The Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC) reported Nov. 24 that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) national reference laboratory has confirmed a case of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in a horse in Havelock, Quebec.

“This animal had been sampled by an accredited veterinarian prior to it being moved to a new premises; clinical signs of the disease were not reported,” the EDCC stated. “A CFIA investigation is underway and, as per program policy, a quarantine has been placed on the infected animal and its on-premise contacts. The quarantine will remain until all disease response activities have been completed on the premises, including follow-up testing and ordering the destruction of positive cases.”

In January, animal health officials confirmed another EIA case in a horse in Quebec’s Lanaudière region. It was the province’s first confirmed EIA case since 2011.

Equine infectious anemia is a viral disease that attacks horses’ immune systems. The virus is transmitted through the exchange of body fluids from an infected to a noninfected animal, often by blood-feeding insects such as horseflies, and more rarely through the use of blood-contaminated instruments or needles