16 Horses Now Positive For EIA

[DMK]

Totally, but when I was searching for updates I found another report that referenced the horses having that connection. Is it accurate? Who knows, but definitely not impossible for some horses to transfer up to a recognized track, it’s also not impossible for a recognized trainer to have bush track connections when his horses are about to be ruled off. It’s equally possible for some of those bush track “practices” to go upstream as well.

I grew up in the era of the " coggins ranch" in SFL, so we had our fair share of symptomatic positives and asymptotic carriers along with back yard horses who rarely had annual tests and so on. But we never had anything like this, even when you had an asymptotic carrier who was grazing with a herd on the edge of the glades. I figure whatever happened here is bound to reflect poorly on some level of these horses’ management

[ThreeWishes]

Omg! @DMK I was just thinking about the positive EIA farm/ranch/property that existed back where I grew up in south Florida in the 80’s. I lived in Cooper City,FL. From 1980 until 1992.

[DMK]

I left in '96, Davie, Cooper City, Sunrise. Showed at Huck Lyle’s and Caponey’s in the early days

[ThreeWishes]

. I haven’t thought about Huck Lyle in a lifetime. Small world.

[ThreeWishes]

Do you remember Saddle Up? It was a small horse community in Broward that hosted shows. And was basically an enclave of horse properties that housed a show grounds. Please forgive the thread hijack.

[Fiesta01]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is a factor 8 scenario?

[DMK]

Saddle up was the next iteration of jay caponeys. Jay’s was the first place I boarded when we moved there, then to home, then for a while at Shalamar (almost directly across university from saddle up, except when I was there, University wasn’t a road yet )

[DMK]

It’s when they used untested blood to manufacture factor 8 (also factor VIII), a clotting medication for hemophiliacs and killed a lot of hemophiliacs by giving them AIDS. 40% of the US population, similar level worldwide, I think. There wasn’t a test at the time, but there were enough indications that it was a risk. It’s one of our silent tragedies, lost in so many tragedies related to AIDS in the early 80’s.

And while we are a lot more careful with manufacturing blood byproducts for humans these days (or one certainly hopes we are), it did make me wonder about back alley race horse scientists…

(edited for clarity, it didn’t kill people who had AIDS, the factor 8 was the source of AIDS)

[skydy]

Tragic.

I hope they’re able to find the mode of transmission to see if it’s something that could have been avoided.

[Fiesta01]

Thanks for the explanation. I had never heard about this. How terribly sad.

[DMK]

4 more horses, 3 states. 1 trainer.

Equine Infectious Anemia
Outbreak Identifier: 6570
Alert ID: 4041
October 09, 2024
Outbreak Update
Source: USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services

Number Confirmed: 16;
Facility Type: Racetracks
Comments: Multi-State Equine Infectious Anemia Outbreak in Quarter Horse Racehorses

On September 20th and 24th, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed equine infectious anemia (EIA)-positive results in 4 Quarter Horse racehorses that were part of a group recently moved from racing in New Mexico to Los Alamitos in California. Several of the EIA-positive horses were showing clinical signs of EIA upon arrival to California. Testing of in-contact horses in California and epidemiologically-linked horses in Texas and New Mexico yielded an additional 12 EIA-positive horses. All 16 EIA-positive horses (7 in CA, 1 in NM, 8 in TX) were racing under the same trainer and attending the same series of sanctioned races in New Mexico in August and September. Additional exposed horses have been identified and are in the process of being tested in multiple states. The current epidemiological investigation indicates that spread of EIA among these horses occurred by iatrogenic transmission. Updates to the current situation will be posted as more information becomes available. Prior alerts 4020, 4042

[Demerara_Stables]

Anyone have any idea if this will have broader implications for requiring coggins tests at the state level in CA, NM, TX(?), specifically in other circles that aren’t racing (HJ, dressage, eventing, Western disciplines). It scared me when I moved from FL to CA that no one requires coggins here. Do we think these cases will stay mostly isolated?

[Texarkana]

@Demerara_Stables

Anyone have any idea if this will have broader implications for requiring coggins tests at the state level in CA, NM, TX(?), specifically in other circles that aren’t racing (HJ, dressage, eventing, Western disciplines). It scared me when I moved from FL to CA that no one requires coggins here. Do we think these cases will stay mostly isolated?

I think it will depend on the details, if we ever get them.

If we find out that a horse contracted EIA via natural vectors and it was merely a bad practice (like unsterile medical equipment) that spread it around the barn, then I could see cause for increased concerned for all horse owners.

But there is a high likelihood that there is some seriously fishy business going on behind this “outbreak.” In which case, I don’t think the general horse owning population has any need for increased concern.

[Demerara_Stables]

I read your comments above - you don’t need to get into details if you prefer not to, but do you mean something like another barn/trainer/disgruntled groom gave it to them on purpose? Or something else?

[ThreeWishes]

Probably blood.doping.cheating to win. With unsafe practices

[Texarkana]

@Demerara_Stables

I read your comments above - you don’t need to get into details if you prefer not to, but do you mean something like another barn/trainer/disgruntled groom gave it to them on purpose? Or something else?

What @ThreeWishes said. I suspect it was some kind of blood doping. I think if it was something as simple as “dirty needles” or other unclean equipment, they would broadcast that and use it as a cautionary tale. The fact that they know it’s “iatrogenic” yet have said nothing more makes me think there was illegal activity occurring that they either need to investigate further or don’t want to put out there for fear others will try it.

[Demerara_Stables]

Oh I understand what you’re saying. Thanks!

[Laurierace]

My money is on some sort of blood doping as well sad to say.

[MsM]

But there is still the question of “horse Zero” who carried EIA. Which horse and how did it contract it?

[JB]

Horse Zero likely contracted it the natural way, an insect