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EIA Article #1
Is Your Horse in Danger? Sally Vivrette, DVM, PhD
College of Veterinary Medicine
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
As a horse enthusiast, there are probably many occasions when you
take your horse to a show, trail ride, or vacation retreat. You have taken care as a horse
owner to have your horse "Coggins tested", and keep him/her in the best possible
health. The danger comes from the horses that your horse will come into contact with
during these recreational events. If one of these horses has not been Coggins tested, and
is harboring the untreatable Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) virus, your horse may become
infected.
The disease is spread by biting flies, deerflies and horseflies,
that literally micro-lacerate the skin of the horse and feed on the pooled blood. If the
fly is interrupted during their meal, they will fly over to the closest horse, yours, to
complete their meal. During the laceration of your horse's skin, blood from the first
horse will be spread to the your horse. If the first horse was EIA positive, your horse
will now be exposed, and may become infected. The disease can also be spread by the
sharing of needles between horses. Always use a new needle for injections in horses.
You may think that no one would take a sick horse infected with EIA
to a show or trail ride. It is important to remember that the majority of horses that have
EIA look outwardly normal (inapparent carriers). But they are not normal. The virus lives
permanently in the blood, and the horse will have flare-ups periodically, and suffer from
fever, depression, anorexia and weight loss. Research by Dr. Debra Sellon at NCSU showed
that horses that were EIA positive but appeared outwardly normal had problems with their
blood and immune systems that could be detected in the laboratory.
I have heard people argue that the disease is not important,
and that there are actually very few horses in the state that test positive for EIA. In
fact, only a very small percentage of horses in the State of North Carolina are tested
each year, and that many of these horses are "repeats". The majority of horses
never get tested, and therefore, we do not have an exact determination of the prevalence
of the disease. Even with the low number of horses tested, North Carolina ranks sixth in
the United States in the prevalence of the disease. EIA does seem to occur more frequently
in the eastern part of the state.
So what can you do? There are two important parts of a program to
protect your horse from EIA. First, have all horses on your property tested and make sure
that a horse has a negative Coggins prior to purchase (private or public sale-buyer
beware!). Horses should be retested every 6-12 months. If a positive horse is found, the
state will quarantine the horses on your property and retest. If a horse still tests
positive, there are three options here in North Carolina like in most of the other states:
euthanasia, donation to a research facility, or permanent quarantine at a site overseen by
the NC Department of Agriculture. The neck of the horse will be branded for permanent
identification. This is obviously a difficult situation for any horse owner, but
identification and removal of an infected horse will stop spread of the disease to other
horses.
The second step in an EIA prevention program is to ensure that
organizers of events where horses will be brought together require a negative Coggins test
before a horse may compete or participate. You should be very careful about taking your
horse to an event that does not check the Coggins test on each horse. As a veterinarian
and horse owner/competitor myself, I would recommend that you do not attend events that do
not ask for a negative Coggins test. Your horse's life may depend on it.
There is no vaccine or medication that can be used to prevent or
treat EIA in horses. Therefore, the only way to protect your horse is to prevent exposure
to other horses that have not been Coggins tested. Talk to your neighbors and friends
about EIA testing of their horses!
EIA
Awareness Week
Sally Vivrette, DVM, PhD,
North Carolina State University
College of Veterinary Medicine
February
19-26, 2000 has been designated by the North Carolina Horse Council
as EIA Awareness Week. All horse owners who have not had their horses
tested for EIA (equine infectious anemia) are encouraged to call their
veterinarian and have their horse(s) tested. Many veterinarians across
the state have agreed to provide this service to horse owners during
this week at a reduced fee to promote the need for testing of equines in
our state.
We are asking that veterinarians in equine, large animal and
mixed animal practices conduct EIA testing clinics similar to the Rabies
vaccination clinics held by animal control officers and veterinarians.
The location of the EIA testing clinic will be chosen by each
practitioner, who may choose to test on a single day or may offer
low-cost Coggins testing throughout the week.
Equine infectious anemia is a serious disease that threatens the world's
horse population, and is of real concern in North Carolina. EIA is a
viral disease that affects the horse's immune system and causes
destruction of red blood cells causing anemia. EIA is transmitted by
blood. This transmission can occur via horse flies and deer flies that
feed on horses. It can also be spread by reusing hypodermic needles on
more than one horse.
EIA is difficult to diagnose on physical examination because the
symptoms vary from horse to horse and can mimic other diseases. EIA-infected
horses may actually appear outwardly normal.
The only way to accurately determine whether a horse is infected
with the EIA virus is by a blood test. The most commonly used method is
the Coggins test.
There is no cure for EIA. Although most infected horses show no
symptoms, they remain infectious for life, endangering the health of
other horses.
For this reason, the US Department of Agriculture and North
Carolina's Department of Agriculture require euthanasia or strict
lifelong quarantine for horses testing positive for EIA.
THE
ONLY PROTECTION IS PREVENTION! There is NO effective treatment for EIA.
New regulations adopted by the State of North Carolina, effective
October 1, 1999, required a negative Coggins test within the past 12
mo on all equines over 6 mo of age when being sold or ownership
transferred.
A negative Coggins test (within the past 12 mo) is also
required for all equines brought or kept at any public stable or other
public place for exhibition, recreation or assembly.
All horse owners should be aware of this regulation and be
prepared to show their Coggins test when asked.
What can you do to prevent EIA?
There is no vaccine to prevent EIA.
-Require
a negative EIA test as part of every prepurchase exam (see new
regulation).
-Require
all new horses on a farm to have recent negative EIA test (see new
regulation).
-Test
all horses on the farm at least yearly.
-Encourage
rigorous fly control, do not pile manure near areas where horses
gather.
-Thoroughly
disinfect any items contacting equine blood prior to use on another
horse.
-Never
use the same needle for multiple injections on different horses.
Promote
EIA Awareness Week … FEBRUARY 19-26, 2000. …. Have your horse
tested!!!
Encourage your neighbors to have their horses tested, too.
(Note:
New regulations for North Carolina:)
This past summer the NC Assembly included in its budget, money
for the NC Department of Agriculture to do a better job of monitoring
EIA in the state of NC. Effective as of October 1, 1999 and in effect
now:
1) an EIA test must be done at the time of sale of any horse.
2) a negative Coggins
test paper must accompany horse and rider during any public
co-mingling of horses (this means horse shows, trail rides,
demonstrations - anywhere horses group together and is not a private
family and friends gathering);
3)EIA-positive horses in quarantine will be checked every six months
(instead of every 12 months), and are required to be 880 yds. away
from any other horse (rather than 250 yards).
These new regulations relate to all horses six months of age or older.
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