Welcome to this week's science round-up. Some further stories this week about equine diseases, but also good news for owners whose horses suffer with the dermatitis condition, greasy heel.

Just the other week, this blog considered the problems that ticks can cause our equine friends, and now it’s been revealed that several horses in Ireland have been quarantined with a tick-borne disease.

It has been confirmed by Horse & Hound Online that a number of thoroughbred horses in Ireland have equine Piroplasmosis. The disease can be transferred between horses by a type of tick that feeds on equine blood and can cause jaundice and anaemia in affected animals.

Investigations are currently underway to establish where the disease has originated from and what measured should be taken to prevent the further spread of equine Piroplamosis.

Sadly, another equine disease is also causing problems for the equine community in another part of the world. You may have been following stories of the deadly Hendra virus in Australia which recently claimed the life of one of the country’s veterinarians, Dr Alister Rodgers.

The Australian Veterinary Association have now been reported by Horsetalk.co.uk as saying that “[s]erious money is needed for research” into the virus and they believe funds are urgently needed from their governments to prevent further loss of both equine and human lives.

Dr Mark Lawrie, present of the Association believes that an effective horse vaccine would stop the virus from infecting other horses and therefore people. Further work is also needed to understand how the virus is transmitted and effective human treatments.

A fund has now been set up in memory of Dr Rodgers with the aim of raising money for research into the Hendra virus whilst reflecting the commitment “of the Rodgers family to finding answers.”

In other news, World Horse Welfare is stepping up their campaign to improve the transportation of horses for slaughter following the publication of a study.

Not all horses are fortunate enough to travel wearing the appropriate protection

Dr David Martin and others recently had a letter published in the Veterinary Record which discussed a study carried out in 2008 in which groups of horses were inspected prior to and after transportation to slaughterhouses.

The researchers found that many of the horses “showed evidence of poor health and welfare” according to the EquineScienceUpdate blog.

Over 1500 horses were considered prior to transportation and around 14% of the horses were judged by the scientists as unfit to travel according to EU regulations. Of the 1271 horses observed upon arrival at the slaughterhouse, 37% of them were unfit to travel and many of the equines showed symptoms such as coughing and nasal discharge.

World Horse Welfare are campaigning to improve the welfare of equines being transported for slaughter by insisting on better transportation conditions and shorter journey times with 24hour rest periods in which the animals must be allowed off the lorry.

And finally, research from the University of Tasmania has discovered that plants may be able to help horses with poor feet.

The scientists have discovered that the healing powers of a native Tasmanian plant can be harnessed into a hoof ointment that is effective in treating greasy equine heels.

The foliage of the shrub Kunzea ambigua produces kunzea oil which is the key ingredient of the new hoof ointment. It has been proven to be a safe and effective treatment for greasy heel, an equine skin condition which can result in lameness, bleeding sores and hair loss.

Greasy heel is difficult to cure, but over 50% of the equines whom were treated with the kunzea cream were completely cured and all of the patients showed improvement after just one week of using the ointment.

The kunzea cream is also hoped to be able to out-perform other natural remedies because of its anti-fungal anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory actions!

Developed by two researchers and a retired pharmacist, there is also hope that the ointment can be used as a skin care product for humans.

Now this week's science trivia question:

What is the scientific name for a horse?
1. Equus caballus
2. Equus burchellii
3. Equus asinus
4. Equus equine

The answer can be found on the top my profile page by clicking here.