TALLAHASSEE -- Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced that a Manatee County horse has been diagnosed with Equine Piroplasmosis (EP), an animal disease that the United States has been considered free of since 1988. Blood and tissue testing of a 7-year-old gelding that had been euthanized after a three-week illness confirmed the presence of the disease in the animal.
State officials immediately quarantined the premises in which the horse resided, as well as two adjacent properties containing horses pending a determination of their status. An ongoing investigation is being conducted by the State Veterinarian's Office to determine the source of the disease and whether it has spread beyond the immediate area where the infected animal was housed.
EQUINE PIROPLASMOSIS (EP)
Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a blood-borne parasitic disease primarily transmitted to horses by ticks or contaminated needles. The disease was eradicated from Florida in the 1980s, and the tick species believed to transmit EP in other countries have not been identified in Florida in many years. This disease is not directly contagious from one horse to another but requires direct blood transfer. Human infection with equine piroplasmosis is extremely rare.
Acutely affected horses can have depression, fever, anemia (decreased red blood cells) jaundiced (yellow) mucous membranes and low platelet counts. EP can also cause horses to have roughened hair coats, constipation, and colic. In its milder form, the disease causes horses to appear weak and show lack of appetite. Some horses become chronic carriers of the disease.
ADVICE TO VETS AND HORSE OWNERS
Veterinarians, horse owners, and others in the equine industry in Florida are asked to monitor their horses carefully and contact their veterinarian if they suspect this disease. Because it is a disease that the United States has been free of for two decades, suspected cases must be reported to the Office of the State Veterinarian by law.
With the exception of the quarantined premises, there are no EP movement restrictions on horses within Florida or between Florida and other states. Horses entering Florida from other countries with Equine Piroplasmosis will continue to be tested prior to and following entry according to the current rule.
WHAT HORSE OWNERS SHOULD DO
-- Monitor your horse for the presence of ticks. Use commercially available topical products labeled for ticks if your horse is in an area where tick infestation is a problem. Most of these products are synthetic pyrethrins. Include an avermectin product in your deworming program to provide systemic treatment for ticks. Ask your veterinarian if you are unsure.
-- If you find large numbers of ticks or suspect piroplasmosis, please contact your veterinarian.
-- Do not share needles between animals during the administration of any medication or vaccinations. EP and other diseases can be spread by the introduction of blood cells from an infected animal into an uninfected animal during routine administration of injectable medications.
-- Continue your normal equine activities.
Additional updates and information will be posted to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry, web site at http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/ai.
USA needs to stay piroplasmosis free. The native equine population hasn't had centuries of exposure like Colombia and Puerto Rico to develop some immunity. Although the vector for the disease is a tick not found in the USA, the USA does have the environment where the tick could potentially survive and produce.
_________________ Be the change you want to see in the world. Gandhi
Can the disease live in other hosts? Like a different type of tick?
_________________ They are not here for us...we are here for them.
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:29 am
BigJ
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 1047
That's not the entire picture Felix. We had positive horses too. It's the risk that when the inspection is done to make sure the VECTOR, the carrier of the disease is not present too. A horse can't infect another horse without the tick. The tick bites the infected horse, drops off and then bites another.
We went through very strict inspections in our day in PR. The quarantine was for two purposes: to test for piro and then to have X days of tick free horses. If ONE tick was found on ANY horse we had to stay in quarantine a minimum number of days. It happened more than once that the horses flunked out because a tick was found. We were not allowed to feed hay from native grasses either. The quarantine had to be free of all vegetation too.
Let me tell you we worked hard to keep every freakin' weed from popping up within X feet of the quarantine area. My mare was particularly prone to attract ticks and we would almost daily inspect every horse for a tick.
The panic is about the tick being carried into the USA, surviving to become the host for the disease and then spreading. Florida among other southern climes has the right environment for the tick to survive. Right now the USA does not have the right species of tick to host the parasite, but that is not to say it couldn't cross species if enough of the host ticks are present. We've seen enough diseases jump species already to know it can happen. This isn't from sheep to cows to people but from tick to tick.
