Horse Flu in India - November 3, 2008 +

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?n...02883&pageid=0

Equine influenza reaches Kolkata
Monday, November 03, 2008 01:05 IST

BANAGLORE: The government?s decision to ban the inter-state movement of horses to contain the outbreak of equine influenza seems to have come a little late.

Because the disease has found its way to Kolkata, prompting the authorities concerned to suspend racing ? it?s not likely to resume till November-end.

Around 70 of the 400 horses at Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) have been found to be infected with the virus and the number could rise as the club lacks quarantine facilities. Officials are trying to trace the carrier.

The Union health ministry has already suspended racing in Mumbai and Delhi after the outbreak of the disease in Pune and Delhi. It has also banned the inter-state movement of horses for three months.

Kolkata was susceptible to the disease with migrants from Pune and Delhi stationed at the club.

Though the club took an early decision to prevent fresh migrants from coming in, the damage perhaps had already been done.

With the disease surfacing in Kolkata, the racing season has run into further trouble. Kolkata?s winter season is long and the cash-rich club - which came out of a financial crisis through income generated from the real estate development on its premises at Russell Street - had doubled the stakes, making them as attractive as any other centre in the country.

?We had taken immense precautions to prevent equine influenza from reaching our premises. Since we were aware of the problem at Pune, we had banned the entry of horses from there despite assurances from their vet that there was no problem,? said Cyrus Madan, chairman, RCTC.

?There has been considerable movement of horses from Delhi and we had a batch of 10 horses coming to Kolkata on October 22. No viral strain had been reported from Delhi till then. It was only on October 25 that the first case of equine influenza was reported from Delhi and we immediately banned further entry of horses from there. We have tested all the horses that arrived from Delhi but they didn?t show any viral strain,? he said.

Madan said the club had ?suspended all track work as well as other activities related to preparation of horses for racing for one week? as they didn?t want to aggravate the situation. ?We will be taking a decision shortly about how long racing needs to be suspended to save the situation,? he added.

This is not for the first time that Kolkata is witnessing such an outbreak. It was hit by EIA (equine infectious anaemia) in 1987, considered more harmful than the equine influenza and about 120 horses had to be put down then.

[Shiloh]

Re: Equine influenza reaches Kolkata

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...-fever/381045/

1,200 racehorses down with fever

Anuradha Mascarenhas
Posted: Nov 04, 2008 at 0127 hrs IST

Pune, November 03 Equine flu suspected as horses wheeze and sneeze; will not be able to race for at least a month

Nearly 1,200 horses at the Pune Racecourse are ailing and need a month?s rest to recover from suspected equine influenza, or horse flu. Virologists at the Animal Husbandry department have collected 155 samples from 15 stud farms and will send these to the National Centre for Equine Research in Haryana on Tuesday for confirmation of the equine influenza virus. Pune last faced an outbreak of the disease in 1987.

The horses have been ill for more than a week, said Dr Ravi Reddy, secretary of the Indian Association of Equine Practitioners and a senior veterinary surgeon at Nanoli stud farm. The horses have high fever and are suffering from nasal discharge; some of them even have lung abscess, he said. Currently being treated at the stables at the Pune racecourse, some of the thoroughbreds have not responded to the first line of treatment and are on antibiotics for second bacterial infection, Reddy said.

The present outbreak has had the horses suffering from respiratory tract infection symptoms like fever and wheezing. The horses are kept at the stables of the Pune Racecourse and the handlers are also being given tips on maintaining hygiene. ?We are restricting the movement of these persons from one farm to another,? said Reddy.

Virologists with the Disease Investigation Section (DIS) of the state animal husbandry department pointed said such outbreaks also happened in Kashmir, Meerut and Rajasthan in June; last year the virus had even infected horses in Australia and Japan.

?We have surveyed 4,722 horses from 15 stud farms in Pune and surrounding areas. A total of 216 horses are ill and we have collected 155 samples out of which 27 are nasal swabs, 65 serum samples from healthy horses, 42 serum samples of horses who have recovered, 15 samples of presently ailing horses and six random samples,? said P T Ganvir, joint commissioner of animal husbandry, DIS.

The Haryana research centre will isolate the virus from the samples, following which it will confirm whether it is equine influenza or not.

