Carolina Belart Sainz defended this Degree Final Project

September 15^th, 2021

Glanders and dourine are infectious diseases that affect equines and are caused by Burkholderia mallei and Trypanosoma equiperdum, respectively. Transmission of B. mallei occurs mainly due to consumption of contaminated water or food, through skin and mucous membrane lesions, by inhalation, and by fomites, while transmission of T. equiperdum occurs by venereal route. Both agents produce asymptomatic carriers and, in the case of glanders, disease in human beings. There are different techniques available for the diagnosis of glanders and dourine, the main one being complement fixation test (CFT). Both diseases are included in the list of notifiable diseases of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), there are no vaccines for them, and their treatment is not recommended. Control is mainly based on the diagnosis of infected animals, application of quarantines, implementation of biosecurity measures and slaughter of affected animals. Spain has been free from both diseases since the 1950s, although they are still present in other countries, with cases occurring in Europe in the last decade. Given the relevance of these diseases for animal health (and public health in the case of glanders), and for the export of horses, the present study was carried out with the aim of setting up the CFT technique in the laboratory and determining the seroprevalence of glanders and dourine in horses resident in Spain prior to export. All the results of the CFT tests were negative for both diseases, estimating a maximum possible prevalence of 0.77%, which suggests Spain is free from infection for both diseases. Due to the absence of positive results, the existence of risk factors such as age, sex, breed or location of the animals could not be determined. Demonstration of total absence of infection would require a broader sampling of the studied population, but the absence of positive results in this study is very relevant for the equestrian sector and horse export, as well as for animal health and public health