The Veterinary Corner series, brought to you by Merck Animal Health, features insights from leading veterinarians on the most pressing health issues affecting horses today.
Written by Duane E. Chappell, DVM, Merck Animal Health
With show season in full swing, the potential for equine respiratory disease to spread also increases. Blocking out potential illnesses starts long before you leave your home, but it's also important to know what's circulating so you're equipped with information and tools to stay ahead of an outbreak. Participate in a horse biomonitoring program.
What is the Equine Biomonitoring Program?
Since 2008, Merck Animal Health has partnered with the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine on an equine biosurveillance program. The program is a voluntary project in which veterinarians and researchers collaborate to monitor respiratory disease in horses across the country. This program monitors his four major pathogens.
- Equine herpesvirus types 1 and 4 (EHV-1, EHV-4): These respiratory viruses cause symptoms that range from mild to severe. EHV-1 can also cause late-term abortions, early foal death, and neurological disease.
- equine influenza virus (EIV): This highly contagious “influenza” virus can cause fever, cough, runny nose, and fatigue.
- streptococcus etc Subspecies etc (S. equi or strangle): S. equi The bacterium that causes strangulation is a highly contagious disease that causes abscesses in the lymph nodes in the head and neck, causing fever and a runny nose.
- Equine rhinitis A/B virus (ERAV/ERBV): These viruses infect the horse's respiratory tract and cause symptoms such as fever, nasal discharge, and cough.
At the heart of the equine biomonitoring program is addressing four main goals:
- Help your equine veterinarian diagnose and treat infectious respiratory diseases as soon as possible.
- Help the horse industry understand how common these respiratory pathogens are, how they spread, and why some horses are more susceptible than others.
- Identify and monitor the latest pathogen strains currently circulating.
- Assess how well current vaccination protocols are working.
What kind of diseases are prevalent?
An important finding of the biosurveillance program was the identification of EHV-4 and EIV as the most common upper respiratory tract pathogens affecting horses. These viruses account for the largest proportion of positive sample results over the past 16 years. But the program also S. equi In the past two years (by strangulation), it has become the most prevalent pathogen tested in 2023.
Biosurveillance programs also track when pathogens are most prevalent (see Respiratory Disease Incidence 2023). This will help your veterinarian determine the best time for vaccination. It also helps determine what measures to take to help prevent the spread of disease among horses. Through 16 years of surveillance, EHV-4 continues to be prevalent in the fall months, while other respiratory pathogens (particularly EIV) are more common during the winter and spring months.
The program also highlights the fact that vaccination alone is not sufficient to completely prevent diseases, especially those that are highly contagious, such as equine herpesvirus, influenza, and infectious diseases. S. equi. To achieve the highest level of protection, horse owners and trainers must follow sound biosecurity practices and provide a broader net of disease protection.
How will this program affect me and my horse?
If your horse develops a respiratory illness, it is important that your veterinarian quickly diagnose and begin appropriate treatment, as well as working together to prevent the spread of the disease to other horses in the area. is. This can be difficult because many upper respiratory tract diseases share similar signs and symptoms (see Key Symptoms of Respiratory Pathogens).
Main symptoms of respiratory pathogens
To be included in the Merck Animal Health Biosurveillance Program, samples must be collected from horses with a fever of at least 101.5°F. Other common symptoms include:
- nasal discharge
- cough
- lethargy
- central nervous system problems
These disease symptoms are prevalent throughout equine respiratory disease, although they are more or less common depending on the causative infectious organism.
That's why this program offers tools to help veterinarians quickly and efficiently collect nasal swab samples from sick horses, submit them to qualified laboratories for evaluation, and quickly reach a diagnosis. We offer This allows the veterinarian to develop the best treatment plan for the patient.
If your veterinarian is a participant in a biosurveillance program, results will be available within 24-36 hours of sample submission, along with expert opinion to help you effectively treat your patients. This rapid response gives veterinarians the best chance of not only addressing individual cases, but also successfully stopping potential spread of infection.
By collaborating with veterinarians to collect samples in this way, the biosurveillance program has amassed the largest collection of equine infectious upper respiratory tract data in the United States. To date, his more than 12,000 samples representing horses of all ages, sexes, and breeds have been submitted by veterinarians across the United States. This extensive data set has proven critical to advancing equine health management in the past and will further improve equine health outcomes in the future.
Another important contribution of the biosurveillance program was the identification and isolation of Florida '13. This highly pathogenic influenza strain is considered the newest strain of clinical importance and is only available in Merck Animal Health's PRESTIGE® vaccine.
Several scientific publications and presentations have been produced from the data to educate the larger equine community. Participating veterinarians receive updates from the data twice a year to guide practice decisions and provide timely updates to horse owners.
unconditional promise
The Merck Animal Health Equine Biomonitoring Program is part of the company's unconditional commitment to horses and the people who love and care for them. As you can see, our efforts go far beyond developing innovative equine health products. We also drive some of the most innovative research programs impacting the horse industry today.
reference
1Merck Animal Health and the University of California, Davis (Nicola Pusterla). Infectious upper respiratory tract disease surveillance program. Research is ongoing from 2008 to the present.
About the author
Duane E. Chappell, DVM, associate director of equine pharmacovigilance and professional services at Merck Animal Health, has a background in academia, equine research, and private practice. Dr. Chappell and the Veterinary Professional Services team partner with UC Davis scientists to support equine respiratory biosurveillance programs by publishing timely industry updates and peer-reviewed publications doing.
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