5 min.
Leptospirosis Vaccine
A new vaccine can protect horses from leptospirosis, an infectious bacterial disease that has been linked to equine recurrent uveitis (ERU, or moon blindness), late-term abortion in pregnant mares and other serious effects. It’s the first vaccine against this disease licensed specifically for horses.
Bacteria that cause leptospirosis (called leptospires) can infect many animals, including rats, skunks, opossums, raccoons, deer, dogs and cattle, and even humans. Different strains (servovars) of the bacteria seem to affect various animals in different ways. Many healthy horses have been exposed to one or more strains without harm, research suggests. The new vaccine, Lepto EQ Innovator ® (Zoetis), targets the servovar L. Pomona, the one most often responsible for serious disease in horses.
Leptospires are shed in the urine of infected animals, and horses can pick them…
