Agriculture authorities have confirmed Ireland’s first recorded cases of equine infectious anemia (EIA). Ireland’s Department of Agriculture and Food announced Thursday (June 15) that the disease was detected in a “small number of horses” in the Meath/Kildare area. The disease was likely caused by the use of infected equine blood products, and investigations into the outbreak are ongoing.

A press release from the Department said, “The Department is also tracing those horses which, in the past three months, have passed through those farms on which the infected animals were located.”

Authorities are recommending that farm owners and managers and other horse owners have their horses tested for the disease, which has an incubation period of one to three weeks.

“The Department is particularly anxious that all reasonable steps should be taken by owners of horses to ensure that the Department can continue to certify horses for export, where such certification is required,” continued the release