EIA detected in Cornwall
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 and 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(s) are currently being tested for signs of disease.
Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) is a viral disease, also known as swamp fever, 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. It causes intermittent fever, anaemia, emaciation and death.
EIA does not spread quickly and it is unlikely to spread widely from infected horses as the flies that transmit the disease only travel short distances to feed. However, the disease can also be spread by procedures that might result in transmission of small amounts of blood from an infected horse to penetrate the skin of another horse.
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With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