Virologists at National Institute of Virology in Pune said equine influenza occurs globally. The impact of an outbreak among horses can be devastating, with the ramifications most telling on the racing fraternity. The influenza has a high rate of transmission among horses and a short incubation time of one to five days. Affected horses, however, recover in three weeks.

[santosh.koratkar]

Re: Equine influenza reaches Kolkata

greetings ! ! !

This equine influenza in India started form the north region and now its moving towards the south,

people and the government now are taking due care for the prevension of its spread,

Thats is good that all the community is informed with the help of media and announcement.

bye

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Equine influenza reaches Kolkata

Welcome and thank you santosh koratkar

[sharon sanders]

Re: Equine influenza reaches Kolkata

Welcome Santosh Koratkar! Thank you for participating.

[Shiloh]

Horse Flu in India - November 24, 2008 +

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1209251

Transportation of horses halted in Guj
Nikunj Soni
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 03:03 IST

AHMEDABAD: Equine influenza may have infected horses in the state, and has caused alarm among the stud farm owners who have recently bought horses from Rajasthan. To confirm this, the state government has collected blood samples of the horses from various parts of the state and sent it to the Uttar Pradesh veterinary laboratory.

In a bid to control the further spread of infection, inter-state transportation of horses has been halted, after intimation by the Central government. The yearly horse show has also been postponed for the month, following the outbreak of the disease among horses.

Equine influenza (Horse flu) is disease caused by strains of Influenza A, that are endemic in horse species. The disease occurs globally, and is caused by two main strains of viruses like equine-1 (H7N7) and equine-2 (H3N8). The disease has a nearly 100% infection rate in an unvaccinated horses, which has not been previously exposed to the virus.

Highly infectious, the flu has a relatively short incubation time of 1-5 days. Today it mostly affects the modern racing industry, but historically because horses were heavily relied upon, for military (cavalry) and general transport ? the social and economic impact of widespread equine disease was devastating.

[Shiloh]

Equine flu spreads to Gujarat

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A...ow/3766784.cms

Equine flu spreads to Gujarat
28 Nov 2008, 0111 hrs IST, TNN

AHMEDABAD : Horses all over the country are falling prey to equine influenza
(EI). And, the virus has raised its head in the state
too. As per a survey commissioned by the army across India recently, it's been found that 5,400 horses are infected so far.

The debilitating disease, which can be transferred to humans, affects thoroughbreds most severely. But, it can be picked up by indigenous species, donkeys and, potentially, one of the jewels of Gujarat wild ass.

Virendra Kankariya, founder of Equestrian Club of Gujarat, and owner of Elina Stables near Ahmedabad, says: "There are definitely cases of EI in the state. I have five animals at the stable showing symptoms. One has tested positive for the virus."

Adds Dr Truptesh Patel, veterinarian at Elina stables, "The pathogen is normally found in donkeys, but they rarely suffer from the disease. However, the wild ass is a species of the horse family, so it can be affected."

Union health ministry has already suspended racing in Mumbai and Delhi after the outbreak of EI in Pune and Delhi. Inter-state movement of horses has also been banned for three months.

However, Gujarat government failed to take cognisance of this and went ahead with planning a horse show in Gandhinagar. The show, which has thankfully been cancelled, was due to take place from November 20 to 23. It's another matter that the show was cancelled as it has been merged with Swarnim Gujarat celebrations to be held in December-end.

Dr AJ Kacchia Patel, joint director, department of animal husbandry says, "The show was not cancelled because of influenza outbreak as Gujarat has been untouched so far." Serum samples sent for testing from the state have all shown negative results.

People at Pushkar fair held last month say at least 80 per cent of the horses there were showing signs of infection and some even died, says Dr Patel.

Infected animals have to be quarantined as they can spread the virus in a seven to eight km radius. The virus is air-borne and can also be transmitted through vectors like lice and fleas, or even contaminated reins, saddles or dung.

Diseased animals show heavy nasal discharge, fever and weakness. In thoroughbreds the hind legs get so weak that the animal can collapse. The fatality rate is about one per cent, explains Dr Patel.

