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Glanders in horses: assessment of threats and spread (review)
https://doi.org/10.26898/0370-8799-2025-8-7
Abstract
Glanders, a contagious zoonotic and potentially fatal disease, is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia (B.) mallei. Horses, donkeys, mules and humans are susceptible to the pathogen. In the early to mid-20th century, glanders was eradicated in Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, and the USSR. In the countries of the Middle East, Asia, and South America, the disease became endemic. The development of international trade in horses contributed to the introduction of the pathogen with latent carrier equids to free regions, and in recent decades, outbreaks of glanders have been registered in disease-free countries, including Russia, as a result of which it began to be classified as a re-emerged disease. The ability of the pathogen to infect at low doses in aerosol form makes it a potential bioterrorism agent. This review shows the current distribution of glanders with regard to the increasing number of horses in countries with developed horse breeding and the risks of infection in Russia in order to increase the awareness of veterinary services and enhanced countermeasures against this disease.
Supporting agencies: The research was carried out under the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation within the state assignment of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology (theme No. FGNM-2022-0007).
About the Authors
T. Yu. Bespalova
Samara Research Veterinary Institute – Branch of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatiana Yu. Bespalova, Deputy Head of the Group
8, Magnitogorskaya St., Samara, 443013
T. V. Mikhaleva
Samara Research Veterinary Institute – Branch of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Tatiana V. Mikhaleva, Academic Secretary, Candidate of Science in Veterinary Medicine
Samara
A. A. Blokhin
Nizhny Novgorod Research Veterinary Institute – Branch of the Federal Research Center for Virology and Microbiology
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Andrey A. Blokhin, Lead Researcher, Candidate of Science in Veterinary Medicine
Nizhny Novgorod
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For citations:
Bespalova T.Yu., Mikhaleva T.V., Blokhin A.A. Glanders in horses: assessment of threats and spread (review). Siberian Herald of Agricultural Science. 2025;55(8):67-77. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26898/0370-8799-2025-8-7
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