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[PinoyNurse]

FACTS

•Equine influenza is one of the most common causes of upper respiratory disease in horses;

•Flu is a viral disease;

•Flu is highly contagious;

•Flu is spread by the aerosol route (i.e., sneezing, coughing);

•Flu often causes a fever;

•Infected horses can shed flu virus prior to having a fever or other clinical signs;

•Flu can cause subclinical infections (no clinical signs);

•Horses with no clinical signs can shed virus and infect other horses;

•Flu does not produce chronic (long-lasting) infections;

•Flu does not produce latent infections (the virus does not persist in the body and become reactivated at a later time due to stress);

•Flu can spread down a barn aisle in a matter of days;

•Flu changes over time;

•A horse can get flu many times during his life;

•Horses that get flu usually don't get it again for 1-1½ years;

•Flu is not a hardy virus, it can be easily killed through disinfection;

•Vaccines might protect horses from getting sick (showing clinical signs), but might not prevent exposed horses from shedding the virus and infecting other horses;

•Horses can shed flu virus for a week or more, so quarantine recommendations are for 10 days to two weeks for exposed horses;

•Nasal swabs can be tested for the presence of flu virus in about an hour at a laboratory.

•Because flu changes, vaccines need to be updated to reflect those changes.



TIPS HOW TO MANAGE

•Handle healthy horses before sick horses;

•Use equipment dedicated to each horse, or don't mix equipment from sick and healthy horses;

•If you have to share equipment, decontaminate it after use on sick horses;

•Use soap, bleach, or Lysol to disinfect equipment, rinse well;

•Vaccinate with a product from a reputable manufacturer (there are injectable and intra-nasal flu vaccines).