[HenryN]

Re: Transportation of horses halted in Guj

Immediate notification report

Report reference: , Ref OIE: 7561, Report Date: 27/11/2008 , Country: India
Report Summary
Disease
Equine influenza Animal type Terrestrial

Causal Agent
A/equi-2 Serotype(s) H3N8

Clinical Signs
Yes Reason Reoccurrence of a listed disease

Date of first confirmation of the event
07/07/2008 Date of Start of Event 20/06/2008

Date of report
27/11/2008 Date Submitted To OIE 28/11/2008

Diagnosis
Laboratory (basic), Laboratory (advanced) Date Of Last Occurrence 1988

Number Of Reported Outbreaks
Submitted= 2, Draft= 0 Name of Sender of the report Dr Natarajan Gokulram

Address
Dr Rajendra Prasad Road
Room No 231, Krishi Bhawan
New Delhi 110001
New Delhi 110001

Position
Secretary to the Government of India

Telephone
(91-11) 23 38 26 08

Fax
(91-11) 23 38 80 06

Email
secyahd@nic.in

Entered by
Dr Natarajan Gokulram

Outbreak (this report - submitted)
State District Village/Block Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date
JAMMU & KASHMIR Jammu Katra Village Katra 32,98 74,95 20/06/2008
Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Equidae Animals 10000 5424 15 ... ...
Affected Population
animals basically used for local transport

Outbreak (this report - submitted)
State District Unit Type Location Latitude Longitude Start date End Date
JAMMU & KASHMIR Anantnag Village Anantnag 34,09 74,79 07/07/2008
Species Measuring units Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Equidae Animals ... 12543 1 ... ...
Affected Population
animals basically used for local transport

Outbreak summary: Total outbreaks = 2 (Submitted)
Printed on: Fri Nov 28 11:07:50 Paris, Madrid 2008 Page 1/3
Species Susceptible Cases Deaths Destroyed Slaughtered
Equidae 10000 17967 16
Epidemiology
Epidemiological comments
Note by the OIE Animal Health Information Department: In addition to Anantnag, several other districts (Budgam, Pulwama, Srinagar, Kupwara, Baramula) are affected. More than two outbreaks are then reported, as shown by the number of affected districts.
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection
• Unknown or inconclusive

Control Measures
Applied
• Movement control inside the country
• Screening
• Disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s)

To be applied
• No Planned Control Measures

Animals treated
Yes

Vaccination Prohibited
No

Treatment Details
symptomatic treatment of infected animals

Country / Zone
Country or zone
a zone or compartment

Diagnostic test results
Laboratory Type Name of Laboratory Species Test Type Date Results Provided Result
National laboratory National Research Centre on Equines, Sirsa Road, Hisar, Haryana Equidae virus isolation 07/07/2008 Positive
National laboratory National Research Centre on Equines, Sirsa Road, Hisar, Haryana Equidae haemagglutination inhibition test (HIT) 07/07/2008 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.
The event is continuing. Weekly follow-up reports will be submitted.
Immediate notification report. Report reference: , Ref OIE: 7561, Report Date: 27/11/2008 , Country: India

Printed on: Fri Nov 28 11:07:50 Paris, Madrid 2008 Page 2/3

http://www.oie.int/wahis/reports/en_...128_110749.pdf

[Shiloh]

Re: Horse Flu in India - November 3, 2008 +

Source: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2008/12/130.shtml

Equine flu spreads wider in India

December 22, 2008

An outbreak of equine influenza in India has spread from an initial outbreak in the north of the country, a fresh report reveals.

India, in its latest update to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), reveals pockets of the disease close to its western and eastern borders.

India reported late last month that nearly 18,000 horses had been affected in the outbreak.

Its latest report shows cases in Matheran and Raigad, in the state of Maharashtra, with 418 cases among the 465 horses potentially exposed to the disease.

In Pune, also in Maharashtra, there have been 304 cases, with 2813 horses potentially susceptible.

In Kolkata (Calcutta), in West Bengal, there have been 20 cases among horses used by the mounted police.

In Delhi, there have been 49 cases, with 1353 horses potentially susceptible to the highly contagious disease.

"The event is continuing," said the report, submitted by Natarajan Gokulram, secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, based in New Delhi.

The outbreaks have seriously disrupted racing in parts of India.

The first outbreak was in the village of Katra, late in June, and the second, centred on the village of Anantnag, began on July 7.