Midge-borne viruses which have already seriously affected sheep and cattle
in Europe are poised to strike the UK's equine population where mortality rates of around 90%
are predicted, says The Horse Trust.
The Trust is calling on the Government to:
- Advise what plans are in place to deal with an outbreak of African Horse Sickness in the UK;
- Assess the likely impact of a UK outbreak of African Horse sickness on the country’s £4bn equine industry;
- Support research into the prevention and control of African Horse Sickness in the UK.
"Recent changes in climate and midge populations in Europe have resulted in the rapid and extensive spread of Bluetongue
virus which hit cattle and sheep in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France in 2006," says the Trust's chief
executive and resident veterinary surgeon Paul Jepson
"African Horse Sickness is related to Bluetongue and is spread by the same midge (Culicoides species). It can kill up to
90% of the horses it infects," he added.
The Trust acknowledges that the horse is a low priority for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which
would be responsible for managing and controlling any such outbreak.
Consequently, in 2007 The Horse Trust will spearhead:
- an education campaign to all horse owners to make them aware of the possibility of AHS strike and the symptoms;
- an information campaign throughout the equine veterinary profession to ensure early diagnosis;
- a research programme to evaluate the likely impact of the disease and develop appropriate control measures in accordance with the aims of the Equine Health Welfare Strategy.
There are multiple serotypes of this Orbivirus and the only vaccines currently available are live attenuated preparations
manufactured in South Africa. These vaccines are not licensed for use in Europe, though they can be used as an emergency
response when the disease has taken hold.
Research institutes and vaccine manufacturers are already working to develop more effective and safe cattle and sheep vaccines
for Bluetongue. It is anticipated that this disease could reach the UK in 2007.
Infected midges can be blown by the wind for more than 100km and transported long distances in farm vehicles.
African Horse Sickness was diagnosed in Spain in 1987-90 and in Portugal in 1989 but was eradicated using slaughter policies,
movement restrictions, vector eradication and vaccination. Were AHS to break out in Europe again, under current vector and
climate conditions it is inevitable that it will have a much greater opportunity to establish itself - including in the UK.
Although the disease is notifiable in the UK and Europe, a UK slaughter policy is unlikely to be viable once the disease is
established in the midge vector population and the vaccines that currently exist are either not available or are unlicensed or
unsuitable for use where the disease is not endemic, or not available, leaving the susceptible UK and European horse population
highly vulnerable to this lethal disease.
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