Symptoms and Prevention and Treatment Methods of Strangles in Meat Donkeys

The meat donkey has a tall and large build, a well-proportioned structure, a beautiful appearance, a square body shape, and good integration of the head, neck, and torso. The coat color of meat donkeys is divided into two types: Sanfen (pinkish white around the nose, pinkish white around the eyes, pinkish white under the belly, and the rest of the hair is black) and Wutou (the whole body hair is black).

I. Symptoms:

The nasal and pharyngeal mucosa of the sick donkey shows mild inflammation, and the submandibular lymph nodes are slightly swollen; at the beginning of the disease, the body temperature rises to 40-41 degrees C, with listlessness or refusal to eat, and the head and neck are often extended straight, with difficulty swallowing and turning the head. After a few days, the lymph nodes become soft and rupture, discharging yellow-white viscous pus; when there is systemic purulent inflammation, it is called malignant strangles. It often affects the lymph nodes of the pharynx, front of the neck, front of the shoulder, hilum of the lung, and mesentery. If pus is inhaled into the lungs through the trachea, it causes lung rot; if the thick pus flows into the thoracic cavity and into the lungs, it causes the sick donkey to suffocate and die.

II. Prevention and Treatment:

1. Local treatment: Apply 10% iodine tincture to the swollen area to promote rapid suppuration and rupture of the swelling. If the swollen area has already become soft, it should be incised immediately to drain the pus, and thoroughly flushed with 1% benzalkonium bromide solution or 1% potassium permanganate water.

2. Systemic treatment: When symptoms of elevated body temperature appear after illness, penicillin 1.2-2.4 million units should be injected intramuscularly, 2-3 times daily. In severe cases, it can be injected intravenously with 20 ml of vitamin C added, which has a good effect.