This is an excerpt from Equine Disease Quarterly, funded by underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, brokers, and their Kentucky agents.

The International Collating Center, Newmarket, England and other sources reported the following disease outbreaks:

African Horse Sickness affecting Thoroughbreds and non-Thoroughbreds was reported in several locations in South Africa. Identification of Taylorella equigenitalis, the bacteria causing Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), was reported by four countries. In Ireland semen from a Dutch Warmblood stallion imported in June 2005 was found to be positive based on PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing. The stallion was only used for artificial insemination, and no natural matings have taken place. Mares inseminated with semen from the horse were negative for CEM. In Switzerland, six stallions–two Warmblood and four Franches-Montagnes–involved in a research project at the Swiss National Stud were identified positive for the streptomycin sensitive strain of T. equigenitalis during a routine pre-season health screening in February 2006. Three Standardbred stallions imported to Sweden from Italy earlier in 2006 were positive for CEM when routinely tested prior to collection of semen for artificial insemination. A Warmblood mare in the United Kingdom imported from Germany was identified as CEM-positive following routine screening.

Equine influenza was widely reported in France, on a single premise in Ireland, three premises in Sweden, and a single premise in the United Kingdom. The respiratory form of equine herpes virus (EHV) was reported among Thoroughbred weanlings on two premises in Argentina, on numerous premises involving different breeds of horses in France and among yearlings in Ireland