African Horse Sickness
African Horse Sickness is an infectious viral disease found in horses and donkeys and is highly fatal. The disease is closely related to Bluetongue Disease which was found in dozens of farm animals in the UK in 2007. Like Bluetongue the virus is spread by biting flies and midges.
Although no cases of African Horse Sickness have been diagnosed in the UK, veterinary disease experts warn that an outbreak of the disease is possible in the UK. The reason for this is the changing climate that the UK and Europe has been experiencing over recent years – this can be reflected by the recent Bluetongue outbreak in the UK, which was the first time it had ever been found in Britain.
The clinical signs seen can vary between cases, however the most acute form is characterised by a high fever, laboured breathing, coughing and profuse discharge from the nostrils. The mortality rate is up to 95% with horses dying within a week. Other symptoms include swellings over the head and eyelids, lips, cheeks and under the jaw. A milder form of the disease can occur which is characterised by a fever with low temperatures in the morning rising to a high peak in the afternoon.
Blood samples and post mortem results can confirm the diagnosis of the disease. African Horse Sickness is a notifiable disease.