Help wanted for Canadian quarantine research

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Horses travelling to competitions present a risk of bringing infections back home. At the event they encounter other horses and may pick up infectious diseases. As events often last only a few days, horses may return home while incubating the disease, and subsequently infect their stable mates. 

Researchers at the University of Guelph, Canada, are seeking participants for a study entitled “Effectiveness of Equine Facility Quarantine Procedures Following the Arrival of a New or Returning Horse”

The research, conducted at the Ontario Veterinary College, is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Canada Research Chairs program. Principal investigators are Dr. Amy Greer, and Dr. Terri O’Sullivan aided by PhD candidate Gabrielle Turcotte. 

They explain that the research “seeks to examine the effectiveness of a quarantine protocol for an equestrian facility in the case of a potential spread of an infectious pathogen. We also hope to interview equestrian facility owners about the perceptions of risk of travel to off-property equestrian events and existing biosecurity procedures at home facilities.

“With most events in Ontario lasting no more than 4 days, horses can then return to their home facility before showing clinical symptoms of disease, putting the home facility herd at risk. This research study could help your facility evaluate its ability to maintain equine herd health and welfare. Additionally, your insight can have an impact on expectations and importance of quarantine protocols and help inform existing network simulations for equine infectious disease.”

So, if you are based within 90 minutes of Guelph or Toronto, with a horse facility housing between 5 and 20 horses, with more than one horse owner, that engage in off-property events, the research team would like to hear from you.
 
For more details, go to:

https://uoguelph.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dnHYpMsmycaPnEi?jfefe=new