Kentucky says all stallions from Wisconsin must test negative for contagious equine metritis (CEM) before they can enter the state for breeding purposes.
The requirement is contained in an order issued yesterday by Kentucky state veterinarian Robert Stout.
The order stems from Kentucky's investigation of the CEM outbreak that was discovered in mid-December.
The state's investigation found that a paint horse that moved from Wisconsin to Kentucky for the 2008 breeding season was infected with the organism that causes CEM.
Under the order, swabs taken from a Wisconsin horse must be tested by culture in an approved CEM laboratory and reported negative for the organism during the 28 days preceding entry into Kentucky.
A certification statement must be made by the attending veterinarian that the stallion was not bred, nor was semen collected from the stallion, after the samples were collected.
The first Kentucky case was in a quarter horse stallion that tested positive for CEM during routine testing for export of semen.
The state veterinarian's office, the University of Kentucky's Livestock Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the US Department of Agriculture's Kentucky office, have quarantined infected and exposed horses and placed them on a strict testing and treatment protocol.
A total of four infected stallions have been found in Kentucky. Nationwide, three mares and 11 stallions have tested positive for CEM in an investigation that has crossed 45 states.
The state veterinarian's office expects Kentucky to be declared free of CEM in the coming weeks.
Yesterday's order was issued to minimise the risk of the organism being reintroduced into Kentucky while the Wisconsin investigation is completed.
Contagious equine metritis is a transmissible venereal disease in horses. It usually results in infertility in mares and, on rare occasions, can cause mares to spontaneously abort.
Infected stallions exhibit no clinical signs but can carry the CEM bacteria for years. CEM is commonly transmitted during sexual intercourse but also may be transmitted indirectly through artificial insemination or contact with contaminated hands or objects.
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