Immediate response to biosecurity
- Assess situation
- Outbreak
- Contagious
- Presumptive vs definitive diagnosis
- Minimize exposure
- Contain spread of infection (NO MOVEMENT)
- Treat affected horses
Risk assessment
- New horses related
- Current movement of hroses
Biosecurity
- Actions taken to prevent introduction and dissemination of infectious agents within a population/facility
What are important steps to take when dealing with an outbreak?
- Stop all horse movement
- Isolate sick horses: fast but planned
- Evaluate all horses: Don’t be the fomite!
- Good biosecurity is key
- Establish biosecurity perimeters
Primary perimeter
- All suspected infected animals
- All animals in immediate contact
- No movement
Secondary perimeter
- Animals free from infection but at risk
- Closely monitored
- May be moved after clearance
Tracking movement of exposed horses
- e.g. Outpatients
- e.g. Discharged horses
- e.g. teaching horses
Keep good records!
Isolation
- Location: isolation unit vs stall vs area
- Label the area
- Consider ventilation, drainage
- Waste disposal plan
- Dedicated equipment
- Eliminate horse to horse contact
- No communal water/feeding sources (e.g. the HOSE!)
- Owner/personnel movement
- Other animals (Pest control)
Feeding and bedding with isolated horses
- make sure you are careful because the carts can be fomites too
- They have to transfer to another cart that goes to isolation
Personnel for isolation
- Must be trained
- Dedicated if possible
- Protective clothing
- Change clothing between patients
- Go from the unexposed population first to the potentially exposed to the clinical signs presenting
Hand hygiene
- Super important
Where do you want footbaths?
- All perimeter access/exit points
Agents for footbaths
- Virkon and Accel which are oxidizing agents
- Fairly broad spectrum and safe
- Can be corrosive to metal
What’s important for environmental hygiene?
- Cleaning and disinfection protocols
- Easier: non-porous surfaces
- Consistent
- Training is key
- Make it easy
Communication considerations
- Owner, barn manager, employees
- Plan moving forward
- Reportable disease? (Get in touch with the state vet)
- Media interest?
Communication education
- Hand washing, cleaning, disinfection, zoonotic risk, treatment, etc.
Disease respones
- Confirm your diagnosis
- Initiate treatment
Steps for new additions
- Quarantine new arrivals
- Require specific testing
- Require specific vaccinations
How long to quarantine new arrivals? What to do when you get new arrivals?
- 28 days (at least 2 weeks)
- Physical exams, history
What testing is required for new additions?
- Regional variabilities
- EIA, nasopharyngeal wash for Strep equi, etc.
Specific vaccinations
- Population
- Based on activities
Patient monitoring surveillance
- Global testing of all animals
- $$$$$
- e.g. MRSA nasal passage monitoring
- This is expensive; often targeted testing is preferred
Targeted testing
- Identify patients at risk
- e.g. Diarrhea + leukopenia + fever test for Salmonella or if swollen retropharyngeal lymph nodes immediately take to the back regardless of cause
Environmental monitoring
- Quality of cleaning and disinfection
- Routine program
- less expensive
- Salmonella enterica
