Garfield County horse tests positive for equine infectious anemia
The Colorado Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian’s Office was recently notified that a horse residing in Garfield County had tested presumptive positive for equine infectious anemia. The initial test was completed at Colorado State University’s Western Slope Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory with the confirmatory test completed at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
The positive horse was euthanized shortly after and the exposed horses are currently under quarantine at the premises in Garfield County. The cohort horses will remain under quarantine until a second round of testing is completed in 60 days.
The horse was tested due to illegal movement across state lines into a neighboring state without health papers and a current Coggins test. The State Veterinarian’s Office is working on contact tracing as a result of these movements.
“The risk to the general equine population in Colorado is low at this time. However, this disease occurrence highlights the importance of disease prevention practices, such as routine testing for EIA as well as not sharing needles, syringes, tack, and equipment during meets or shows,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Maggie Baldwin, DVM.
