New online tool to track strangles outbreaks

Owners and veterinary surgeons can now get up to date information about strangles outbreaks in the United Kingdom thanks to a new online tool that has been developed by the Animal Health Trust (AHT). 

Strangles is a common infectious disease of horses that is found throughout the world. Not only is it an important welfare concern, but it also causes significant economic costs to owners and disruption of competition schedules.

The website, developed by the Animal Heath Trust, with support of the Horse Trust and SEIB, Is part of the Surveillance of Equine Strangles project, which was launched in 2019 by the AHT, in collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College and the Universities of Liverpool and Melbourne, and with financial support from The Horse Trust.

The developers hope that the website will prove valuable to people owning and working with horses, especially those travelling around the country to areas which have seen higher rates of strangles diagnoses.

Being able to see where strangles is being diagnosed will allow owners to increase their vigilance and biosecurity /hygiene measures when they know that they are in, or are planning to travel to, areas where there is a higher risk of encountering the disease.

 “Not only do we want to help contribute to research into Strangles but one of our key aims is to share our findings with the equine industry to help keep the UK’s horses and ponies, happy and healthy and to reduce the spread of strangles.”

The information for the website is gleaned anonymously from veterinary laboratories around the UK when they confirm a diagnosis of strangles infection. It includes data on the location of the vet practice submitting the sample, the type of horse or pony from which the sample was collected, and details of the type of sample and methods used for diagnosis.

The new online tool includes a useful mapping function, which highlights regions where cases have been confirmed. It also allows users to change date ranges so they can view information particularly relevant to them and their location.

Dr Richard Newton, Director of Disease Surveillance and Epidemiology at the Animal Health Trust, said: “This new website provides comprehensive insights about the disease in a very up-to-date manner in a way that has never been available before.

“However, the resource is only as useful as the data supplied from vets on the ground. I would urge colleagues to help us to keep this resource as up-to-date and comprehensive as possible by completing full details on submission forms being sent to any laboratory, so this information can contribute – anonymously – to the national picture of strangles.”

The Animal Health Trust now hopes to extend the online tool to include international data. This will enable meaningful comparisons to be made of strangles in different countries, which in turn could lead to new strategies on how to improve control of the disease in different parts of the world.

Abbi McGlennon, PhD student at the Animal Health Trust, who led the development of the resource, said: “Our aim with the Surveillance of Equine Strangles scheme is to reduce the spread of the disease. This website is one of the first key tools to emerge from the larger surveillance project. It joins the dots across the equine industry by collating information from laboratory confirmed strangles diagnoses and communicating this back in almost real time. I’m excited about the prospect of extending this internationally, and the difference that could make for horses globally.

For more details, see:

https://app.jshiny.com/jdata/ses/sesview/

National Equine Forum streaming

Although tickets for the National Equine Forum, on 5th March, have sold out, you will still be able to watch the live stream from the event free of charge.  What’s more, this year you ‘ll be able to participate in the question and answer sessions, even if you are not there, via an online app.

The programme covers a wide range of important, educational and practical presentations from governmental, veterinary and charity and equestrian leaders.

 

Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Sheila Voas, Chief Veterinary Officer for Scotland and Dr Richard Newton, Director of Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance at the Animal Health Trust will, together, present a comprehensive session on Brexit, animal health, emerging disease. After the session questions can be put to the panel, which will include David Mountford, Chair of the B

ritish Horse Council.

James Hick, Chief Executive of The British Horse Society (BHS) will present a topical spot on the BHS’s Project Jigsaw which aims work with the equestrian sector to record and protect historical routes for equestrian use.

 In a session on the national impact of global issues Linda Edwards, Executive Director of Operations at The Donkey Sanctuary will discuss the crisis of disappearing donkeys and the donkey skin trade. Roly Owers, Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare and Barry Johnson, Independent Chair of the Horse Welfare Board will look at societal acceptance of the use of horses from racing through to recreation.

 A human behavioural science session introduced by Dr Zac Baynham-Herd, Associate Advisor, The Behavioural Insights Team will look at how human behaviour change can make a difference to equine welfare. Sarah Freeman, Professor of Veterinary Surgery at the University of Nottingham will talk about colic. David Rendle, council member of the British Equine Veterinary Association, will discuss behaviour change and its potential impact on worming compliance. Abigail and Andrew Turnbull of Richmond Equestrian Centre, introduced by Jude Matthews, Chief Executive of British Eventing, will speak about strangles and turning the negative problem of a disease outbreak into a positive.

 Equestrianism at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020 will be discussed by Tim Hadaway, Director for Games Operations, Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), followed by a talk from Henry Bullen of Peden Bloodstock, about travelling horses internationally and post Brexit implications.

 Kirsty Withnall, RSPCA Inspector for the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit, will present the Memorial Lecture on the complexities of a multi-agency equine welfare case, alongside the ways in which welfare charities collaborate.

Kirsty Withnall, RSPCA Inspector for the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit, will present the Sir Colin Spedding Memorial Lecture on the complexities of a multi-agency equine welfare case, alongside the ways in which welfare charities collaborate.

For further information on the NEF and to view past presentations visit: https://www.nationalequineforum.com.

Information on how to submit your question can be found here: https://www.nationalequineforum.com/slido-nef20/

Award for worm film series

A series of short films on horse worms has been awarded best educational film at the EQUUS International Film and Arts Festival.

Martin Nielsen, Schlaikjer Professor of Equine Infectious Disease, at the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center, set out to produce a series of films to put the record straight on best practices in equine parasitology.

Launching the series of 18 videos in October 2019 he said: “I wanted to try and address common misconceptions and myths in equine parasite control. In this series, I’ll address one myth or misconception at the time and in 45 seconds or less, I will explain why it is exactly that – a myth or misconception. These will be interspersed with a few longer videos providing more background information and highlighting recent research findings.”

 Deworm Debunk topics included: deworm at first frost? drug rotation; five-day dewormers; daily dewormers; and how the weather affects parasite transmission.

“As academics and scientists in today’s world, we need to make an effort to communicate our research findings to our end users,” he said. “We need to establish ourselves as the source of solid, evidence-based, and unbiased information. Communication on social media is a must for scientists because that platform is now an integrated part of society and where people acquire and exchange information."

He also showed that such films could be made on a limited budget: “I wanted to make a point out of not needing elaborate equipment or technical assistance. These videos were all shot by an iPhone, and I edited them myself on my laptop computer.”

The “Deworm Debunk” video series were awarded Best Educational Film at the 2019 International EQUUS Film Festival.

The EQUUS Film & Arts Fest took place over four days in December 2019 at the Kentucky Horse Park. Founded in 2013 by equestrian enthusiast, Lisa Diersen, the festival is billed as the first event of its kind to offer a home to the storytellers of the horse world, with films, documentaries, videos, commercials, and shorts from around the world and cultural elements of fine equestrian art and literature.

The first Deworm Debunk video can be found on YouTube, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsF8f7QdOrs