With a highly mobile horse community, keeping horses free from disease is one of the biggest challenges for horse owners. The fight to keep infectious diseases at bay has taken a step forward with a generous donation from the Equine Foundation of Canada (EFC). The funding allows the purchase of new equipment, including a microcentrifuge and fluorometer, for the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses at the University of Guelph.

"This equipment will help us explore some new areas in equine infectious diseases and hopefully help us understand how to better treat and prevent serious infections," said Scott Weese DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, an associate professor in the Department of Pathobiology and Canada Research Chair at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. "We are grateful for the assistance of the Equine Foundation of Canada in advancing equine infectious disease research."

The funding for this equipment will help advance the specialized work being done in Weese’s lab, and complement the array of equipment that is already present in the laboratory, including a state-of-the-art ‘next generation’ sequencing system.

"Our laboratory was the first laboratory of any type in Canada to obtain this system, and it provides a unique capability internationally to perform equine infectious diseases research," continued Weese