On June 3, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) national reference laboratory officials confirmed positive results for a horse in Lac Ste. Anne County, Alberta. A rescue facility’s owner requested the test by an accredited veterinarian as compliance with pre-entry requirements.

CFIA is investigating, and movement controls were placed on the affected horse, which is reported to have not had any contact with other horses at the facility. Movement controls will remain in place until disease response protocols are complete, including destruction of the confirmed case. Per current policy, actions at additional premises may take place as a result of trace-out findings.

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.