Disease Alerts

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Suspected: Unknown; 
Number Exposed: Unknown; 
Facility Type: Private Facility; 

Horse 1: 
Age: Yearling; Gender: Colt; Breed: Hanoverian; Onset of Clinical Signs: 1/5/2025; Clinical Signs: Elevated temperature, muscle twitching; Confirmation Date: 1/16/2025; Horse Status: Affected And Alive; Vaccination Status: Unvaccinated;

Comments: This is Florida's 1 confirmed case of 2025; This horse has a confection with EEE and is the same horse listed in alert 4187.

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Suspected: Unknown; 
Number Exposed: Unknown; 
Facility Type: Private Facility; 

Horse 1: 
Age: Yearling; Gender: Colt; Breed: Hanoverian; Onset of Clinical Signs: 1/5/2025; Clinical Signs: Elevated Temperature, Muscle Twitching; Confirmation Date: 1/16/2024; Horse Status: Affected And Alive; Vaccination Status: Unvaccinated;

Comments: This is Florida's 2nd confirmed case of EEE for 2025; This horse has a confection with WNV and is the same horse listed in alert 4188.

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Exposed: 40; 

Horse 1: 
Age: 15; Gender: Mare; Breed: Thoroughbred (TB); Onset of Clinical Signs: 1/14/2025; Clinical Signs: ataxia, recumbency; Confirmation Date: 1/16/2025; Horse Status: Affected And Alive; 

Comments: A 15-year-old Thoroughbred mare from San Luis Obispo County displaying neurologic signs was confirmed positive for Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) secondary to Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). The mare is alive and under veterinary care at an off-site veterinary hospital. Forty (40) potentially exposed horses at the home premise in San Luis Obispo County were quarantined on January 17th with enhanced biosecurity measures implemented. There had been no recent history of travel on or off these premises by the clinical horse and no other horses on the home premises currently have any clinical symptoms. CDFA will continue to actively monitor the situation.;

Number Confirmed: 3; 
Number Suspected: Unknown; 
Number Exposed: Unknown; 

Horse 1: 
Age: 25; Gender: Mare; Breed: Quarter Horse (QH); Clinical Signs: nasal discharge, swollen lymph nodes; Confirmation Date: 1/14/2025; Horse Status: Recovering; Vaccination Status: Unvaccinated;

Comments: Two other cases from this premises reported previously (alert 3985, 4176). This is a third reported case. Horse tested January 9, 2025. Signs first reported July of 2024.; 
Previous Alerts: 4176, 4122, 3985

Number Confirmed: 3; 
Number Suspected: 1; 
Number Exposed: 8; 
Facility Type: Private Facility; 

Horse 1: 
Clinical Signs: Three senior horses were noted to be mildly off feed the week of January 6 . One of the horses developed an abscess under the jaw on Jan 12. All three horses have tested positive for S. equi by PCR. All affected horses have been isolated in a barn on the property.; 

Comments: The facility owner is working with their veterinarian on voluntary animal movement restrictions and biosecurity. To see past and present Strangles cases in Ontario go to: https://www.oahn.ca/resources/ontario-equine-disease-alerts/ and enter the disease surveillance portal.;

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Exposed: 1; 
Facility Type: Boarding Facility; 

Horse 1: 
Age: 10; Gender: Gelding; Clinical Signs: This horse and another were purchased from a facility in Simcoe County. They were appropriately isolated upon arrival at the boarding facility. This horse was noted to have purulent nasal discharge, a sample of which was PCR positive for S. equi.; 

Comments: The facility owner is working with their veterinarian on voluntary animal movement restrictions and biosecurity. To see past and present Strangles cases in Ontario go to: https://www.oahn.ca/resources/ontario-equine-disease-alerts/ and enter the disease surveillance portal.;

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Exposed: 4; 
Facility Type: Private Facility; 

Horse 1: 
Breed: Donkey; Onset of Clinical Signs: 1/13/2025; Confirmation Date: 1/16/2025; Horse Status: Deceased; Vaccination Status: Status Unknown;

Comments: This is Florida's second confirmed case of Strangles in 2025;

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Facility Type: Private Facility; 
Comments: Self quarantine and under private vet care;

Number Confirmed: 1; 
Number Exposed: Unknown; 

Horse 1: 
Onset of Clinical Signs: 1/11/2025; Confirmation Date: 1/11/2025; Horse Status: Euthanized;

Stakeholder Update: Resumption of equine imports from Mexico after New World Screwworm detection

Effective January 21, 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will again permit the importation of equines from Mexico with additional mitigations to guard against introduction of New World Screwworm (NWS). APHIS temporarily suspended livestock imports from Mexico after that country detected NWS on November 22, 2024. NWS (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is a devastating pest that can cause serious, often deadly damage to the affected animal. 

APHIS and Mexico’s National Service for Health, Safety, and Food Quality (SENASICA) have now developed an import protocol that details a stepwise NWS pre-clearance inspection and treatment plan based on APHIS regulations for importation of equines from NWS-affected regions. Equines will also undergo screwworm examinations during the required import quarantine. The protocol and associated health certification documents are available on the APHIS website.