EVA Vaccines: What You Need to Know

Some equine diseases come and go with little impact on the horse industry as a whole. Others affect only local or state industries when they rear their ugly heads. But when a disease has the potential to shutter the global horse breeding industry, controlling it becomes crucial. One of those diseases is equine viral arteritis (EVA). Fortunately, veterinarians have vaccines against this disease at their disposal to help control its spread.

 

During a recent presentation in Lexington, Kentucky, Peter J. Timoney, FRCVS, PhD, reviewed EVA vaccines and the current vaccination recommendations. Timoney is a professor and former department chair and director of the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center, also in Lexington.

 

Why Horses Need Protection

 

Before deciding whether to vaccinate against a disease, it's important to understand how that disease impacts affected animals and how it could impact breeding industries around the globe. So Timoney began with a review.

 

Equine viral arteritis is a contagious viral disease (caused by the equine arteritis virus, or EAV) that can cause fever, respiratory illness, ocular inflammation, edema (swelling, especially of the limbs), birth of weak or sick foals, and abortion. Not all affected horses show clinical signs, and when they do, signs can be subtle. It is mainly transmitted via semen through natural cover or artificial insemination and can also be spread via the respiratory route.