With water pooling in places that it normally doesn’t and sharp debris all around, horse owners can’t help but wonder if conditions left by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will cause an increase in the reports of illnesses such as tetanus, encephalitis, botulism, and Potomac horse fever. Area veterinarians say they haven’t seen an increase of horses exhibiting these diseases, but they’re remaining on guard should any hurricane-related cases flare.

Shannon Gonsoulin, DVM, owner of All Creatures Animal Hospital in New Iberia, La., helped rescue and treat horses after both hurricanes. “The biggest threats are, in the immediate term, tetanus, and in the long-term, mosquito-borne viruses,” he says.

Tetanus–By far the most equine cases Gonsoulin has seen directly related to the hurricane have been lacerations from debris. “Fortunately, we recommend the tetanus vaccine quite frequently down here,” he said. “We haven’t had any tetanus cases at this point that have developed in association with either hurricane. I’m sure there’s one or two that we might not have noticed, but tetanus seems to be under control.”

Becky McConnico, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of Veterinary Medicine in Louisiana State University’s Equine Health Studies Program, has seen one case of tetanus that she believes is attributable to a Katrina-related injury. The horse was not vaccinated against tetanus