WELD COUNTY – Another horse in Weld County has tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), but state officials say this case is not linked to the case from August.
The affected horse and other horses on the property are now under quarantine. Veterinarians will continue to monitor the animals for any symptoms before resting all in 60 days. The exact number of the horses involved was not disclosed.
State Veterinarian Dr. Keith Roehr said, “It is important to note that the risk of disease transmission to other horses in Colorado at this time is low, due to the fact that there are not any horses housed on adjacent properties, which also lowers the risk of biting horse flies in the area.”
In late August, the Colorado Department of Agriculture worked to quarantine nearly 250 horses that may have come in contact with another that tested positive for EIA. Many of those animals were sent across the state and state lines.
According to the USDA, the virus can be fatal. Infected horses often show signs that they’re sick by having a fever, appearing lethargic, losing weight, displaying swelling under the skin and showing petechial hemorrhages.
The virus produces its own DNA, which is incorporated into infected cells, causing red corpuscle counts in horses to drop rapidly. The USDA also said one-fifth of a teaspoon of infected blood from a horse showing acute symptoms contains enough bacteria to infect 1 million horses. No treatment or vaccine exists to treat the disease.
