Survival rates are low in the current European atypical myopathy outbreak, according to an alert group led by Belgian researchers.

To date, at least 49 horses have died from the disease, as opposed to only four confirmed survivals in a total of 83 reported cases, said Gaby van Galen, DVM, MSc, Dipl. ECEIM, a primary researcher for the Atypical Myopathy Alert Group (AMAG) at the University of Liége. "We're still waiting for information about the others," she said.

France continues to have the vast majority of reported cases at 61. The United Kingdom is now reporting seven cases, and Germany four. The Netherlands has at least three but will be sending in more files soon, van Galen said. Belgium and Switzerland both have three cases each, and Sweden has only had one report so far.

Survival rate at this time is only 5%, based on the statistics of the reported data. The previous epidemic ended in December 2009 with a survival rate of 22%

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.