THE FEI Veterinary Epidemiology Working Group have confirmed there are no known new outbreaks of the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) linked to the Spanish outbreak and there are no indications that it is not safe to resume competition in mainland Europe as planned next Monday, April 12th, provided the mandated biosecurity measures are in place.

During a meeting this week, the group, which is composed of six EHV experts, including Professor Ann Cullinane, Head of Virology Unit at the Irish Equine Centre, discussed the efficacy of stable-side EHV-1 testing systems and the OIE Reference Laboratory at the Irish Equine Centre has offered to provide proficiency testing kits for these systems.

Professor Cullinane told The Irish Field: “In the past, at the request of the Biosecurity Coordinator of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, we [Irish Equine Centre] validated a testing system for equine influenza and herpes virus for use on site at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“We have offered to do the same for the FEI now as they try to minimise the threat of EHV-1 neurological disease at an event in the coming weeks. Such systems are useful for rapid testing of small numbers of horses but it is essential that the results they generate can be trusted.”

Vaccines

In the USA, vaccination is mandatory at national level, and France have also made a proposal to make the vaccine mandatory for sport horses. However, a National Federation can only impose mandatory vaccination at national level. The Irish sport horse industry recently took a delivery of 4,000 vaccines from the USA.

The FEI have said vaccines will not be made mandatory. “Three years ago, the FEI carefully reviewed the possibility of introducing mandatory vaccination against EHV-1, but there were no vaccines available at that time which would protect against the neurological form of the virus. That is still the case in 2021.

“Only when a vaccine is produced that is effective in providing protection against the neurological form of the virus and is readily available will we consider making vaccination mandatory,” said the FEI.

The FEI Veterinary Epidemiology Working Group was advised that the ‘Return To Competition’ measures had been well received, and had generated many questions, including requests from organisers to approve stabling solutions for their events. The group agreed that there was scientific merit in getting additional expertise in the methods of stabling horses, particularly with regard to configuration, in order to minimise exposure for the future.

Thomas Ryan’s heartbreak

Thomas Ryan this week told The Irish Field about the heartbreak of losing two horses to the deadly virus. “It’s been an experience we want to forget but probably will never forget,” he said following the death of his talented six-year-old gelding Smokey and Grand Prix horse Quintano.

Ryan’s vet has ordered an autopsy on Quintano after he broke his pelvis due to a fall while hand-walking in Valencia. “We are waiting on the results, to see how much damage the virus had done to his spinal cord. That is where the neurological problems set in, they cause swelling in the spinal cord.

“They said for a horse that just lost his back end and fell down behind, there was too much damage done. So the autopsy will tell us how badly it had been before he fell; that the virus had maybe made the bones brittle or caused legions in the bones by itself.”

Ryan’s vet has advised him that his horses, the rest of whom are now back home in Sweden in quarantine, will need two to three months rehabilitation before returning to show fitness.

See page 78 for Thomas Ryan’s full recount