Greetings,

The sign up deadline for the 2010 Large Animal Rescue Class is approaching and we are getting full. If you are planning on attending this year, we hope to hear from you soon. This years class will be a Operational Level Class meaning the hands on portion will be limited in size. There will be opportunities for auditing at a Awareness Level. New this year is a Hazardous Materials Course. We also currently have an agreement with the Coast Guard to provide a helicopter assist for a sling rescue.

Full details of the class are available at www.bveh.com/Seminars.htm.

Take care,

Ben

–
Benjamin R Buchanan, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC
Brazos Valley Equine Hospital
Navasota, TX
936-825-2197
936-825-6794 fax

Prepared by Andy Schwartz, TAHC

Index Case

• The first Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) case in the current situation in South Texas was detected in October, 2009.  A total of 2,330 horses have been tested in association with this case, with 409 of these horses found to be Theileria (formerly Babesia) equi positive. Results of the disease investigation indicate infection may have been present on the index premises as far back as 1990.
• Two species of ticks, Amblyomma cajennense (“Cayenne tick ”) and Dermacentor variabilis (“American dog tick”), collected from the index ranch have proven capable of transmitting T. equi to other horses under laboratory conditions. One or both of these ticks are the most probable agents in the spread of piroplasmosis in the South Texas outbreak, though intrauterine transmission likely played a role.
• Tracing of horses from index premises is almost compete, with 182 of 187 animals located and tested or determined to be deceased. To determine if disease transmission was occurring elsewhere, cohorts to the 69 positive trace animals were tested, with only 1 of 913 found to be test positive.
• Testing of 616 horses on 77 adjacent premises found only 1 positive animal, indicating this is not a geographic outbreak. The single positive horse was a cohort to another positive horse off the index ranch, and was likely exposed in that manner.

Subsequent Cases

• In response to the South Texas case, a number of states and some equine events put test requirements in place for horses entering the state or event. See the TAHC website at  http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/  for links to the states with requirements on Texas horses. This “movement” testing has led to the disclosure of 41 horses positive to T. equi, and 1 horse positive to Babesia caballi, another protozoan known to cause piroplasmosis.
• None of the positive horses found through movement testing are related to the index case summarized above. Nine of the 42 were imported from countries where EP is endemic, and entered the US prior to 2006 while the CF test was still being used, or entered the US from Canada, which is considered EP free, and no test was required. The remaining 34 are Quarter Horse racing horses.
• No evidence has been found to indicate disease has been transmitted from the imported horses found to be positive. Disease transmission between QH racing horses is thought to be via contaminated needles or tattoo instruments, or through the use of contaminated blood products.

Activities in Texas

 TAHC and USDA-APHIS-VS are working together to conduct full disease investigations on each case. Standards for isolation of positive horses and retesting of exposed horses have been developed and are being followed. Movement of positive horses is only allowed by waiver granted by the Executive Director.

• There is ongoing communication with disease experts, industry representatives, and the Texas Racing Commission to gather input for setting policy and direction.
• Rules adopted during the June 15 meeting of the TAHC Commissioners require the identification of positive horses. The link to this and other rules can be found on the TAHC website.
• TAHC staff have encouraged states with the most restrictive entry requirements to take a more scientific approach and adjust their requirements to the facts of the current situation.
• TVMDL received approval to run EP tests conducted for interstate and event testing. Labs in 6 other states have been approved as well.
• TAHC has requested a list of all horses imported from EP endemic countries prior to 2006. This request is still under consideration by USDA-APHIS-VS top officials.
• TAHC maintains a representative on the National EP Working Group, and the EP subcommittee of the USAHA Committee on Infectious Diseases of Horses.
• TAHC continues to support research projects on EP being conducted by USDA-ARS in Pullman, Washington. Current projects include treatment studies, transmission studies, and development of genetic fingerprinting.
• A large portion of TAHC’s resources are being expended in this unforeseen, monumental disease response effort. TAHC receives no federal  or specific state funding for EP related activities.

