Posted by the New Mexico Livestock Board: PIROPLASMOSIS CONFIRMED IN NM HORSE July 25, 2014 A thoroughbred race horse at a training barn in Tularosa, NM has been confirmed positive for Equine Piroplasmosis. The horse was initially tested in order to enter the training barn and was found positive for Theileria equi. That result was confirmed by testing at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, IA. The training barn and the premises of origin for the positive horse are under quarantine and the process has begun to determine the locations of exposed horses that will have to be tested. This disease is naturally spread by some species of tropical and subtropical ticks. Anything that transfers blood from an infected horse can transfer the disease to another horse. In New Mexico the disease has almost exclusively been found in racing horses. It is believed that the disease is being spread by the re-use of contaminated hypodermic needles and syringes, blood contamination of multi-use injectable medications and in blood and serum products used to boost a race horse. Often times these practices are more common in racing not conducted on sanctioned race tracks, i.e. bush track racing, where there is no testing for or oversight of the medications given to these horses. The NM Racing Commission currently requires a negative test for T. equi in order for a horse to enter a sanctioned track for racing or training purposes.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:56:39 +0000
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