2020-12-04 09:38:53
France has more than a million equines according to the French Horse and Equestrian Institute, placing the country in second position in Europe. More than for other animal species, the good health of horses is of major economic importance: the equine industry represents more than ten billion euros in annual turnover, two thirds of which are linked to racing (source Ifce for the year 2019). In the fields of competition, the detection and monitoring of a certain number of diseases is mandatory for horses to participate in competitions, breed or go to foreign countries.
From illnesses to mandatory follow-up
Certain equine diseases are regulated: they are monitored by the State and the European Union, which makes disease detection compulsory. This is for example the case of the glandersa disease caused by a bacteria not present in Europe but which contaminates horses in the Middle East, Asia and South or South America. virus West Nile, transmitted by mosquitoes, which affects horses and humans and can have major consequences on the nervous system, in the most serious cases. L’equine infectious anemia or the horse sickness are also among the diseases requiring mandatory detection for horses.
Other diseases, notably those transmissible via reproduction, are regulated according to breed: positive cases are managed by breed associations, which make detection of the disease compulsory before reproduction or participation in a competition. This is particularly the case of the contagious equine metritis, of the’equine viral arteritis and some dourine.
The ANSES animal health laboratory is a national and European reference laboratory for equine infectious diseases: it provides scientific and technical support for the control and monitoring of these diseases. It is notably responsible for training veterinary analysis laboratories in their detection and for confirming declared cases. The laboratory is also a laboratory of international reference for the World Organization for Animal Health (WHOA) on dourine, glanders and contagious equine metritis.
Resumeq tracks the causes of horse mortality
ANSES also coordinates the National Monitoring Network for the Causes of Equine Mortality (Resumeq). It trains network players, collects and analyzes the results of autopsies carried out in France on equines. This monitoring allows us to know thehealth status of the equine population and detect the appearance of emerging pathogens on the national territory. It also makes it possible to raise alerts, particularly during repeated food poisoning, and to detect the appearance of resistance to antiparasitics. The animal health laboratory also offers support to network stakeholders and veterinarians in the field to determine the causes of death of an equine, when these are difficult to determine. He also provides his expertise to the legal authorities when the death of the horse is suspected of being of criminal origin.
Research on equine diseases
Another component of the animal health laboratory’s activities, research on equine diseases focuses on the development of new treatments, vaccines and innovative diagnostic tools.
For example, a research project aims to create a vaccine once morest equine rhodococcosis, which is the leading cause of mortality in foals. The equine industry is particularly prone to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. ANSES is developing new molecules once morest bacteria, viruses and parasites. She studies the mechanisms of resistance to treatments, particularly resistance to antiparasitics, which is a phenomenon that has appeared recently. It has therefore established recommendations on the administration of dewormers to limit the appearance of resistance.
Another subject of study, interactions between viruses and horses. This work is carried out in collaboration with specialists in human health, particularly the Caen University Hospital and the Pasteur Institute. The viruses encountered in horses belong to the same families as human viruses. Thus, the equine infectious anemia virus, the first retrovirus discovered in the animal world, is close to the AIDS virus, while the respiratory clinical signs associated with infection by equine viral arteritis resemble those encountered in man during infection with the Sars-cov-2 virus, responsible for COVID19. Collaborations with human health research organizations also focus on the development of diagnostic tools based on latest generation genomic sequencing techniques, which make it possible to identify pathogens more quickly and more precisely. These examples of collaboration illustrate the “One Health” concept.
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