Japan - Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

[Treyfish]

Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

<!--// headline_end //--><!--// byline_start //-->The Yomiuri Shimbun
<!--// byline_end //--><!--// article_start //--><!-- google_ad_region_start=region1 -->Some racehorses belonging to the Japan Racing Association are suspected to be infected with equine influenza, it was learned Thursday.
Although the disease is highly infectious, races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Sapporo, Niigata and Kokura racecourses were not canceled because the number of infected horses was very limited and the spread of infection was unlikely, the JRA said.
According to the JRA and other sources, the disease is thought to have been detected in horses at the Ritto and Miho training centers, in Shiga and Ibaraki prefectures, respectively.
The JRA has banned the movement of horses in and out of the two centers, which accommodate about 8,700 racehorses in total.
None of the racehorses that have been transported to the three racecourses ahead of the weekend races or those at other JRA facilities have been found to be infected.
Equine flu is a respiratory illness accompanied by fever.
(<!--// date_start //-->Aug. 17, 2007<!--// date_end //-->) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...17TDY02008.htm
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[Treyfish]

Re: Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

Weekend races canceled due to horse flu

<!--// headline_end //--><!--// byline_start //-->The Yomiuri Shimbun
<!--// byline_end //--><!--// article_start //--><!-- google_ad_region_start=region1 -->The Japan Racing Association on Friday reversed its initial decision and canceled all racing scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Kokura, Niigata and Sapporo race tracks due to further cases of horses infected with equine influenza.
The JRA checked about 1,000 horses that were due to race this weekend, as 20 horses at the Ritto and Miho training centers in Shiga and Ibaraki prefectures, respectively, were found to be infected with flu Thursday.
After checking 163 of the horses, the JRA discovered that 29 horses, or 18 percent, were infected with the virus.
Therefore, it reversed its decision on Thursday to hold weekend racing as scheduled and canceled all the meetings on the two days.
The JRA has not decided whether racing next weekend and beyond should be canceled.
It initially concluded that preventive vaccines could control further infections among other racehorses and it could hold meetings this weekend.
The initial decision was made after the JRA discovered that 20 of about 2,900 horses at the Ritto and Miho training centers were infected. However, inspections were only carried out on horses exhibiting visible symptoms, such as fever and sneezing.
When racehorses were found infected with the flu between 1971 and 1972, the first case of the infection in Japan, the JRA was forced to cancel races at Tokyo and Nakayama racecourses for more than two months and some local horse races were also canceled.
When infected with equine influenza, horses suffer from fever, sneezing and runny noses, similar to humans infected with the virus. However, humans and other animals do not get infected with equine flu.
Equine influenza is an airborne virus and is very contagious. Therefore, an explosive outbreak of the disease could occur within a few days when horses are kept in a group.
Vaccines against the flu were introduced after the JRA experienced the 1971 infection. However, in Britain, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, the virus has not been eradicated, even though vaccines have been introduced.
(<!--// date_start //-->Aug. 18, 2007<!--// date_end //-->) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...18TDY02004.htm
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[Niko]

Re: Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

<table id="Table1" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>Understanding Influenza

</td> </tr> <tr> <td> by: Kimberly S. Brown, Editor</td> </tr> <tr> <td> August 23 2007 Article # 10245
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
What is flu? "It's a hit-and-run disease," said Tom Chambers, PhD, who heads The OIE international influenza reference laboratory at the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington. "When it hits, it causes big problems, but then it disappears again." Many horse owners are concerned about equine influenza following announcement of an outbreak in Japan.

The Japan Racing Association released information stating that a flu outbreak is occurring at two Thoroughbred training centers, and it has shut down racing throughout the country. Chambers has no further information about the outbreak.

Here are some flu facts:

• Equine influenza is one of the most common causes of upper respiratory disease in horses;
• Flu is a viral disease;
• Flu is highly contagious;
• Flu is spread by the aerosol route (i.e., sneezing, coughing);
• Flu often causes a fever;
• Infected horses can shed flu virus prior to having a fever or other clinical signs;
• Flu can cause subclinical infections (no clinical signs);
• Horses with no clinical signs can shed virus and infect other horses;
• Flu does not produce chronic (long-lasting) infections;
• Flu does not produce latent infections (the virus does not persist in the body and become reactivated at a later time due to stress);
• Flu can spread down a barn aisle in a matter of days;
• Flu changes over time;
• A horse can get flu many times during his life;
• Horses that get flu usually don't get it again for 1-1? years;
• Flu is not a hardy virus, it can be easily killed through disinfection;
• Vaccines might protect horses from getting sick (showing clinical signs), but might not prevent exposed horses from shedding the virus and infecting other horses;
• Horses can shed flu virus for a week or more, so quarantine recommendations are for 10 days to two weeks for exposed horses;
• Nasal swabs can be tested for the presence of flu virus in about an hour at a laboratory.
• Because flu changes, vaccines need to be updated to reflect those changes.

