Calling vet peeps

Weezy

Weezy

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OK so I just read the article on AHS in HORSE mag this month getting more and more peed off as I do not think it is a well written or presented article. Having been present throughout the last AHS outbreak in Spain (it started and ultimately ended out our large yard) I know rather a lot about HOW this virus works
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For example in the article it states that it was eradicated from Spain in the late 90s by slaughter and movement restrictions - well yes sure, but we also innoculated EVERY horse that was not dead and branded them to show they had been done.

However, I was interested to read that Dr James Wood from Cambridge Uni states that the vaccine is not approed for use in Europe. Well it darn well was in the late 80s! He states that no modern control is availble for this infection, which is one of the reasons we should be worried - STOP! There IS a modern control available - get it approved! It works, not 100% guarenteed, but it DOES work, my horses are living proof.

Anyway, getting to the point of this - I have had a look on the net and have found that the monovalent, serotype 4, inactivated vaccine, that was produced commercially is no longer available - BUT the Attenuated live vaccines (monovalent and polyvalent) for use in horses, mules and donkeys, IS currently available - however, I can find no title FOR this vaccine, and I would like to so that I can start contacting relevant people to find out why we are going to wait until an otubreak to have this approved for use.

Having had a hand in burning the carcasses of close on 100 horses, having to stand and watch them die because we were not permitted to put them down due to them being studied, I really am very aware of the devestating effects the UK would be under IF AHS hit our shores.

Any help MUCH appreciated!
 
African Horse Sickness we talking here I think it would be approved once it reaches our shores, but if it had been approved at some time did the EU have a part of having it deapproved......as they have with lots of things within the equine industry! I for one think that at some stage we could be hit and as always we are not prepared....as with anything from foot and mouth down to Bird flu.....guess it takes deaths to bring people to their feet...Sad!
 
Gosh, I did a pretty extensive assignment on it at uni. Unfortunately I don't have it on my PC
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If I recall, there are 9 different serotypes, so the horses can only be effectively vaccinated once the serotype of the outbreak has been identified - I believe the polyvalent ones are less effective (possibly due to antigenic competition). They would have to be vaccinated yearly with the polyvalent vaccine. The monovalent vaccine (usually for AHS4) should last the horse's entire lifetime. Even if they don't become ill, they can still become carriers. Usually not sufficient enough to transmit to other vectors, but that is a possibility. You would have to ensure that every single equine is vaccinated and any affected animal (and all animals within a 5 mile radius) is isolated, otherwise you'd continue to get outbreaks, and we all know that will never happen - Strangles! Another problem with live vaccines is the chance of mutation.
 
It might be worth you emailing Derek Knottenbelt at Liverpool, who seems to have his finger on the pulse when it comes to equine matters (if you google his name you will see he has fingers in many research fields)

knotty@ liv.ac.uk
 
Thanks - yep if it did come over here I would hazard a guess it would be stereotype 4, and that is what I am trying to research (should have said that shouldn't I!!!).

The ensuring that all horses are vaccinated is absolutely paramount, hence why we had to have all horses branded, with an X on their shoulder, to visualise the vaccination. I won't go into how traumatic that was, suffice to say me and YM wrestled the iron off the useless official guy and ended up doing it ourselves
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I can just see anothe F&M if this starts to migrate North (which is likely) and I cannot believe action is not being taken already
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Posts like this really scare me, especially with the large number of riders who now compete nationally and internationally. I agree that if the type is known then a vaccine should be administered without delay, but we have seen how slow this can be to be available through other infectious diseases.

I do not know much about African Horse Sickness... can it be treated, or is it like some other equine diseases in that once they have it they must be put down?
 
Horses die if they get it and it is not pretty at all. Southern European countries are VERY hot on AHS and are on constant alert, but with our climate now carrying mosquitos (never happened when I was a child) we HAVE to start being more alert too.
 
As you know, I'm from South Africa, so this is a topic that is very close to my heart.
I've been monitoring its progress on Defra's website over the past few years, and the outbreaks in spain and portugal have seemed to be increasing, as well as the occasional animal in other european countries.
I have little doubt that it will eventually enter the UK, and due to our density I imagine it would spread very quickly. Thankfully due to our climate it will not persist over the winter, so any subsequent outbreaks would have to have been from an animal coming into the country.
 
I just do not think anyone can appreciate what a hideous disease it is unless they have experienced it, anyone,like ourselves, who HAVE been involved are rightly worried, which can only be a good thing. It spread like wildfire around our yard (Sotogrande) because of a zebra carrying the virus in holding at Madrid infecting one of the polo ponies coming down for the summer and kabooom, we had a huge problem. I will never forget what we went through, you would walk down one row of stables, walk back, and another horse had died. I just cannot fathom why, if the statement IS true (and I am struggling to believe it), Europe no longer endorses the use of vaccine - and why the one type is no longer commercially available. I really want to find out what we used during the outbreak in the 80s but keep hitting brick walls.

Good point about the weather here, I had not thought about that
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They can survive, though in the interest of preventing the disease spreading it is best for the animal to be euthanised as soon as the diagnosis is made. The form of the virus is what affects the mortality rate.
The pulmonary form has pretty much >95% mortality rate, usually within 24 hrs.
The cardiac form has around 50-70% mortality rate; they usually only show symptoms up to 14 days post infection and tend to die within 7 days of showing symptoms.
The mixed form (pulmonary and cardiac) has around 80% mortality rate.
The last form is the mild or "horse sickness fever" with 100% survival rate; this form is often not noticed as it usually presents as mild fever; it often appears in partially vaccinated animals.
 
you can add Equine Infectious Anaemia to the list of future diseases. All you need is one infected mozzie blowing in with the wind or cargo plane and bobs your uncle! The outbreak in Ireland was exported from Italy and the authorities were quick to act but had it happened to someones pony in some field somewhere would it have been diagnosed and contained quickly? Sorry Weezy, Im hijacking your thread but think its important that people should know about these diseases and that the relevant authorities are ready to act when (and I pray it doesnt) it happen. Nothing like 'closing the stable door ' after youve burned your horse
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