Equine Infectious Anemia Outbreak Hits Western Canada

More than 70 horses on 22 premises in Western Canada have tested positive for EIA thus far in 2012.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Saskatchewan and other regions of Western Canada are in the midst of the largest equine infectious anemia (EIA) outbreak the area has seen in years, involving more than 70 horses and 22 different properties thus far in 2012. In response, two veterinarians discussed the importance of disease surveillance in controlling–and possibly even eradicating–the deadly disease from North American horse populations.

EIA is an incurable infectious disease of horses that is spread by biting insects such as flies. Like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there is neither cure nor vaccine for EIA. All positive horses are either humanely euthanized or placed under lifelong quarantine.

First recognized in North America in Wisconsin in the late 1800s, EIA outbreaks were increasingly identified across the continent, causing alarm throughout the industry. The Coggins test, which reliably identifies affected horses, was introduced in the 1970s and plays a key role in stopping virus spread from infected horses, to the insect vectors, to more horses

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
289 votes · 289 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!