Equine infectious anemia–a review of the disease and diagnostic tests.

This paper is about equine infectious anemia (EIA), a disease that affects horses. It discusses the clinical features of the disease, recent laboratory findings, and diagnostic tests used for EIA in thoroughbreds and standardbreds.

Overview of EIA and its Importance

• This research paper centers around equine infectious anemia (EIA), a disease that has been of significant economic importance since its discovery in North America in 1888.
• EIA causes serious health complications in horses including fever, anemia, edema, and in severe cases, death.
• The disease’s history can be traced back to its first description as a clinical entity in France in 1843, where it was initially considered a nutritional problem related to artificial diets. The infectious nature of the disease was only established in 1904.
• The study was motivated by recent EIA outbreaks among thoroughbred and standardbred horses in Canada and the United States, highlighting the continued relevance of the disease.

The Clinical Features of EIA

• The paper categorizes the clinical syndrome of EIA into three stages, which are acute, subacute, and chronic.
• The acute stage is characterized by severe fever attacks, with the disease typically leading to death within three to four weeks, and minimal to no drop in temperature during the period.
• The subacute form of the disease is less severe, with infected horses experiencing repeated intermittent fever two or three times a month, alongside periods of normal temperature. This disease stage could last from weeks up to several months.
• The chronic phase of EIA involves mild temperature increases occurring at intervals over several months or years. Such horses may appear healthy overall, though ones in advanced stages can suffer from emaciation, edema, weakness, and progressing anemia. Additionally, horses may transition between these stages over time, and the chronic stage could suddenly revert into an acute infection.
• Common symptoms during the acute stage of the disease include thirst, perspiration, weakness and depression. There can also be nasal, sublingual and possibly ocular hemorrhages – these are usually small (petechial) but can become more severe.

Laboratory Findings and Diagnostic Tests

• The paper also outlines a range of diagnostic tests which have been instrumental in identifying EIA in infected horses.