Infectious Diseases | Equine Disease Communication Center

Infectious disease in horses is caused by a specific MICROBIAL agent such as a bacteria, viruses, or parasites. When left untreated, infectious disease can spread rapidly in groups of horses. Use the table below to learn more about a specific infectious diseases including the transmission, clinical signs, treatment, prognosis and prevention.

For more information see the AAEP Infectious Disease Guidelines.

Diseases

African Horse Sickness
Anaplasmosis
Anthrax
Botulism
Brucellosis
Clostridial Diarrhea
Contagious Equine Metritis
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (Pigeon Fever)
Dermatophilosis (Rain Rot)
Dermatophytosis (Ringworm)
Dourine
Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Epizootic Lymphangitis
Equine Coronavirus
Equine Herpesvirus (EHV)
Equine Herpesvirus-Abortion
Equine Herpesvirus-Neurologic

Equine Herpesvirus-Respiratory
Equine Infectious Anemia (Swamp Fever)
Equine Influenza (Flu)
Equine Parvovirus (Thieler’s Disease)
Equine Piroplasmosis
Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis
Equine Viral Arteritis
Flu (Equine Influenza)
Glanders
Lawsonia (Equine Proliferative enteropathy)
Leptospirosis
Lyme Disease
New World Screwworm
Pigeon Fever (Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis)

Potomac Horse Fever
Rabies
Rain Rot (Dermatophilosis)
Rhodococcus
Ringworm (Dermatophytosis)
Salmonellosis
Strangles
Swamp Fever (Equine Infectious Anemia)
Tetanus
Thieler's Disease (Equine Parvovirus)
Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis
Vesicular Stomatitis
Western Equine Encephalitis
West Nile Virus

Equine Herpesvirus (EHV)

Equine herpesvirus (EHV) usually causes a mild respiratory disease which is self-limiting. The most common viruses are EHV-1 and EHV-4 both of which can cause respiratory disease, abortion and rarely neurologic disease (EHM).

Strangles

Streptococcus equi equi also known as “Strep Equi” or Strangles is highly contagious and is spread by horse-to-horse contact or by humans, tack, drinking troughs and other environmental factors.

West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne virus that affects horses and results in fever and neurologic disease.

African Horse Sickness

Anaplasmosis

Anthrax