New Mexico Livestock Board
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| EIA is a viral
disease of members of the horse family. The equine
infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is categorized as a retrovirus:
it contains genetic RNA material, which it uses to produce DNA.
This DNA is then incorporated into the genetic makeup of
infection cells. Identified in France in 1943 and first
tentatively diagnosed in the United States in 1988, EIA has
commanded a great deal of attention over the years. It is
often difficult to differentiate from other fever-producing diseases, including anthrax, influenza, and equine encephalitis.
Equine Rescue and Retirement: The NMLB provides the regulation (in .pdf format or in Word format), the New Mexico Act (in .pdf format) authorizing the regulations, and supporting information titled "AAEP Care Guidelines for Equine Rescue and Retirement Facilities" in .pdf format or in Word format) for those wishing to register a Horse rescue or retirement facility. To download the Equine Rescue form click here. Degrees of Infectiousness Back Acute - When horses are exposed to EIAV, they may develop severe, acute signs of disease and die within 2 to 3 weeks. This form of the disease is the most damaging and the most difficult to diagnose because the signs appear rapidly, and often only an elevated body temperature is noted. One-fifth of a teaspoon of blood from a horse with acute EIA contains enough virus to infection 1 million horses. The clinical signs of the acute form of EIA are nonspecific; in mild cases, the initial fever may be short lived (often less than 24 hours). As a result horse owners and veterinarians may not observe this initial sign when a horse is infected with EIAV. These infected horses often recover and continue to move freely in the population. The first indication that a horse was exposed to, and infected with, EIAV may well be a positive result on a routine annual test. Back Chronic - If the horse survives this first acute bout, it may develop a recurring clinical disease with these signs:
The horse with chronic EIA is the classic "swamper" who has lost condition, is lethargic and anorexic, has a low hematocrit, and demonstrates a persistent decrease in the number of blood platelets, especially coincident with fever induced by EIAV. One fifth of a teaspoon of blood from a chronic case during a feverish episode contains enough virus to infect 10,000 horses. Inapparent - By far the majority of horses are inapparent carriers: they show no overt clinical abnormalities as a result of infection. They survive as reservoirs of the infection for extended periods. Inapparent carriers have dramatically lower concentrations of EIAV in their blood than horses with active clinical signs of the disease. Only 1 horsefly out of 6 million is likely to pick and transmit EIAV from this horse. All horses infected with EIAV are thought to remain virus carriers for life. The inapparent form may become chronic or acute due to severe stress, hard work, or the presence of other diseases. Back EIA is considered a classic blood borne infection. People have played an important role in EIAV transmission over the years by using blood - contaminated materials on different horses. The EIAV most frequently is transmitted between horses in close proximity by large biting insects, such as horseflies and deerflies. Back Diagnosis if EIA and of infections with EIAV was not possible until an effective test for antibodies specific to EIAV was described in 1970 by Leroy Coggins. The agar-gel immunodiffusion (AGID) or Coggins Test was shown to correlate with horse inoculation test results for EIAV and, therefore, could be used to identify EIAV carriers. Although other serologic tests have been defined and approved for the diagnosis of EIA, the AGID test is recognized internationally as the "gold-standard" serologic test. The use of AGID and additional tests has assisted in the control of EIA. Back
NEW MEXICO REQUIREMENTS FOR
TESTING
RODEO STOCK The following outlines the August 2004 EIA test state requirements:
For specific information on each state's requirements, visit their web-age of contact them directly. Back
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 91-55-064 "Equine Infectious Anemia" Uniform Methods and Rules. Effective March 1, 2002 Back
Need More Information? For
additional help and information, click
nm.livestock@state.nm.us |
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