He Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) announced that the equine encephalomyelitis It is a “health event overcome” in Uruguay, after this disease caused the death of hundreds of horses in the country.
After almost exactly five months after the first case of equine encephalomyelitis was detected in a horse from Leap, the General Directorate of Livestock Services (DGSG) of the MGAP reported that, considering the absence of notifications of new positive cases in recent weeks—after 12 consecutive weeks with new records—“the health event is considered over.”
The official report reported 605 establishments visited with 16,863 horses. Of the total of 1,086 horses with symptoms and 52 cases dismissed, 697 managed to recover while 389 died.
The main data of the report
According to the DGSG report, and based on the notifications made to the zonal and local offices of the MGAP, Equine encephalomyelitis had its peak between December 2023 and January 2024.
The first department in which cases were detected was in Salto, but Saint Joseph was the most affected, with a morbidity of 1.79% and a mortality of 0.77%. Likewise, horses residing in rural establishments were the most affected due to their greater exposure to the virus and low immune response.
In line with the peak of the disease, December 4 was the day with the highest notifications, with 91 cases with positive symptoms reported, while January 8 was the day with the most deaths, with 25.
Both the incentive for greater use of repellents as the entry of stock vaccines They were key to preventing an even greater spread of the virus.
In that sense, the MGAP He also thanked the commitment and inter-institutional work with the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), he SINAE, the departmental governments, the Veterinary and Science faculties, the Equine Health Board, Conahsa, Equestrian Institutions, the Society of Veterinary Medicine and the Uruguayan Association of Equine Veterinarians.
Source: Ambito
