Virus Disrupts Horse Shows in Iceland

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=40764&ew_0_a_id=361775


05/05/2010 | 07:30

Flu Disrupts Horse Shows in Iceland

A cough is spreading among horses in Iceland, causing delays to the preparation of the national horse tournament this summer. Veterinarian Sigr?dur Bj?rnsd?ttir urges riders to let their horses rest while they are ill and not take them to shows or competitions.

The disease hasn?t been analyzed yet but Bj?rnsd?ttir said it appears to be a new virus infection which hasn?t been detected in Iceland before and horses therefore don?t have much resistance to it. Bacterial infections often follow, which can lead to fever and mucus, Morgunbladid reports.

?The problem is that horses take a long time to recover and in fact we don?t know for sure how long it takes before they have recovered fully,? Bj?rnsd?ttir said. If training begins too early, the horses might relapse, she explained.

?Riders must take this seriously. We have come to discover that this is worse than what we thought at the beginning,? the veterinarian added.

The Landsm?t, the biannual national horse tournament, is coming up in Skagafj?rdur, north Iceland, in late June.

Related shows and tournaments have already begun. The coughing has caused withdrawals from tournaments and also interrupted work at H?lar University and at training centers across Iceland.

 

[tropical]

Re: Virus Disrupts Horse Shows in Iceland

#1: "The disease hasn?t been analyzed yet"


Flu ...
or the result of inhaled volcano eruptions particles ...

 

[kiwibird]

Re: Virus Disrupts Horse Shows in Iceland

Puzzle over Iceland mystery closer to being solved

June 18, 2010

The mysterious respiratory disease that began to spread across Iceland early in April is close to being identified.


Testing showed that the contagious infection was not influenza - Iceland is one of three countries in the world free of the disease - and the ash from a recent major volcanic eruption was also ruled out.

An investigation indicates equine herpesvirus may have been behind the initial infection. With the animals' immune system weakened, a streptococcus infection was able to take hold and cause the worst of the symptoms.

The Icelandic visir.is website reports that research had been undertaken at Keldur, the Institute for Experimental Pathology.

The two strands had been pulled together after Halld?r Run?lfsson, chief veterinary officer at Keldur, held a discussion with two veterinarians who had also been conducting research into the outbreak.

"There are indications that viral infections cause the beginning of the horse fever and streptococci infections the more difficult part," said Run?lfsson, chief veterinary officer at Keldur.

Testing of samples from infected horses had revealed the presence of the herpesvirus, but further testing was required.

Work undertaken by Iceland's food and veterinary authority, MAST, has already confirmed that the bacterium Streptococcus equi Zooepidemicus has been found in many horses with longer-lasting cases of the disease.

The infection mainly involved the upper respiratory tract, at first with serious nasal discharge, a dry cough and mild conjunctivitis.

In some cases the nasal discharge turns mucopurulent. Temperature remains normal in most cases, but tolerance to exercise is reduced.

The spread among stabled horses indicated that horses in Iceland had little or no immunity to the infectious agent.

The incidence in horses fed outside was much lower and the symptoms milder.

No horses are known to have died from the infection.

MAST recommended that horse owners rest horses with symptoms and seek veterinary advice.

"The horses should be put on pasture as soon as possible and stables thoroughly cleaned," it said.

"Special attention should be given to pregnant mares and mares with newborn foals and they [should be] kept on spacious pasture.

The investigation into the outbreak involves specialists from the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority, the Institute for Experimental Pathology at Keldur, and the National Veterinary Institute in Sweden
http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2010/06/103.shtml