Researchers know horses can spread flu virus from direct contact or coughing. "I strongly suspect flu can be spread by fomite transmission, meaning casual contact by inanimate objects such as hands, bits, or anything that comes into contact with a horse's nose," said Chambers.
He suspects there are many cases of equine influenza that are never diagnosed. "It wouldn't surprise me if sooner or later that nine out of 10 horses are exposed," said Chambers. "It very rarely kills a horse. It gives them a fever, cough, runny nose, and with no complications, a week later they are starting to feel better." There can be secondary bacterial infections in horses that have the flu that can be dangerous if not treated. For that reason, antibiotic therapy is widely employed, he said.

One other characteristics of flu is that it can produce subclinical infections, especially if horses are vaccinated, he said. The vaccine might protect the horse from getting sick, but not necessarily protect him from shedding virus. Chambers said, "The horses might not show (clinical) signs, but can shed virus. That makes them a risk. You think everything's safe, but it's not safe."

Since the flu virus is not hardy, it is easily killed. Washing hands with soap and warm water is important when handling sick horses. (Dr. Roberta Dwyer of the Gluck Center recommends singing "Happy Birthday" twice?a total of 30 seconds--while scrubbing your hands with liquid soap as a good way to time the length of washing.)

Other management tips:

• Handle healthy horses before sick horses;
• Use equipment dedicated to each horse, or don't mix equipment from sick and healthy horses;
• If you have to share equipment, decontaminate it after use on sick horses;
• Use soap, bleach, or Lysol to disinfect equipment, rinse well;
• Vaccinate with a product from a reputable manufacturer (there are injectable and intra-nasal flu vaccines).

Each horse farm should have routine quarantine for horses coming onto the farm, noted Chambers. This is the farm's first defense to prevent flu from spreading to horses at the farm. Horses should be quarantined for a minimum of 10 days.

The National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) collected data on equine health and management practices from a representative sample of equine operations in 28 states from four regions. Blood and nasal swabs were tested for flu.

On operations with at least 20 resident horses, 81.5% percent of horses had a detectable equine influenza virus antibody titer and 52.6% had a high equine influenza virus antibody titer. The percentage of horses on small operations (1-6 horses) with a detectable equine influenza virus antibody concentration was 63.1%, while 30.6% had high titers. An estimated 65.4% of horses in the study were reported to have been vaccinated previously.
Horses in the study vaccinated for equine influenza virus were more likely to have a detectable equine influenza antibody titer than horses that had never been vaccinated.

(To read the fact sheet from NAHMS visit www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ceah/ncahs/nahms/equine/equine98/eq98iurd1.pdf.)

Testing for Flu

There are a variety of tests for equine influenza. Chambers emphasizes the need for veterinarians to take nasal swabs and submit them to their state diagnostic laboratories or the Gluck Center in order to keep track of what strains of flu are circulating. There is no charge for testing at the Gluck Center. (a virus that was isolated from a sick horse, thus the need to do testing).

Swab samples should be taken as soon as a horse appears ill, he said. You don't want to swab a horse that had a fever a week ago. "It's too late then to get a positive test," he said. If you have a contagious upper respiratory disease going through your barn, you need to test early.

Horse owners and veterinarians need to help researchers keep track of which equine flu strains are circulating. There are two main types of strains, American and Eurasian. The American strain can be found world-wide, but the United States does not have the Eurasian strain in circulation.

"In the United States the Eurasian strain is not in all vaccines because we haven't had outbreaks of the Eurasian strain in the United States," said Chambers. "Could that change tomorrow? Yes."

He recommends if owners have horses going oversees to look for vaccines with the Newmarket/2/93 strain (Eurasian).

Since 2004, world-wide flu experts have recommended strains resembling South Africa 2003 be put in all vaccines. The American strain Ohio03 fits that criteria, and the Gluck Center has provided vaccine manufacturers that strain. Because of the expense and time to have a vaccine approved, "So far I haven't seen any vaccine with Ohio03 come on the market," said Chambers, "but we hope they will not be long in coming."

Other Flu Concerns

Springing out of the canine flu experience in 2005 are studies to see if the equine flu (that mutated and adapted in the dog) could be passed back to horses, and if so, if the current equine flu vaccines protect against it.

Chambers explained, "The (equine influenza) virus mutated and adapted in the dog and now it can be transmitted dog-to-dog by the aerosol route. Now a whopping dose of virus isn't needed anymore for dogs to become infected. That's what we're afraid of happening with the bird flu in Southeast Asia. If the virus can mutate to make itself less lethal perhaps, but more contagious, control of the disease could be difficult.

