US CEM Update
As reported by TheHorse.com, a Wisconsin stallion is the latest horse diagnosed with contagious equine metritis (CEM) as part of the ongoing outbreak in the US that dates back to at least 2008. Fortunately, authorities have known about this stallion for quite some time and he's been under quarantine, but testing was only performed recently because previously the owner had refused to allow it. (Just another example of how the "head in the sand" approach to infectious diseases gets you nowhere. Ignoring it won't make it go away. At best, as in this case, it will just delay the inevitable. At worst, it will result in widespread disease transmission... ok, off the soapbox now...)
USDA officials report that the outbreak is winding down, as the status of exposed horses is being determined. Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa and Indiana are considered CEM-free because all known exposed horses have been tested and treated. That's great, as long as they really know who all of the exposed horses are. Hopefully, that is the case. Encouragingly, USDA officials say they are going to be testing horses not known to have been exposed to horses from this outbreak. That's an important step to demonstrate that they really do have the situation under control. For this to be convincing, however, a large number of horses need to be tested, something that isn't cheap or easy, but which is critical to truly know what is happening and to convince other countries that the US is truly on its way to becoming CEM free.
Unfortunately it's still unclear whether all positive or exposed horses have really been tracked down. It's also far from certain that the disease has been contained to the US, because of the amount of horse movement between the US and countries like Canada. Considering how far back these cases go, the reluctance of some horse owners to cooperate with the investigation and the variable degree of concern by different regulatory agencies, among other factors, I'm not sure we've heard the last of this disease in North America.
More information about CEM is available in our archives.
