Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) detected in a horse in Cornwall
3 October 2012 – Defra has confirmed that a case of Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) has been detected in a horse in Cornwall.
The affected horse will be humanely destroyed; all other precautions were promptly taken to prevent infection from spreading, including movement restrictions on the premises at which it was stabled.
Horses stabled alongside the infected animal are currently being tested for signs of disease.
EIA is a notifiable disease: anyone suspecting the disease must immediately notify the duty vet at their local AHVLA office.
About the disease
Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) is a viral disease that affects horses, mules and donkeys and is most commonly spread by biting insects such as horse flies. There is no treatment and horses do not recover from the disease, which can be fatal. If the affected animal recovers it remains a lifelong carrier of the disease and will thereby be infectious to other animals, therefore all infected animals must be humanely destroyed to control the spread of disease.
The disease does not spread quickly and is unlikely to spread widely from infected horses as the flies that transmit the disease only travel short distances to feed.
Horses are most likely to become infected when travelling abroad to areas or countries where the disease is endemic, or from the use of biological products infected with the EIA virus.
The Health Protection Agency has said EIA cannot be spread from animals to people and is not a risk to human health.
Further information is available at:
http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/managing-disease/notifiable-disease/equine-infectious-anaemia.html
AHVLA
3 October 2012 – Defra has confirmed that a case of Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) has been detected in a horse in Cornwall.
The affected horse will be humanely destroyed; all other precautions were promptly taken to prevent infection from spreading, including movement restrictions on the premises at which it was stabled.
Horses stabled alongside the infected animal are currently being tested for signs of disease.
EIA is a notifiable disease: anyone suspecting the disease must immediately notify the duty vet at their local AHVLA office.
About the disease
Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) is a viral disease that affects horses, mules and donkeys and is most commonly spread by biting insects such as horse flies. There is no treatment and horses do not recover from the disease, which can be fatal. If the affected animal recovers it remains a lifelong carrier of the disease and will thereby be infectious to other animals, therefore all infected animals must be humanely destroyed to control the spread of disease.
The disease does not spread quickly and is unlikely to spread widely from infected horses as the flies that transmit the disease only travel short distances to feed.
Horses are most likely to become infected when travelling abroad to areas or countries where the disease is endemic, or from the use of biological products infected with the EIA virus.
The Health Protection Agency has said EIA cannot be spread from animals to people and is not a risk to human health.
Further information is available at:
http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/managing-disease/notifiable-disease/equine-infectious-anaemia.html
AHVLA