"Speaking as a virologist, influenza is actually a simple virus, and the way it survives is by a very simple strategy of always changing itself, always mutating," said Chambers. "That's a simple, but very effective strategy. Ninety-nine percent of flu is going to die before it can get in to a different species. It's the one mutant virus that causes all the problems. For that reason, we have to continue and improve surveillance, and continue with research in order to fight it."

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=10245

[Treyfish]

Re: Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

EQUINE INFLUENZA - JAPAN: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (02)


The equine influenza outbreak in Japan has affected more horses.
Japanese media, quoting local government officials, report 114 horses
kept at Kanazawa Racetrack had been infected with the horse flu
virus. The disease, while not fatal, is extremely contagious.

Officials made the discovery after learning that a handful of horses
at the facility had been among the 29 infected in the original
outbreak in mid-August [2007]. A decision was made to examine the 529
horses at the track, and the additional cases were identified.

Japanese racing has been severely restricted in a bid to stop the
spread of the disease, which has not affected the local industry for
35 years. An outbreak in 1971 halted racing for 9 weeks.

Cancellations last Friday [17 Aug 2007] alone are estimated to have
cost the industry 1 billion yen, or USD 8.7 million.

The outbreak has cast a shadow over Japan's defence of the Melbourne
Cup. Last year's [2006] winner, Delta Blues, and runner-up Pop Rock
are being held at an unaffected facility well away from the outbreak,
but their travel to Australia will depend upon whether Japanese
authorities can contain the disease.

Meanwhile, Australian authorities say they are confident an upper
respiratory illness affecting 3 horses being held in quarantine
facilities is not equine influenza.

All horses being held have been tested for the disease, and the
results were negative. http://tinyurl.com/yptrqa

[HenryN]

Re: Racehorses suspected to have equine flu

Immediate notification report

Report reference: , Ref OIE: 6008, Report Date: 28/08/2007 , Country: Japan

Report Summary

Disease

Equine influenza Animal type Terrestrial

Causal Agent

Equine influenza virus A Clinical Signs Yes

Reason

Reoccurrence of a listed disease Date of confirmation of Event 17/08/2007

Date of Start of Event

14/08/2007 Date of report 28/08/2007

Diagnosis

Suspicion, Clinical, Laboratory (basic) Date of last occurrence 1972

Number of reported outbreaks

Submitted= 2, Draft= 0 Name of Sender of the report Dr Toshiro Kawashima

Address

International Animal Health Affairs Office
Animal Health Division
Food Safety and Consumer Affairs Bureau
1-2-1 Kasumigaseki
Chiyoda-ku

Tokyo 100-8950

Position

Director

Telephone

(81-3) 3502 0767

Fax

(81-3) 3502 3385

Email

animal_health@nm.maff.go.jp

Entered by

Dr Toshiro Kawashima

Outbreak (this report - submitted)

Province District Sub-district Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End

SHIGA Farm Ritto city 35,0398 135,9782 14/08/2007

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered

Equidae Animals 1370 21 0 0 0

Affected Population

race horses

Outbreak (this report - submitted)

Province District Sub-district Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start End

IBARAKI Farm Miho village 35,959 140,3287 15/08/2007

Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered

Equidae Animals 1546 9 0 0 0

Affected Population

race horses
Printed on: Tue Aug 28 10:55:04 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 1/3

Outbreak summary: Total outbreaks = 2 (Submitted)

Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered

Equidae 2916 30 0 0 0

Epidemiology

Epidemiological comments

We are still working on isolating the virus. Confirmatory testing is being undertaken. As of 20th August, 9 horses have given positive results to an influenza A virus screening test at Miho village. As of 17th August, 21 horses have given positive results to an influenza H3 virus by reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) at Ritto city.

Source of Infection

? Unknown or inconclusive

Control Measures

? Movement control inside the country

Applied

? Screening
? Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)
? Quarantine

To be applied

? No Planned Control Measures

Animals treated

Yes

Vaccination Prohibited

No

Treatment Details

symptomatic treatment

Country / Zone

Country or zone

the whole country

Diagnostic test results

Laboratory Type Name of Laboratory Species Test Type Date Results Provided Result

Private Laboratory Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute of Japan Racing Association Equidae reverse transcription ? polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) 17/08/2007 Positive
Private Laboratory Ritto Training Center Equidae antigen (Ag) detection ELISA 17/08/2007 Positive
Private Laboratory Miho Training Center Equidae antigen (Ag) detection ELISA 20/08/2007 Positive

Future Reporting

What further reports will be submitted in relation to this event?

There are 2outbreaks that are still recorded as unresolved. It is not possible to declare this event resolved until these individual outbreaks are resolved.
Immediate notification report. Report reference: , Ref OIE: 6008, Report Date: 28/08/2007 , Country: Japan

Printed on: Tue Aug 28 10:55:05 Paris, Madrid (heure d'?t?) 2007 Page 2/3

http://www.oie.int/wahid-prod/reports/en_imm_0000006008_20070828_105503.pdf