Atypical myopathy has sickened 47 horses in an ongoing spring outbreak in Europe, according to an alert group led by Belgian researchers.

Reports of new cases continue to stream into the data being collected by the Atypical Myopathy Alert Group (AMAG) at the University of Liége, according to Gaby van Galen, DVM, MSc, Dipl. ECEIM, one of the group's two primary researchers.

France has reported the majority of cases at 34, while Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, and Sweden have reported fewer than five each. Survival statistics have not yet been released. As the disease is not reportable, these figures are probably underestimated, van Galen said.

Symptoms of atypical myopathy include severe generalized weakness and stiffness, often leading to death. Urine becomes coffee-colored, and blood workups show significant increases in plasma levels of creatine kinase