease entered Bahrain as a result of a 'known infected horse' being brought unwittingly into the kingdom from Kuwait. Dr Salman says the government is now enforcing 'stricter regulations' to ensure this incident can never be repeated.

Officials also say 'no promises' were made over the compensation issue and none was included in the BD150,000 set aside by the Cabinet to fight the disease.