Smuggled Horses Found in West Texas Infected with EP

All 10 of the seized adult horses tested positive for equine piroplasmosis (EP).
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U.S. Border Patrol agents recently seized 10 adult horses and four yearlings as smugglers attempted to enter Texas illegally with the horses by walking across the Rio Grande River near Indian Hot Springs with them, in southern Hudspeth county, located south of El Paso. The animals were turned over to the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Service (USDA/APHIS/VS) officials, who tested the horses in Presidio, Texas, for a number of disease conditions considered foreign to the United States.

All 10 of the adult animals tested positive for equine piroplasmosis (EP), which is routinely found in Mexico and numerous other countries around the world, but is not considered to be endemic to the United States. The blood-borne protozoal disease can be fatal to horses and could create major constraints to interstate and international movements if left undetected. Equine piroplasmosis does not affect humans.

According to Grant Wease, DVM, field veterinarian for USDA/APHIS/VS in El Paso, the illegal movement of animals is an ongoing concern in the vast open spaces of West Texas. "In some places the Rio Grande poses no barrier at all to foot traffic for man or animal," he said.

According to the latest USDA information, Wease indicated that "In 2011, approximately 280 head of cattle and 160 head of equids (primarily horses) were intercepted by USDA officials along the Rio Grande." To further complicate the situation, many of the normal import process for livestock entering Texas have been impacted by border violence, making the attempt to smuggle animals into the state even more tempting

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