National Level

• The American Horse Council and USDA hosted an Equine Issues Workshop and Forum in Washington, DC, this past June.
• The National EP Working continues its efforts to provide direction to the response effort on a national level.
• Other states with recently disclosed EP positive animals include New Mexico, California, Florida, Colorado, Oklahoma, Ohio, Massachusetts, Georgia, North Carolina, and Illinois. Most of these horses are QH racing horses, or were imported from EP endemic countries.

Dr. Kristen Slater

Dr.  Kristen Slater, with Kasper & Rigby Veterinary Associates, came to the Greater Houston Horse Council meeting to talk to us about parasites in horses.  Thanks Dr. Slater for stopping by.   Your presentation was very informative.

Kasper and Rigby
Veterinary Associates
26231 FM 2978
Magnolia, Texas 77354
281-356-4045

The first hurricane of the 2010 hurricane season, Hurricane Alex, put many Texas agencies on alert. Texas Task Force-1 was activated and deployed to respond to anticipated flooding condition in South Texas. Ready and waiting should they be needed was the Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
Knowing that Brazos County was going to be a designated evacuation hub for hurricane threats and eager to find a solution where experts in animal welfare could respond in the event of a disaster, talks were initiated shortly after Hurricane Rita between the college and the Emergency Response staff of Brazos County.

To respond in an emergency, the team has acquired special equipment and the funds to not only purchase this equipment, but also to support the team. Funds were requested and received from the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other sources, and have immediately been used to build the necessary infrastructure for the emergency response teams.

“Once we knew that we were going to be able to develop formalized teams, we began to organize under the name TAMU VET, or Texas A&M University Veterinary Emergency Team,” said Bissett. “We have purchased some special tents, satellite equipment, portable stocks & stalls, kenneling materials, etc. so that when we are out in the field, we are able to deploy as a fully self-sustaining unit.”
While deployed, the team is able to do assessments of animals and triage the injured. This process can include doing toxicity sampling of water supplies to better know what is available to stranded livestock and pets, evaluating food and nutrition needs, and developing ways to stabilize the injured animals and get them to safety and shelter.
“We want to limit animal suffering,” said Bissett. “So animal welfare will be paramount to our thinking. Our college was founded on service to the state, so being able to respond when animals in the state are in need is in our tradition of service.”
Not only have these teams dedicated themselves to being available to provide needed aid during a disaster, but they also are using these opportunities as a teaching tool for future veterinarians. Three veterinary medical students serve on the TAMU VETs at any given time.
As Alex ran ashore on the Mexican coast, the TAMU VET team organized gear and personnel to make sure that should the call come to mobilize, they would be ready. Alex was only the first hurricane of the season and won’t be the last. With TAMU VETs loaded and ready, animals caught in a disaster situation will have a dedicated response unit headed their way.
“There are many roles to fill in a time of disaster,” added Bissett. “Our students are able to see how emergency response is something that brings in faculty from the clinics in a multi-disciplinary effort. Not everyone is deployed. As a major referral hospital, the CVM also needs faculty to remain in the hospital to take care of emergent animal needs that arrive from shelters, from evacuees passing through, and from the deployed teams. There’s a role for everyone, and it takes everyone to be successful at what we do.”

For additional information about TAMU VET and emergency preparedness for animals, please contact Angela Clendenin, Director of Communications & Public Relations at (979) 862-2675. For more information about the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, please visit our website at www.vetmed.edu.
If you would rather not receive future communications from TAMU College of Veterinary Medicine, let us know by clicking here.TAMU College of Veterinary Medicine, TAMU MS 4470, College Station, TX 77843-4470 United States

June 12th was another hot and muggy day at the Waller County Fairgrounds in Hempstead, Texas. But among the Garage Sale lookers and the Bar-B-Que cookers their gathered another mixture of people with one common goal – the horse.