Source:  EC News Release/Julie Cull

 

 

New Case of Contagious Equine Metritis Reported in Arizona

Ottawa, ON — The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE ) reports that a new case of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) was confirmed in the United States (U.S.), on July 21, 2011.

The CEM case was detected in a four- year old stallion in Arizona and was identified during testing for semen export. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is still investigating the source of the outbreak as of this date.

CEM is a venereal disease of horses and has not been detected in Canada.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has legislated specific importation requirements which address the potential risk of CEM for equine semen, embryos, and live horses from every state in the U.S. into Canada. These requirements were put in place in 2009 to protect the Canadian herd following a U.S. outbreak at that time.

The CFIA has reported the import requirements will remain in effect, with no additional restrictions required. The CFIA is in contact with the USDA and will be monitoring future developments. Considering that this is a very recent notification and the investigation is ongoing, the CFIA has indicated that it is too early to determine how this event will influence the maintenance of CEM-related import conditions in the long-term.

Equine Canada will continue to be in contact with the CFIA and post all updates regarding CEM on the website at www.equinecanada.ca.

To read more about importation conditions and other useful information, visit the February 2011 health alert on the Equine Canada website.

About Equine Canada Health Alerts
Equine Canada is recognized by the Government of Canada, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Industry Canada, and Sport Canada, as the national body overseeing interests related to horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, and owners, riders and drivers across Canada. Our national Health and Welfare Committee works with the CFIA, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), universities and colleges, provincial and international equestrian federations, breed associations, and international regulatory agencies to provide expertise, feedback and guidance on issues of equine health and welfare. We regularly communicate on herd health and welfare issues through our nationally distributed Health Alerts, national bi-monthly magazine, electronic newsletters, web site and Facebook. You can sign-up to receive our news, including Health Alerts, here.

About Equine Canada
Equine Canada is Canada’s national governing body for equestrianism. A member-driven, charitable institution, it is the executive branch of the Canadian Equestrian Team, and the national authority for equestrian competition; the national voice for recreational riders; and the national association for equine welfare, breeding, and industry. Equine Canada is recognized by the Government of Canada, the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and the Canadian Olympic Committee as the national organization representing equestrian sport and equine interests. For more information about Equine Canada, please visit www.equinecanada.ca.