EIA Investigation Close to Wrapping Up
Submitted by Editor on Thu, 12/31/2009 - 12:25pm.
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
An official with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Service said Wednesday the department is close to figuring out how a pony bound for a New Jersey horse rescue farm contracted equine infectious anemia (EIA).
Craig Shultz, director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Animal Health, said the department is in the process of tracing the infection back to its premises of origin and that officials are waiting to speak with the people involved in the apparent sale.
According to a press release from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, the pony was sold to a New Jersey-based equine rescue group from a yet-to-be identified sale barn in Pa.
The animal was seen by a veterinarian after it showed signs of sickness and was later found to have tested positive for EIA.
The pony was later euthanized.
Per USDA requirements, Shultz said horses or any other species in the equine family must test negative for EIA within the last 12 months before traveling across state lines.
Producers are responsible for getting the animals tested and he added that it is possible the pony may not have been tested before it was sold.
“That’s a concern with animal movement throughout the U.S. because it is the producer’s responsibility to meet health requirements,” Shultz said.
The department received word of the positive test on Dec. 22. Shultz believed the sale happened either on the same day or the day before.
He added that the department has not confirmed whether or not the pony came from a sales stable in Pennsylvania.
The next step is to find out where the animal came from to find out if animals it came in contact with should be tested.
“We want to make sure we have accurate information before we moved forward,” he said.
EIA, also known as swamp fever, is usually passed to a horse after it is bitten by a large insect such as a horsefly or deerfly.
It can be spread from horse to horse if the insect feeds on other horses.
In cannot be spread by casual contact between horses.
A blood transfusion or contaminated needle can also spread the disease.
There is no treatment for the disease and symptoms can include yellowing of skin tissue, anemia, fever, and rejecting feed.
