The FEI is urging the international equestrian community to be vigilant for the clinical signs of Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1) amongst competition horses.
EHV-1 may result in clinical signs of respiratory disease, neurological disease and abortion in pregnant mares. The neurological form of the disease is considered a significant threat to equine health and equine events.
Since 1 January 2019, more than 70 cases of neurological EHV-1 have been reported in 10 countries. Horses in Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America have been affected.
Early January, four horses died during an outbreak of neurological EHV-1 at Crofton Manor Equestrian Centre in Hampshire (GBR), a competition venue hosting national events. Prior to this outbreak, cases of neurological EHV-1 were confirmed at FEI events in Norway during March 2019 and in the Czech Republic in November 2019. The FEI Veterinary Department subsequently traced the Persons Responsible for horses that may have been in close contact with these cases to request the implementation of isolation and monitoring procedures.
Please alert your athletes and their support teams to the risks associated with this virus and encourage them to be vigilant.
Changes have been made to the 2020 FEI Veterinary Regulations where horses that show clinical signs or have been in contact with affected horses will not be allowed to access FEI events. They may not be entered in future FEI events until they have fulfilled health requirements as determined by the FEI Veterinary Department.
In the event of a horse developing clinical signs of the virus, the horse must be placed in isolation, strict biosecurity measures implemented and samples taken for diagnostic testing. In-contact horses must be identified, placed under strict biosecurity measures and carefully monitored.
The FEI’s comprehensive question and answer document on the Equine Herpes Virus is available here.
Information on basic biosecurity guidelines to safeguard the horse population and other related information can be found on Inside.FEI.org