Biosecurity

“The EHV situation in March was an important wake-up call for us all – riders and owners should always be vigilant and take great care to monitor horses returning from competitions.”

Most horse owners have never heard of the Shuni virus, but it can kill horses and there are concerns it could spread well beyond Africa.

“This review highlights the importance of disease surveillance and reinforces the need to harmonize quarantine and biosecurity protocols.”

“The urgent need for investment in animal health and welfare to prevent another pandemic is clearer than ever.”

EHV can be found in horses in every country around the world. We see the disease cropping up because the virus may already be dormant in their bodies.

“The equine industry would benefit from precise guidelines for distances in which equids can be safely housed without the risk of disease transmission.”

A request by organisers to again postpone the FEI World Endurance Championships, because of “the uncertain evolution of Covid-19 and the impact of EHV-1”, has been denied.

The possibility of Ross River Virus emerging as an infectious disease worldwide should be taken seriously, researchers suggest.

Circulation of active virus is expected to continue because this virus often moves more slowly through groups of horses compared to a virus such as Equine Influenza.

“One death is one too many, and we must do everything in our power to stop the spread of this terrible virus.”

A further two weeks of shutdown for international events in mainland Europe means the FEI World Cup Finals are cancelled for the second consecutive year.

As the EHV-1 death toll hits nine, the Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera in Spain has been cancelled after a second horse developed neurological signs.

The FEI is using data gathered from this outbreak to evaluate the effectiveness of the EHV-1 vaccine.

The very aggressive strain of the neurological form of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) originated in Spain and has already resulted in related outbreaks in at least three other countries in Europe.