Nine horses tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies in the Augsburg area of Bavaria, Germany, with one of the horses showing clinical signs of the disease, according to Dr. Hofherr of Germany’s Ministry of Health, Department of Animal Health. All nine horses were euthanized to prevent the spread of this disease, which has not been reported in Germany for many years.

The index horse, the horse showing clinical signs of EIA, is thought to have originated from Eastern Europe. All horses that came into contact with the index horse have been tested for EIA using the Coggins test, which is how the other eight EIA positive horses were identified.

Germany has placed some restrictions on horse auctions and other horse events such as horse shows as a result of detecting EIA in these nine horses. Now it is required that owners provide a negative Coggins test for any show or event in which the horse will be staying longer than one day. This precaution may be dropped if there are no further detections of EIA positive horses, according to Hofherr.

Depending on the country of origin, a Coggins test is not always necessary to bring a horse into Germany