Equine Grass Sickness
Please click here for a very informative article on this topic written by
Georgette Kluiters BSc VetSci, MSc of the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket
The article explains
- What grass sickness is
- The clinical signs relating to the different types
- How it can be diagnosed and treated
- Likely outcomes.
EGS SURVEILLANCE SCHEME
The Animal Health Trust (AHT) is coordinating the development of the first nationwide surveillance scheme for EGS, following funding from The Horse Trust in 2006. This is a joint project with the Equine Grass Sickness Fund, the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh and the University of Liverpool.
The surveillance scheme hopes to quantify the true welfare impact of EGS as well as to demonstrate trends in occurrence of the disease over time and in different areas of the UK. To do this the scheme needs to collect details of clinical cases of EGS in order to produce an accurate representation of the true frequency of disease in Great Britain.
Studies suggest that EGS may be prevented by vaccination against C. botulinum, but this requires further investigation. The surveillance scheme will provide valuable information for a future EGS vaccine trial and will allow the benefits of vaccination to be rapidly and accurately assessed. The scheme will also allow the identification of high risk premises and allow the calculation of accurate sample size requirements for a vaccine trial against the bacterium. This could be crucial for prevention of the disease in the future.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
This scheme relies on raising awareness and receiving notifications of any cases of EGS. If you, a horse owner or veterinary surgeon, are aware of a case of EGS please report it to the Animal Health Trust in one of the following ways.
Visit: www.equinegrasssickness.co.uk
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or Contact: Georgette Kluiters BSc VetSci, MSc Equine Grass Sickness Surveillance, Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU.
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Tel: 01638 555664 Email: georgette.kluiters@aht.org.uk |