Clinical signs normally include skin nodules and abscesses along the neck and limbs that can erupt and discharge a thick yellow pus. | Photo: Stephanie L. Church/The Horse

Researchers from around the world will study new ways to tackle the widespread and debilitating disease epizootic lymphangitis (EZL), which significantly impacts horses, donkeys, and mules, as well as human livelihoods.

The project—being conducted by researchers from Brooke, the University of Liverpool, SPANA (the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad), and the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust—will involve large-scale field research in Ethiopia, The Gambia, and Senegal.

A highly contagious fungal infection, EZL primarily affects horses but also can impact donkeys and mules. Clinical signs normally include skin nodules and abscesses along the neck and limbs that can erupt and discharge a thick yellow pus. This causes swelling and lameness, swollen glands, and, in some cases, eye and respiratory disease