High Desert Veterinary Service
Chrysann Collatos VMD, PhD, DACVIM LA
775-969-3495 (Office) 742-2823 (Cell)
HighDesertEquine.com
Building Healthy Partners
Spring 2020 News & Notes
Ø Clinic
Schedule
Ø Understanding Influenza
Spring is around the corner
and it is time to gear up! Call today to
schedule your clinic appointment and take advantage of this opportunity to
discuss your plans and goals for this year with your horse. I will help you get there in any way that I
can!
Looking forward to seeing
you in March,
Dr. Chrysann
Building Healthy Partners
Spring Clinic Schedule
Routine Spring
exams include EWT, West Nile, and flu/rhino
vaccination plus deworming or fecal examination, dentistry consult and sheath
cleaning. To reserve an appointment,
call 775 969 3495 with:
- Your Name, Phone # and Clinic Date
- Number of Animals, and Services requested.
We will return
your call three days before your clinic with an estimated time of arrival
at your address. Please be sure horses
are caught and haltered 30 minutes beforehand!
Location Date
Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos1 Sat
Feb 29
Rancho Haven/Sierra Ranchos2 Fri Mar 13
Red Rock
North/Silver Knolls 1 Sun Mar 1
Red Rock
North/Silver Knolls 2 Fri Mar 13
Span Springs/Palomino Valley 1 Fri
Mar 6
Span Springs/Palomino Valley 2 Sat
Mar 14
Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 1 Sun Mar 15
Antelope/Golden/Lemmon Valley 2 Fri Mar 27
South & West Reno Sat Mar 7
South & West Reno Fri Mar 27
Discounted prices ONLY AVAILABLE Clinic
Day
Farm Call (per location) $12.00
Wellness Exam (mandatory) $18.00
West Nile $33.00
FluRhino $30.00
Rabies $23.00
Tetanus/
Encephalitis $19.00
Ivermectin
Deworm $16.00
Coggins
Test $32.00
Sheath
Clean w/sedation $45.00
Fecal
parasite exam $18.00
Pre-registered
microchip $39.00
Understanding
Influenza & Immunity
Equine influenza shares many similarities with the human flu virus
that has been particularly brutal this year. The equine virus exists
worldwide, except in New Zealand and Iceland. Clinical signs include
fever, depression, poor appetite, cough and nasal discharge. The virus
only lives a short time in the environment and is susceptible to common
disinfectants. In most cases the virus is spread from horse to horse
in aerosolized particles generated when an infected horse
coughs. Unfortunately, virus replicates in the horse’s upper
respiratory tract and is shed into the environment for a few days BEFORE any
clinical signs become apparent, making control of disease outbreaks
challenging, especially in larger groups of horses.
The virus has many serotypes, and these strains change frequently. The
horse must have antibodies specific to each serotype to prevent
disease. I imagine the flu virus as a secret agent – every time he
appears he is wearing a different hat and coat so I don’t recognize him until
it is too late and I have already walked up to say hello and shake his hand…..and
a few days later I am coughing and sneezing, or watching my horse cough and
hang his head. Both we and our horses manufacture antibodies that
are shaped to fit the “hat and coat” of each flu strain that infects us – when
exposed to a virus strain wearing a new “hat and coat” the old antibodies may
not accurately recognize and attack the new virus and so we get sick all over
again. Don’t get confused here – while equine influenza virus and
human influenza viruses share the same infection tactics, and do have antigenic
similarities, so far horse to human transmission is not a clinical problem. Equine Influenza has however caused serious
influenza outbreaks in our canine companions.
Pharmaceutical companies making vaccines against Equine Influenza
know that in order for their vaccine to be effective, it must contain the most
up to date viral strains in a given location. They weigh this
against the cost of introducing new strains into their current vaccine. The
World Organisation for Animal Health global Equine Influenza Surveillance
Program was initiated in 1995, and makes regular recommendations for the most
current Equine Influenza strains to be included in vaccines. The
Merck influenza vaccine used in our practice (Prestige 2) contains Equine
influenza virus type H3N8 strains EIV A/eq/Florida/RW/13, EIV A/Equine
2/Kentucky/02 American, EIV A/eq/Richmond/1/07 strains. Merck and UC Davis
co-sponsor the ongoing Equine Respiratory Biosurveillance Study. The Influenza strains included in Prestige 2
are based on this study, and include the Florida ’13 Clade 1 highly pathogenic
isolate identified in the Ocala 2013 outbreak.
There may be some of you reading this thinking, “well I got my flu
shot and still came down with the virus, why should I vaccinate my horse?” My
answer is this: vaccination against Equine Influenza does not guarantee
protection from disease, but it can dramatically reduce the incidence and severity
of illness.
Consider any population of horses with
stressors such as competition, travel, breeding, changing populations. If ALL
of the horses in such a group are vaccinated against influenza the consequences
of infection with flu virus are greatly reduced. Although equine
influenza vaccines may not be absolutely protective, they do reduce the virus’
ability to replicate in each horse, and therefore reduce the number of virus
particles released into the environment and passed from horse to
horse. If EVERY horse in your barn is vaccinated, when Equine
Influenza enters the population the viral load in the vicinity is kept low,
fewer horses actually contract disease, and the outbreak event is over much
sooner, with fewer sick horses.
On the other hand, if all the horses is a population are
not vaccinated at the same time and on a regular schedule, the vaccinated
individuals may have sufficient immunity to protect them from showing signs of
disease but may still contract a mild flu infection and shed low numers of
virus particles. The unvaccinated, or poorly vaccinated horses in the
population, especially the young and old, then serve as living incubators for
the virus shed by vaccinated horses. The
result is often a more severe and prolonged disease outbreak moving slowly
through the barn. Horses, especially younger ones, living in groups
without diligent vaccination, rapidly spread virus from one to another making
it very difficult for humans in charge to stay ahead of disease
spread. In larger barns, the outcome is usually quarantine of the entire
facility for 21 days or longer, or until 7 days after the last horse has any
clinical signs or fever. As you can imagine, such an outbreak
has serious impacts, both on horses’ health and humans’ pocketbooks. The risk
of pneumonia and other serious complications increases dramatically in such
settings.
So, the bottom line regarding influenza vaccines in horses is
this: all horses in boarding facilities, and/or horses that travel to
competitions, should receive an influenza (typically as a combined “flu/rhino”
vaccine) every 6 months. The United
States Equestrian Federation requires proof of flu/rhino vaccination within 6
months at all registered equestrian events.
Call
us today to schedule your
Spring
Clinic Appointment.