Just like EEE, WEE, and WNV the bird not the horse is the natural host. A horse with the disease cannot pass it onto another horse, but the mosquito that bites the bird then bites the horse and if it bites another horse, the disease spreads.
As far as I'm concerned USDA is on the money. With technology the way it is, it's time to ramp up semen shipment. That's safer for everyone. Besides, honestly with the way everyone is so enamored with the idea of a dick never touching a twat, what is the big deal? Showing? Is everyone freaked because the piggy bank isn't within reach?
The reason everyone is resenting the ELISA test is because it provides a more definitive endpoint where the other didn't. A horse could be treated for piro lowering the titer response temporarily for the test, pass, and then be exported. We did this with several mares that were positive. If a horse flunked, it had another chance and we treated a couple of others to get a false negative that should have never left the island. That was the game, USDA knew it and developed another test to prevent false negatives. It may still give a false positive, but it's conservative and protective. With the current procedure I agree. A false negative the horse is free to go, but with a false positive, the horse is retested for confirmation. What is so bad about that?
_________________ Be the change you want to see in the world. Gandhi
Equine Piroplasmosis Case in Florida
by: Edited Press Release
August 18 2008, Article # 12533
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced Aug. 15 that a horse in Manatee County, Fla., has been diagnosed with equine piroplasmosis, an animal disease that the U.S. has been considered free of since 1988.
Blood and tissue testing of a 7-year-old gelding that had been euthanized after a three-week illness confirmed the presence of the disease in the animal. State officials immediately quarantined the premises on which the horse resided, as well as two adjacent properties containing horses until a determination of their status could be made. An ongoing investigation is being conducted by the state veterinarian's office to determine the source of the disease and whether it has spread beyond the immediate area where the infected animal was housed.
About Equine Piroplasmosis
Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a blood-borne parasitic disease primarily transmitted to horses by ticks or contaminated needles. The disease was eradicated from Florida in the 1980's, and the tick species believed to transmit EP in other countries have not been identified in Florida in many years.
This disease is not directly contagious from one horse to another but requires direct blood transfer. Human infection with equine piroplasmosis is extremely rare.
Piroplasmosis can be difficult to diagnose, since the parasites cause a wide variety of clinical signs, including acute fever, lack of appetite, anemia, jaundice, chronic weight loss, poor exercise tolerance, and sudden death. The disease can be fatal in up to 20% of previously unexposed animals.
Recovered horses can become chronic carriers without clinical signs.
Current Advice to Equine Industry
Veterinarians, horse owners, and others in the equine industry in Florida are asked to monitor their horses carefully and contact their veterinarian if they suspect this disease. Because it is a disease that the U.S. has been free of for two decades, suspected cases must be reported to the office of the state veterinarian by law.
With the exception of the quarantined premises, there are no EP movement restrictions on horses within Florida or between Florida and other states. Horses entering Florida from other countries with equine piroplasmosis will continue to be tested prior to and following entry according to the current rule.
Horse owners are asked to monitor their animals for the presence of ticks, and to use commercially available topical products labeled for ticks if your horse is in an area where tick infestation is a problem. Most of these products are synthetic pyrethrins. Include an avermectin product in your deworming program to provide systemic treatment for ticks.
Horse owners are also reminded not to share needles between animals during the administration of any medication or vaccinations.
Four More Florida Horses Positive for Piroplasmosis
by: Edited Press Release
August 19 2008, Article # 12540
From a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Animal Industry release:
Testing performed on samples from horses on the index premises in Manatee County, Fla., have indicated that four additional horses on the premises are infected with the organism that causes equine piroplasmosis (EP).
Read more about piroplasmosis and the initial clinical case.
