by Fran Jurga | 13 June 2009 | The Jurga ReportAccording to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of United States Department of Agriculture, a horse in Jackson County, Missouri has tested posted for equine piroplasmosis, a tick-borne disease. The affected horse is a seven-year-old Quarter horse gelding purchased six months ago and has been housed on the owner’s premises since then. In addition to the affected horse, there are 63 other animals on the property including horses, ponies and mules. A quarantine is in effect.

On June 2, the affected index horse was presented to a veterinary medical hospital in Kansas for acute illness consistent with infection of a blood-borne pathogen. The horse was placed under quarantine and isolation. The following day, laboratory samples were submitted to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL).

On June 6, the Missouri Department of Agriculture issued a written quarantine of the affected premises. A subsequent inspection of the animals and the premises revealed no ticks.

When the tests came back on the horse revealing a positive result for equine piroplasmosis (Theileria equi), plans were made to test additional horses on the premises.

Click here for a USDA document with more information about equine piraplasmosis. You might also like to read about the cases in Florida last year; check the August and September 2008 archives of The Jurga Report by scrolling through the list of archives in the right-hand column of the blog.