A mule in South Carolina has tested positive for equine infectious anemia (EIA), making that case the first confirmed new incidence of the disease originating in that state for more than a decade.

On Sept. 4, South Carolina State Veterinarian Boyd H. Parr, DVM, confirmed that a mule residing in Aiken County tested positive for EIA. Veterinarians diagnosed the animal's condition during routine testing, he said.

“It was the first case we had since the 1990s,” Parr said.

Parr said the mule's owners decided to have the animal humanely euthanized. Samples of the animal's blood were drawn for research purposes, he said, in hopes of helping other horses