Glanders disease: 7 horses culled & buried

Six days after the confirmation of Glanders disease in seven equines in west Delhi, all infected animals were culled by giving injections and then buried at an open ground near the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Hospital on Wednesday.

The horses had been in confinement since the confirmation of the disease and the entire west district was declared a 'controlled' area for the next three months, i.e. all animal movement to and from the district has been banned.

"We gave high doses of anesthesia to the animals to put them to sleep. They were brought down peacefully and buried, following all necessary procedure. The affected animals in this case act as carriers and need to be culled," said Dr Jitender Kumar Gaur, Director, Animal Husbandry, Delhi government.

"The glanders bacteria, Burkholderia mallei, is a non-spore forming bacteria. So, burying the animals will not affect the soil or the people later on," he added.

With only a month to Republic Day, all horses in the city, including those belonging to the military, President's guard, and police, are being tested for Glanders. Till Wednesday, samples from over 800 horses had been collected. There are nearly 3,000 horses in the city and all will be surveyed in the next nine days. All samples are being sent to the National Research Centre on Equines in Hisar, the only certified Government Laboratory for Glanders testing in the country.

Glanders is a life-threatening equine disease that affects both the animal and its owner. Till date, it is known to have taken over 200 lives.