NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
July 8, 1999
Although equine infectious anemia (EIA) is considered a highly congatious disease of horses, a North Dakota State University veterinarian says official quarantine and control measures and some caution by horse owners will keep the outbreak an isolated incident.
"The four farms where the disease has been identified are all associated with transporting horses from one farm to another," says Charlie Stoltenow, with the NDSU Extension Service. "This is not a disease that is going to sweep across the state."
Stoltenow says transmission of the disease requires some way of transferring blood from one animal to another — a vector — such as a biting insect, syringe or other medical instrument. The disease is incurable and untreatable and there is no vaccine. Until the recent outbreak, North Dakota was considered to be free from equine infectious anemia, with only an isolated case occuring rarely. The source of the current outbreak was most likely a horse shipped into the state without the appropriate health papers or having met the state's testing requirements.
The facts that biting insects have a limited range and the farms with infected horses have been quarantined should keep the disease in check, Stoltenow says. The USDA estimates that only 1 horsefly in 6 million is likely to pickup and transmit the virus from an infected horse.
"We are entering a season for a large number of fairs and horse shows," he notes. "Bringing animals together, increases the risk of transmitting, not only this disease, but a number of others. The best prevention is good hygiene. Control insects. Use clean sterile disposable needles. Clean and sterilize other instruments."
Show and fair managers who are concerned about EIA, may consider implementing a requirement for all horses to have been tested for the disease since May 15. "That's the date when we see the emergence of insect vectors for this disease," Stoltenow says. "Fairs or shows that expect to draw horses from high-risk areas could always consider requirements that are more stringent." For example, the State Fair Board recently announced that all horses coming onto the State Fair grounds for exhibition must have a negative test for EIA within 30 days.
The test for EIA is called the "Coggins test," named for Leroy Coggins a researcher who studied the disease and helped develop the test. The Coggins test is required for horses crossing state lines. Your local veterinarian can draw a blood sample and send it to the NDSU Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory or a commercial laboratory for the test. Results are typically available within two to three days.
EIA has few specific symptoms. A horse with chronic EIA will lose condition, become lethargic, anorexic, anemic. Most infected horses show no clincial abnormalities and may not be detected until a Coggins test is administered. These cases may develop into acute cases if the horse is stressed, worked hard or contracts another disease.
###
Source: Charlie Stoltenow (701) 231-7522
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629