The four positive horses were stabled in a barn with the initial clinical horse. All other horses on the premises, which are managed separately from the horses in the barn, were negative on testing. In addition, 20 ticks found at the premises were identified as the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum), which has not been shown to transmit the disease between horses.
The preliminary investigation indicates that the transmission on the index premises might have been caused by use of common needles between horses and not spread naturally by a tick vector. The department is continuing its investigation including additional horse and tick surveillance of the area. As a precaution, three adjacent premises and one contact premises have been placed under quarantine pending further sample collection and testing.
tool goes here Canada has banned the entry of horses from Manatee County after a 7-year-old gelding came down with a rare tick-borne disease not seen in the United States since at least 1988, state officials acknowledged Friday.
The quarter horse, which had to be euthanized several weeks ago, resided on a farm in the Duette area of northeastern Manatee County near the Hillsborough line, said Terence McElroy, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
McElroy said he could not release the name of the quarantined stable while the investigation continues. But a worldwide alert sent out by the World Organization for Animal Health gives more details. The notification report says the small mixed animal farm houses 28 horses, along with six swine, 12 sheep, four emus, three llamas and about 50 poultry.
gjefferies@bradenton.com - Kelly Eldridge, with Real Horse Ranch in Parrish, leads a horse to a stall on Friday. A resurgence of a rare horse disease in Manatee County is having a huge impact on the horse business. GRANT JEFFERIES/gjefferies@bradenton.com
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Canada bans entry of Manatee horses
Diseased quarter horse report
Eight of the horses were kept in stables and the others in a common pasture.
The euthanized animal was a quarter horse purchased 18 months ago, the report states. In late July the horse fell sick with a fever. He was not drinking or urinating normally and was sweating. The owner, whose name has not been disclosed, said the horse had had similar symptoms for six months. The owner did not use a regular veterinarian, but treated his own animals, the report said. On Aug. 13, the horse was diagnosed with suspected equine piroplasmosis, a blood-borne disease widespread in Central and South America and other parts of the world, but eradicated from the United States and Canada decades ago. The farm was quarantined.
The ongoing investigation has found that four other quarter horses - stable mates of the sick horse - also tested positive for the disease but remain healthy, according to Florida Department of Agriculture.
State officials are interpreting the Canadian ban to mean that if a horse resided in Manatee at the time the quarantine began Aug. 14, it would not be allowed into Canada.
No U.S. state has restricted entry of Florida horses, McElroy said.
"We have had conversations with our counterparts in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and other states," McElroy said. "They have been understanding, and we don't expect them to initiate similar bans."
But the Canadian ban has some local stable owners worried, while others say the sick horse was an isolated case that will have little impact on their businesses.
Aaron Eldridge, owner of Real Horse Ranch in Parrish, fears that if Georgia follows the Canadian ban, it would make it difficult to transport Manatee horses out of Florida.
Since the resurgence of the tick disease was announced Aug. 15, Eldridge has had his 200-acre ranch in lockdown. Besides breeding, selling and showing horses, Eldridge trains and boards horses that are brought on the ranch for short periods.
"Until we know where this horse came from, we won't let any horses leave or come on the ranch," Eldridge said. "I am losing thousands of dollars."
Eldridge has also put his breeding schedule on hold until he knows more. He has six mares from other stables on hold. Each breeding session brings $1,500.
"I just sold two horses to a Canadian buyer in the past six weeks," Eldridge said. "If the ban had been in place then, those sales would have fallen through."
The Canadian ban also shocked Anne Prince, co-owner of Prince Farms in Palmetto, who like many breeders is making plans to take her horses in October to the Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, the biggest sale event of the year.
"This is going to hurt us directly because many of our buyers are Canadians," Prince said. "As slow as the government works, I can't see the ban being lifted in time."
The Florida Quarter Horse Association has scheduled two back-to-back shows in Florida in early September.
So far, no cancellations have been received for the Labor Day Weekend Show in Tampa, according to Melissa Bausman, the association's secretary.
