Horse sickness

["Tracey" <tracey@tbt.co.za>]

Hi, all.



>There is no law requiring you to vaccinate,>

You are correct, and my previous email incorrect.  I was thinking about the
law relating to horses entering the "free zone" in the Cape (a tiny area in
Cape Town where there is no AHS, and where our horses are quarantined for
six weeks before they are allowed to travel overseas.


>but you would be stupid not toas your horse will die!>

Absolutely.


>We have an area in the Cape where you are NOT allowed to vaccinate as it is
our quaratine area to the outside world (+-100km around the quaratine
station) and there are strict laws when it comes to moving horses into and
out of the area.>

Are you sure about this?  I don't think horses LIVING in the area are
allowed to be vacc'd, but horses travelling down from other parts of the
country have to be, and you need a vet's certificate re this.  At least,
this was my understanding.


>The disease cannot be passed from horse to horse so non-vaccinated horses
competing with vaccinated ones will not have any effect on each other, if an
un-vaccinated horse goes into an AHS area then you are in trouble. There are
little pockets scattered around the country where people have no need to
vaccinate, usually the size of a few farms, these farms are often bought by
large breeders, which illiminates the need to vaccinate (at great cost) lots
of breeding stock that will never leave the farm, in these cases only
youngsters will be vaccinated before being sold of the farm.>

And I have a bridge to sell you!  Even the "free zone" has had outbreaks
recently.


>>Actually the immunity doesn't last a full year but for a few crucial weeks
when AHS is most prevelent, the rest of the year the (lets call it)
secondary immunity buildup from the annual vaccines protect the horse but
this is not enough to get through the bad period so you have to vaccinate
annually. After 16 yrs of age the horse will often have enough secondary
immunity builupd to only need vaccination every second year.>

Wouldn't bet on it - what about mutations of the disease.  I'd vacc annually
regardless of age.

>>For youngsters they need at least three vaccinations before the age of two
(preferably 2 vaccinations before 1 yr of age and the other the following
year) before they have a good chance of not being infected, although as I
said before the vaccine is no guantee of immunity.>>


According to Ross, they're still vulnerable until they're about 5.


I've been trying to get more info re number of horses affected annually,
number of deaths, etc (you know, the good stuff) but I keep getting cut off
by OP's virology dept.  My vet gave a thumb-suck figure last year of about
fifty horses dead.  Quite scary.  I remember one of our top SJs getting it,
when there was a break-out at Rand Show.  I think it was one of Ronnie
Lawrence's horses - Celeste?  Nothing like losing a really expensive horse
to a disease you've vacc'd against, only to find the little f.....r's
mutated into something which the vacc no longer works on.  Welcome to
Africa, have a disease!

Tracey