Equine Infectious Anemia Testing

Also widely known as swamp fever, equine infectious anemia is a virus that is known to affect almost all of the members of the equine family such as horses, mules and donkeys. One of the most significant characteristics of equine infectious anemia is the fact that it can affect the animal for the remainder of its lifetime – regularly producing attacks of illness that can range from being extremely mild to instances of such severity that they could even kill the animal. Equine infectious anemia testing is important for all equine animals because of the very serious consequences and outcomes that the condition has. A number of people make the mistake of thinking that the condition is limited to the confines of the United States. However, the condition is known to be a serious problem all over the planet. Proper equine infectious anemia testing will require an EIA blood test to be performed with specific checks for antibodies in the animal’s blood. The seriousness of the condition should never be underestimated and, given the fact that the condition is known to be contagious – it is no wonder that transporting any equine animal across state borders will require the owner to subject his or her animal to testing. The transport of the animal is only permitted once the test results are returned negative. Whether or not equine infectious anemia test is mandatory, it would be foolish to risk your entire horse population.

You can also read on horse anemia causes, symptoms and treatments.

If you are unsure of whether to subject your animal to an equine infectious anemia test, looking for some of the more prominent symptoms might help you make your mind up. For instance, during the early stages of the disease, the animal will be seen to feel a little feverish and uncoordinated. These symptoms are likely to be present and spread out over a number of days – during which it is most likely and easily transmitted to another animal.  After this initial phase of illness, the animal will be seen to have lost a significant amount of weight and lethargic as well as having a rather high body temperature. If the mare is pregnant, the foal is most likely to be aborted during this time. In the third stage of the illness, chances are that the animal will return to normal. However, as mentioned earlier, the horse is now a lifelong carrier of the disease and likely to also suffer from a rather weak immune system.

As of yet, there is no known method of prevention for equine infectious anemia transmission and the main method of prevention is proper identification and control of infected horses, through equine infectious anemia testing.