Pathogen test
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This is one of the internationally imposed tests in the import/export of live equines or semen/ova and embryos intended for assisted reproduction.
Equine Infectious Anaemia is a disease listed in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code and countries are obligated to report the occurrence of the disease according to the OIE Code.
Sample
- 5 mL - blood - serum tube
Turnaround time
- 2 to 5 working days
What is Equine Infectious Anemia?
- Equine infectious anemia is a very old viral disease that affects horses, asses, mules and hinnies worldwide. It is subject to tight controls in the import/export of live equines and their products
Clinical signs
This infection may have an acute, chronic or sub-clinical (silent) phase.
- The acute phase characterised by intermittent fever associated with depression, lethargy, increased heart and breathing rates, haemorrhaging, diarrhoea with blood, bleeding wounds that won’t heal, lack of coordination and rapid weight loss. It can also cause petechial haemorrhages of the mucous membranes and general oedema more evident in the legs and jaundice.
- The chronic phase characterised by recurrent episodes of fever, anaemia and thrombocytopenia (decrease of blood platelets) interspersed with periods of normality. These episodes will be spread out over time.
- This disease is often fatal during the acute or chronic phase.
- Should the animal survive the acute and chronic phase, it enters a silent phase with no evident signs of illness for the remainder of its life. In this silent phase the virus persists but the clinical signs are only manifest if the immune system is weakened by another disease, stress or the administration of corticosteroids.
Transmission
- EIA is caused by a lentivirus of the HIV family, the equine infectious anaemia virus.
- The virus can be passed from one horse to another through fly, or more rarely, mosquito bites, or by direct contact with blood or blood derivative products (serum and/or plasma). Such as, for example, by: sharing objects contaminated with infected blood (needles, branding tools, etc).
- The virus can also be passed down from mare to foal via the placenta or, more rarely, in the mother’s colostrum or milk.
- Potentially, the virus can be transmitted by semen.
Prevention
- There is no treatment, cure or vaccine for this infection. Prevention is crucial to avoid it being passed on.
- Serological tests for EIA must be done for any horse with anaemia and thrombocytopenia of unknown origin.
- Regular tests must be done on a yearly basis to keep the holding free from EIA.
- It is advisable to test studs and brood mares every 90 days in the breeding period.