READING the Horse Sense editor’s article of May 30th on mandatory vaccinations, following a trip to a World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) conference, made me think of the links between animal disease and an industry’s ability to conduct its business between animal and human health.

I well remember bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the terrible sight of cattle staggering about, but I also remember the cull due to the real risk (sadly realised) that some people would suffer the horrific condition that is Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Notification of trading partners, with possible restrictions, still follows upon the occasional recent (atypical) case.

We similarly remember an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, thankfully not a zoonosis in these islands (an infectious disease caused by a virus, bacterium, parasite, or fungus that naturally jumps from a non-human animal to a human). It caused the livestock industry to grind to a halt, suspending its ability to trade in cloven-hooved animals and leading in some parts to funeral pyres of burning cattle carcasses.

Being at WOAH reminded me that some countries do not operate a cull, but rather a containment policy for this very disease. That is, they vaccinate susceptible animals as disease prevention and/or in the face of disease outbreaks. The reason we, in these parts, adopt a slaughter strategy is largely not because the disease kills animals, but that its presence would suspend our ability to trade globally.

Compulsory slaughter

Much of this readership will recall an outbreak of EIA (swamp fever) in our horse herd in 2006 and its consequences, including compulsory slaughter, restriction on BAU (business as usual) and reputational damage. I hope they are similarly aware of CEM, EHV, EVA and the growing threat of West Nile virus.

Consider also African horse sickness (AHS). Vaccines have been developed, but are not always readily available, or availed of, again for trade reasons. Thankfully, it’s a disease few in this readership will have experienced, an exotic midge generally necessary for spread. Given the name, you can imagine its usual haunts, but it was identified in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 1980s and in South East Asia in the early 2020s. Relevant factors for global spread from Africa might include Spain’s proximity to Morocco, the ever-growing international movement of live horses for competition and breeding, and climate change enabling the insect vector to survive in new places, e.g. Thailand. The Donkey Sanctuary, which identified AHS virus in donkey skins at an abattoir in East Africa, proposes that the trade of this equine by-product toward China represents a risk factor for the equine industries in South East Asia.

Increasingly, we understand that the health of both the environment and the animals about us determines our own well-being

Emerging diseases

One Health is a concept much promoted by WOAH - it describes how animal, human and environmental health are inter-connected-and-dependent. Increasingly, we understand that the health of both the environment and the animals about us determines our own well-being. We share many disease-causing organisms - most of the emerging diseases in humans are first recognised in animals; and vets use essentially the same medicines to treat disease in animals as medics use in humans. The answers lie NOT with ignoring the risks and carrying on regardless; but, in

These are the cornerstones of infectious disease control.

Though related viruses, equine influenza is not human ‘flu nor indeed AI (avian influenza, not artificial intelligence or insemination!); but your editor also reminded us recently that incidents of infectious disease, such as equine influenza, raise broader questions about responsibility. We may focus on our own equids, but we shouldn’t forget that our behaviours, habits and practices can contribute to increasing or mitigating the risk for others in the sector too.

As per One Health principles, health and welfare are shared entities: high animal and environmental health standards are interlinked with better human health; each is worthy in its own right; but together they make up our one and only everything.

By caring for our animals’ needs and protecting the spaces we share, we also enhance our own well-being - a goal well worth achieving in these most challenging times.