Help Finally Arrives for Ethiopian Horses With a Devastating Disease

(January 19, 2011, Addis Ababa)--The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad takes on the deadly Epizootic Lymphangitis, or EZL. When it comes to horses in Ethiopia, there's bad news and there's good news.

First, the bad. A fungal disease called Epizootic Lymphangitis, or EZL, continues to affect thousands of horses there each year. 

Spread by bacteria, and characterized by painful nodules on the skin, it will cause death if not treated early enough. 

Many poor families see their livelihoods disappear when they're forced to abandon their sick horses.

Now the good news. SPANA, the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, is beginning a full-scale attack on EZL. It is the only animal charity currently working on the cause in Ethiopia.

The UK-based nonprofit's strategy starts with treating horses. If the disease is progressed, horses will be sedated and their wounds treated before they are prescribed an oral medication. If it is caught early enough, horses can be treated as outpatients. (Some cannot be saved, so they will be humanely euthanized.)

But SPANA says the best method of combating EZL is to educate Ethiopian families and prevent horses from contracting it in the first place. It has produced thousands of leaflets in the predominant language of Amharic to hand out to local families. 

The leaflet explains the common symptoms of EZL and tells horse-owners to seek help before their horses die or spread the contagious disease to other animals. Each horse saved, after all, will save many others.

Source: Tonic

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