On May 24, Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) national reference laboratory confirmed positive infectious anemia (EIA) results for a horse in Watson Lake, Yukon Territory. The horse’s owner had requested the test from an accredited veterinarian to comply with a facility’s pre-entry requirements.

Per program policy, CFIA is investigating and has enacted an official quarantine for the animal and its on-premises contacts. Additional equines are reported as being on the affected premises.

The quarantine will remain in effect until all disease response protocols are complete, including follow-up testing and ordering euthanasia of confirmed cases. According to policy, trace-out activities might call for the CFIA to enact program protocols at other premises.

About EIA

Equine infectious anemia is a viral disease that attacks horses’ immune systems. The virus is transmitted through the exchange of body fluids from an infected to an uninfected animal, often by blood-feeding insects such as horseflies. It can also be transmitted through the use of blood-contaminated instruments or needles.

A Coggins test screens horses’ blood for antibodies that are indicative of the presence of the EIA virus. Most U.S. states require horses to have proof of a negative Coggins test to travel across state lines.

Once an animal is infected with EIA, it is infected for life and can be a reservoir for the spread of disease. Not all horses show signs of disease, but those that do can exhibit:

• Progressive condition loss;
• Muscle weakness;
• Poor stamina;
• Fever;
• Depression; and
• Anemia.

EIA has no vaccine and no cure. A horse diagnosed with the disease dies, is euthanized, or must be placed under extremely strict quarantine conditions (at least 200 yards away from unaffected equids) for the rest of his life.