Saskatchewan and other regions of Western Canada are in the midst of the largest equine infectious anemia (EIA) outbreak the area has seen in years, involving more than 70 horses and 22 different properties thus far in 2012. In response, two veterinarians discussed the importance of disease surveillance in controlling–and possibly even eradicating–the deadly disease from North American horse populations.

EIA is an incurable infectious disease of horses that is spread by biting insects such as flies. Like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), there is neither cure nor vaccine for EIA. All positive horses are either humanely euthanized or placed under lifelong quarantine.

First recognized in North America in Wisconsin in the late 1800s, EIA outbreaks were increasingly identified across the continent, causing alarm throughout the industry. The Coggins test, which reliably identifies affected horses, was introduced in the 1970s and plays a key role in stopping virus spread from infected horses, to the insect vectors, to more horses