AHT Seeking Horses for Grass Sickness Vaccine Trial
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The Animal Health Trust (AHT), in Newmarket, Suffolk, England, is launching a trial of a vaccine for the prevention of a frequently fatal disease affecting horses: equine grass sickness (EGS).
Following the successful completion of a small-scale pilot study in 2013, and with generous funding from a number of sources (including Neogen Corporation, Animal Welfare Foundation, Horserace Betting Levy Board, Racing Foundation, Moredun Foundation Equine Grass Sickness Fund, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Dodson and Horrell, South Essex Insurance Brokers, British Horse Society, and EB Moller Charitable Trust), AHT is recruiting horses in England to be enrolled in the trial. The trial will be conducted by the AHT in collaboration with the Universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool, and Surrey.
EGS is an often fatal neurologic disease affecting primarily young grazing horses. Since its first reported occurrence in Scotland, grass sickness has occurred in most northern European countries and in South America. Almost all cases of EGS occur in horses with access to grazing and it is thought they are exposed to some form of noxious agent in the soil ingested as a contaminant of grass. Horses with more severe forms of the disease experience colic, difficulty swallowing, reflux of stomach contents, excessive salivation, high heart rate, impacted intestines, muscle tremors, and patchy sweating. Horses with the less severe form experience sudden and extreme weight loss, drying of the nasal membranes, and difficulty in swallowing. Only mild cases that receive intensive care survive.
There is growing scientific evidence to suggest that EGS could be caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum type C, which is found commonly within soil and is capable of producing a range of toxins, including neurotoxins (toxins that damage the nervous system), to which horses are particularly sensitive
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