Linda Lynch, owner of Triple L. Equine Services LLC in Palmetto, has five horses and also offers boarding and training for other horses. She has a small horse show for Sunday, but the quarantine and Canadian ban have her considering cancellation.
"I wouldn't want a sick horse coming onto my property," said Lynch, who believes the state officials owe it to horse owners to release the name of the stable or farm where the sick horse resided.
"If we knew what farm it was, we wouldn't need to cancel any of our events," Lynch said.
The State Veterinarian's Office has theorized that the four stable mates of the sick horse were possibly infected through the use of a common needle. The ongoing investigation is trying to determine if the sick horse was imported from another country.
So far, none of the ticks known to carry the disease has been found in Manatee County, which lends credence to the imported horse/common needle theory, said McElroy.
"There's no excuse using the same needle on more than one horse," said Gail Clifton of the Sarasota Manatee Association of Riding Therapy. "It's so easy to transmit diseases that way."
Clifton said her organization will not be affected because their stables are self-contained.
Likewise, Sarasota Polo Club does not anticipate any problems, said Maggie Mitchell, manager.
"For 98 percent of the horses that play here, Manatee County is not their home base," said Mitchell. "There is one local player who is in Canada now, but he left in May and the ban will not affect him."
Timing works to the polo club's advantage, said Mitchell.
"Our season is the winter circuit. We are on the back side of the problem," Mitchell said. "Nobody is going to Canada now."
Carroll Barnhill, a longtime Bradenton thoroughbred owner who is taking a 3-year-old colt named Two Times Good to Calder Race Course in Miami, said he has encountered no problems.
"To me, this is an isolated case," Barnhill said. "Apparently it's hard to spread and that makes it not that much of a concern."
Herald Staff Writer Mike Henry contributed to this report.
Horse on Contact Premises Positive for Piroplasmosis
by: Erin Ryder, TheHorse.com News Editor
August 25 2008, Article # 12575
According to an Aug. 25 statement from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DOACS), a horse on a second property has tested positive for equine piroplasmosis.
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced Aug. 15 that a horse in Manatee County, Fla., had been diagnosed with equine piroplasmosis, an animal disease that the U.S. has been considered free of since 1988.
The affected horse was euthanized, but since that time, four other horses on the original property tested positive for the disease.
Several adjacent and contact premises linked to the original positive property have also been investigated. Of the 30 additional horses tested late last week, one horse from a contact premises tested positive, the DOACS said in an official statement.
State officials are working with the USDA to continue the investigation. This work includes identifying additional horses or premises that might have been in contact with or associated with a positive horse or premises.
Representatives of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Diseases Study are assisting with tick surveillance on affected premises.
Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by two parasites, Babesia caballi and B. equi. The parasites are able to hitch a ride on certain ticks, in which they can amplify, thus, creating the potential for spread to horses. The parasites can also be spread via shared needles.
According to Mike Short, DVM, equine programs manager for the DOACS, it seems most likely that the disease was passed on the original property via shared needles and other management practices used there.
Piroplasmosis occurs through much of the world. Areas not considered endemic include the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, England, Iceland, and Ireland. Horses that get EP might have a fever, anemia, jaundice, hemoglobinuria (the presence in urine of a protein normally found in red blood cells), central nervous system disturbances, and they sometimes die. But some infected horses are less severely affected and might show few or no clinical signs. These horses have the potential to carry the parasites for prolonged periods, during which they are potential sources of infection.
To prevent EP from entering the country, the USDA currently tests all imported horses for antibodies during quarantine. Horses with antibodies to B. caballi and/or B. equi are not allowed entry into the United States.
The only current treatment is a potent type of chemotherapy that should eliminate clinical signs of disease; however, it won't necessarily eliminate the parasites from infected horses.
