CEM Prompts Restrictions on Virgin Islands Horse Imports

Officials implemented equine import restrictions after CEM was confirmed in a horse in Puerto Rico.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Agriculture Commissioner of Agriculture Louis E. Petersen Jr., PhD, announced that import restrictions have been temporarily issued for horses coming into the territory in a May 24 press release.

“Due to a confirmed case of contagious equine metritis (CEM) diagnosed in a horse in Puerto Rico, horses from Puerto Rico or traveling through Puerto Rico will not be allowed entry into the U.S. Virgin Islands until further notice," Petersen said. "In addition, horses coming from Florida must now be tested for this disease. The USDA and Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture met with Dr. Bethany Bradford (DVM), director of veterinary services, (May 23) regarding this rare disease situation and we have jointly decided to make these necessary adjustments in the (Virgin Islands) in order to protect the horse population in the territory.”

CEM is a highly contagious venereal disease of horses caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis. The disease, which can cause infertility, can be passed through breeding or via contaminated equipment. The bacterium that causes CEM can also be transmitted indirectly via semen during artificial insemination. Stallions do not develop signs of infection, but CEM should be considered in mares that have an early return to estrus after breeding to a fertile stallion and/or the presence of vaginal discharge. After diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis for recovery is excellent.

In the press release Bradford reported that the USDA and Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture are currently investigating all the horses that might have come in contact with the infected horse in Puerto Rico and in Florida, the suspected origin of the infected horse. Bradford said preliminary reports indicate that USVI horses recently imported from Puerto Rico have not been exposed to the infected horse

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:

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?
308 votes · 308 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!