African Horse Sickness
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

African Horse Sickness (AHS) is caused by a virus and transmitted by biting insects. Starting with fever, there is a rapid onset of severe respiratory and cardiac signs with high mortality.

African Horse Sickness (AHS) is a severe diseases of horses that has a long history. The first reports of AHS like disease go back to the 1300's and has been described periodically since. Livingston had problems exploring central, eastern, and south Africa because of the inability to use horses at times do to this infection. Major epizootics would occur every 20 or 30 years. The 1854-55 epizootic resulted in the death of over 70,000 horses representing 40% of the horse population in some areas.

In the early 1900's it became recognized this was not a bacterial disease and that there were different strains or serotypes some of which did not cross protect the horses. A horse could contract one strain and still be susceptible to other strains. Horses still die every year from AHS but in endemic areas epizootics have largely been curtailed through the use of polyvalent vaccines. Occasional outbreaks in non-endemic areas show this disease to be a threat to the rest of the world.

This article discusses the cause, transmission, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of African Horse Sickness. Also discussed is the safe transport of horses in and out of endemic areas.

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