Potentially deadly equine virus contained

The outbreak of equine infectious anemia in northwestern Nebraska earlier this month did not spread to any horses that came in contact with the infected herd, a cause for celebration as the summer horse show and rodeo season arrives.

The herd that included the infected horses, in northwestern Cherry county is still being quarantined and will continued to be tested in the near future to ensure that the disease has not spread. Other animals that had come into contact with the infected herd have also been quarantined and tested. There is no sign that the outbreak was passed on to any animals beyond the initially infected group.

Nebraska State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Hughes believes that the risk of spread at this point is very small.

EIA is a blood born disease that only affects horses, mules and donkeys. It is most often passed on by insects that bite and is usually fatal. There is no treatment or cure for EIA, so 10 of the 12 infected horses were humanely euthanized, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

"Humanely euthanized means put down by injection," said Christin Kamm, public information officer for the NDA.

The two other infected horses were sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa for more testing. These horses will not return to Nebraska.

"They're looking at testing for a potential vaccine or other preventative measures," Kamm said.

Officials with the NDA are still working to discover where the outbreak originally initiated from.

The entirety of the original herd did not contract EIA.

"It was larger than 12, some of them weren't infected," Kamm said.

The NDA encourages all horse owners, not just ones who take their horses to shows, to implement control practices to prevent EIA. These include never breeding a potentially infected horse and sticking to the one-horse one-needle rule. Ranchers should also get rid of standing water on their property and make sure any additions to their herd have a negative Coggins test, the test that determines the presence of EIA, before intermingling with the other horses.

All ranchers across the state should see their veterinarian immediately if they have a donkey, mule or horse exhibiting signs of fever, depression or weight loss, Kamm said.

Any rancher importing their horses into Nebraska for show or exhibition should follow the state's import regulations which require a negative Coggins test.