Five cases of deadly African horse sickness have been recorded in Malaysia
© Laurence Doussot
By Equestrian Life
Five cases of African horse sickness have been reported and confirmed in Malaysia, with the source of the infections yet to be confirmed. The disease is spread by biting midges and affects horses, mules and donkeys; horses experience a mortality rate of around 90% if infected.
Earlier this year a significant outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) occurred in neighbouring Thailand, resulting in over 500 horse deaths, however no cases have been recorded or reported in Thailand since June. Thousands of horses were vaccinated against the disease in Thailand after the country’s first cases were reported in February. Thailand’s outbreak was the first instance of AHS being detected in Southeast Asia, and the disease is thought to have made its way to Thailand via zebras imported from Africa.
The five cases in Malaysia have all occurred at the same property in the state of Terengganu, which is around 200km from the Thai border. However the centre of Thailand’s AHS outbreak, the Pak Chong district, is around 1,500km away. In an attempt to prevent the disease spreading, Malaysian authorities have imposed movement controls inside the country, surveillance, and quarantine measures, however vaccination against the virus is prohibited in Malaysia.
At present the source of Malaysia’s outbreak is listed as unknown or inconclusive, however serotyping the virus will indicate whether there are any possible links with Thailand’s outbreak, which involves only serotype 1. There are nine different forms of African horse sickness.
Symptoms of African Horse Sickness include fever, sweating, difficulty breathing, nasal discharge, and swelling of the eyes and/or head.
READ THE LATEST NEWS ARTICLES HERE
