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Veterinarian emphasizes the importance of Coggins testing

A Wisconsin state veterinarian is urging the owners of horses, donkeys, mules, zebras, and ponies to step up fly control, equipment sterilization, and Coggins testing after two related cases of Equine Infectious Anemia were found last week. Dr. Julie McGuinn says, “Those people that say, ‘Why do we have to do this test every year because it’s always negative?’ It’s not always negative, unfortunately?”

Dr. Julie McGuinn tells Brownfield a horse and a mule in the same Taylor County pasture tested positive for EIA.  She says the horse likely acquired the disease from the mule through biting flies.  McGuinn says the horse was free of the disease when it came to the farm about a year ago, and the mule was not recently tested, so regular testing of all equine animals is important. “If a horse is going to a horse show, to a fair, crossing state lines, undergoing a change of ownership, going to an organized trail ride, all of these horses should be tested, but don’t forget about those ones that are sitting in a pasture. Those should be tested, too.”

Horses that contract EIA become carriers and remain infectious for life.  There is no treatment available, so the infected animals are almost always euthanized.

McGuinn says these are the first animals to test positive for Equine Infectious Anemia in almost 15 years, and both animals appeared to be perfectly healthy.

Dr. Julie McGuinn discusses the Equine Infectious Anemia cases found in Wisconsin

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