Swamp fever may be contained

THERE is increasing confidence the outbreak of swamp fever in horses has been contained and progress has been made toward its eradication.

It is 55 days since the most recent case was confirmed, the longest interval to have elapsed between any two cases.

A targeted surveillance programme by the Department of Agriculture and Food has concluded in the Meath/Kildare/Dublin region, but testing of samples will continue, particularly for horses being entered for sale or for export.

The department and the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (ITBA) have called for continued vigilance.

They have also urged strict compliance with the recommendation that any mare to be covered this season should have a second Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) test if the January test is outside of 28 days of transportation to a stud or foaling unit.

They also expressed appreciation for the Irish Equine Centre’s (IEC) commitment to ensuring the volume of testing is undertaken expeditiously.

The IEC virology unit tested some 14,000 blood samples for the disease in January, meaning 42,000 samples have been tested since June 2006.

It commended the ITBA for including specific EIA recommendation in its 2007 code of practice and the stud farms which signed up to implementing the recommendation.

The department said the number of samples tested for EIA is set to reach 50,000 by the end of March.

Assuming no further cases, all premises restrictions should be lifted by mid-March.

Fifty-three premises have been subjected to movement restriction since June 2006, with only eight currently under restriction.