African horse sickness: are we prepared?

摘要

There have long been concerns that climate change and globalisation (particularly the transportation of animals and animal products) could lead to increased occurrence of exotic or novel vector-borne viral diseases within northern Europe. African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious, noncontagious, insect-borne viral disease of equids that is associated with mortality rates up to 95% in naive populations [1]. A UK outbreak would therefore have devastating effects on animal welfare and major economic impacts on the equine industry.