UNDIAGNOSED DEATHS, EQUINE (Persian Gulf)

BAHRAIN: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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Date: Fri 16 Apr 2010
Source: The Horse.com [edited]



An as-yet unidentified illness has killed 2 horses and sickened 10
others in Bahrain, reports the Gulf Daily News [see at
].
Authorities began investigating the situation on 15 Apr 2010, and
blood tests have been sent to a specialized laboratory in the United
Arab Emirates.

Because it had not yet been determined whether the illness is viral
or bacterial or how it spreads, horse and stable owners in the area
have been warned not to move their animals. Authorities are also
recommending that owners do not take part in equine sporting events
until more information is forthcoming.

"Two horses have already been put down since they had very severe
infection," Dr Salman Abdul Nabi, Director of Animal Wealth
Directorate, Ministry of Municipality Affairs and Agriculture, told
the Gulf Daily News. Abdul Nabi is Bahrain's Municipalities and
Agriculture Ministry livestock director.

Abdul Nabi reportedly said that he does not feel the illness is
contagious and noted that only a few of the country's 6500 horses
were afflicted.

Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of clinical
studies at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, in
reporting about the situation on Guelph's EquID Blog, said that it is
probably premature to make assessments about whether the illness is
contagious.

"There are many potential causes for an outbreak like this," wrote
Weese. "Not all of them, in fact, are infectious disease, since
toxin-mediated disease must also be considered. If multiple horses
are being affected, the cause is more likely viral than bacterial,
but bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic diseases must be
considered."

The Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Persian
Gulf off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia and is about 4 times the
size of Washington, DC.

[Byline: Tracy Gantz]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail


[The available information does not specify the clinical signs and PM
findings of the mentioned cases. Excluding infectious diseases,
particularly the 2, non-zoonotic equine orbiviruses, African horse
sickness and equine encephalosis, is urgently required. - Mod.AS]

[Maps of Bahrain can be seen at
and
. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
2009
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Equine encephalosis - Israel (03) 20091026.3709
Equine encephalosis - Ethiopia: serological evidence, RFI 20090509.1734
Equine encephalosis - Israel (02): OIE 20090501.1645
Equine encephalosis - Israel: 2008 20090401.1254
2008
----
African horse sickness - Ethiopia (02): serotype 2, update 20080930.3087
African horse sickness - Ethiopia: serotype 2, RFI 20080916.2898
2007
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Equine encephalosis - South Africa (W Cape) 20070509.1495
1999
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Equine encephalosis - S. Africa (Port Elizabeth) 19990428.0708]
...................................arn/mj/lm

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