Joyride horse dies of glanders in Chennai; Tamil Nadu alerts and orders testing of all joyride horses

Rapid response teams would be formed and movement of horses across border areas strictly regulated.

S.P. Amrith, Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, stated standard containment protocols are being followed since glanders is zoonotic and has been notified by ICAR; the Animal Disease Intelligence Unit and the Veterinary Epidemiology Centre are involved on the ground.

P. Chockalingam, Chief Executive Officer of the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board, said there were around 140 horses used for joyrides in Chennai and that samples from all of them must be collected and tested; the Board had written to the Animal Husbandry Department in this regard.

NRCE wrote to the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry Department urging authorities to place the area under strict regulation and implement measures to prevent the disease from spreading to other horses; recommended regular surveillance and testing under the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Diseases in Animals Act, 2009.

NRCE confirmed glanders after testing the sample using ELISA, CFT, and qPCR tests.

Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD) sent samples of the affected horse to the ICAR–National Research Centre on Equines (NRCE) for testing.

A horse used for joyrides in Chennai died. The owner made a distress call after noticing the horse weakened, and veterinary examination found ulcerated lesions, enlarged lymph nodes, and severe emaciation.

A similar glanders case was detected in Coimbatore about a month before the Chennai incident; the infected horse was culled under the standard response protocol.