Containing the outbreak is critical not only for Thailand but also elsewhere in Asia. AHS can spread in midge migration up to about 150 km (about 93 miles) across land or 700 km (about 435 miles) across water. | Photo: iStock

All this, in a context of social distancing, closed businesses, and anxiety as horse owners and stable managers face the human COVID-19 pandemic.

Such is the grim reality facing horse owners across Thailand, particularly in the affected provinces where AHS has been killing horses at a rate of 94% in those showing clinical signs. Thai authorities have reported that 192 horses in six provinces have died as of last week, an increase of nearly 40 from the week before. The outbreak apparently began February 24 with the death of a racehorse in the Pak Chong district, but 42 horses had died before scientists confirmed a diagnosis of AHS in the previously AHS-free country one month later.

With no effective treatment in existence, the only strategy authorities can implement is one of prevention, said leading global experts during a webinar dedicated to Thailand’s AHS outbreak hosted April 10 by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Limited stocks of vaccines arrived from South Africa on April 13, with a priority given to horses in the most affected zones