With the exception of the quarantined premises, there are no equine movement restrictions in Florida or between Florida and other states. As of Aug. 21, Canada has advised the United States Department of Agriculture they will not accept horses originating from Manatee County, effective immediately. Horses entering Florida from countries with equine piroplasmosis will continue to be tested prior to and following entry, in accordance with the current rule.
Horse owners are asked to report any unusual clinical signs to their veterinarians, and to use commercially available topical tick repellent products if your horse is in an area where ticks are a problem. Include an avermectin product in your deworming program to provide systemic treatment for ticks.
Horse owners are also reminded not to reuse needles among different animals while administering any medications or vaccinations.
Two More Florida Horses Positive for Piroplasmosis
by: Erin Ryder, TheHorse.com News Editor
September 01 2008, Article # 12610
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' investigation into equine piroplamosis has uncovered two additional positive animals in Polk County. These two cases bring the number of positive horses to eight. These cases include animals on three properties.
According to an official statement released by the Department, all of the positive horses are closely linked to the first premises in Manatee County, where the horse that showed clinical signs of the disease had lived.
The Department said in its statement that there is still no evidence that the causative organism is being spread via ticks, however, tick surveillance is continuing in an effort to ensure that there are no infected ticks and no tick species likely to transmit the disease in Florida.
More than 100 horses have now been tested for piroplasmosis, and 12 premises are quarantined.
Equine piroplasmosis was eradicated officially from Florida (and, thereby, the United States) in 1988. Animal health officials are working to trace the source of this disease flare-up and contain it.
The disease is spread by ticks, the use of contaminated needles, and possibly through blood-contaminated semen of infected stallions. It can also be spread by some tick species in the United States, and a few species can pass the parasite transovarially (from mother to offspring).
No states have restricted movement of Florida horses, but Canada has said it will not accept horses originating from Manatee County.
20 Horses Positive for Piroplasmosis, Investigation Ongoing
by: Erin Ryder, TheHorse.com News Editor
September 09 2008, Article # 12660
Two additional premises exposed to equine piroplasmosis came to light last weekend, according to a statement released by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs (DOACS). Each property has one horse that tests positive for the disease.
This brings the total number of horses positive for the disease in the state to 20 animals on six quarantined premises. An additional 13 premises are also quarantined due to exposure to positive horses. The DOACS noted that all of the positive horses are closely linked to one another. Because of this close association, the disease is believed to have spread via management practices that resulted in the transfer of whole blood between horses.
Equine piroplasmosis is caused by two parasites, Babesia caballi and B. equi. The parasites are able to hitch a ride on certain ticks, in which they can amplify, thus, creating the potential for spread to horses. The parasites can also be spread via shared needles.
The DOACS said tick trapping and surveillance efforts are ongoing. No foreign ticks have been found, and none of the domestic ticks they've captured have tested positive for the organism that causes equine piroplasmosis.
Seven Premises Released from Piroplasmosis Quarantine
by: Erin Ryder, TheHorse.com News Editor
September 22 2008, Article # 12738
Seven of the premises quarantined by Florida officials due to exposure to equine piroplasmosis have been released. Eighteen premises are still under quarantine. Positive horses are currently located at three of these properties, according to a statement released Sept. 19 by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DOACS).
In total, 25 premises have been quarantined and around 200 horses tested for the disease since it was first found in a Florida horse in August. Equine piroplasmosis is considered a foreign animal disease; the United States has screened all imported horses for piroplasmosis for nearly 30 years.
According to the Sept. 19 statement, the investigation is continuing. No foreign ticks have been found, and none of the domestic ticks investigators have captured have tested positive for Babesia caballi or B. equi, organisms that cause equine piroplasmosis.
There are no state restrictions placed on Florida horses at this time. The only country that has placed restrictions on Florida horses is Canada, which will not accept any horse that has been in Florida within the past 21 days. The Florida State Veterinarian's Office is continuing to work with the USDA in an effort to have the Canadian restrictions reduced or lifted.
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