White Nathaniel, Pelzel-McCluskey Angela
Equine Disease Communication Center, 4033 Iron Works Pkwy, Lexington, KY 40511, USA.
United States Department of Agriculture Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, 2150 Centre Ave., Bldg B, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 17;13(22):3550. doi: 10.3390/ani13223550.
Horses are transported in the United States more than any other livestock species and co-mingle at various events; therefore, they are considered to be at an increased risk for infectious disease transmission. The fragmented movement of horses combined with numerous sites of co-mingling makes tracing the potential spread of a disease outbreak a necessary part of an infection control plan, both locally and nationally. The cross-movement of personnel with horses and the persistence of endemic diseases make biosecurity implementation an ongoing challenge. Although many of the risks for infection are known, there is limited documentation about the usefulness of prospective control measures. The objective of this survey was to determine horse owners' understanding and knowledge of biosecurity practices for preventing infectious diseases in the United States. Questions covered owner demographic information, including horse use which was divided into 10 categories as follows: Pleasure/Trail Riding, Lessons/School, Western Show, English Show, Breeding, Farm/Ranch, Retired, Racing, Driving and Other. The survey was distributed by sending requests to a list of horse owner organizations, which then sent emails to their members. The email request described the survey and provided a website link to start the survey. A total of 2413 responses were collected. Analysis of the results included cross-tabulation to identify significant differences in biosecurity knowledge and awareness by horse use. Significant differences by horse use were identified for vaccination, biosecurity planning, use of isolation, disease risk, monitoring for diseases, co-mingling of horses, sanitation, medical decision making and health record requirements for horse events. In summary, the results suggest that most owners are not highly concerned about the risk of disease or the use of biosecurity. There are several biosecurity applications and techniques which can be increased and will benefit horse health and welfare. These include reliance on temperature monitoring, isolation of new horses at facilities, risks of horse mingling, entry requirements such as vaccination and health certificates at events, and an emphasis on having biosecurity plans for facilities and events where horses co-mingle. The information from this study will be used to create tools and information that horse owners and veterinarians can use to implement appropriate biosecurity practices for different types of horse uses and events.
在美国，马匹的运输比其他任何家畜种类都更为频繁，并且在各种活动中混在一起；因此，它们被认为感染疾病传播的风险更高。马匹的分散移动加上众多的混处地点，使得追踪疾病爆发的潜在传播成为地方和国家感染控制计划的必要组成部分。人与马的交叉移动以及地方病的持续存在使得生物安全措施的实施成为一项持续的挑战。虽然许多感染风险是已知的，但关于前瞻性控制措施有效性的文献却很有限。本次调查的目的是确定美国马匹所有者对预防传染病的生物安全措施的理解和认识。问题涵盖了所有者的人口统计信息，包括马匹用途，分为以下10类：休闲/小径骑行、课程/学校、西部马术表演、英式马术表演、繁殖、农场/牧场、退役、赛马、驾车和其他。通过向马匹所有者组织列表发送请求来分发调查问卷，这些组织随后向其成员发送电子邮件。电子邮件请求描述了调查内容并提供了开始调查的网站链接。共收集到2413份回复。结果分析包括交叉制表，以确定按马匹用途划分的生物安全知识和意识的显著差异。在疫苗接种、生物安全规划、隔离使用、疾病风险、疾病监测、马匹混处、卫生、医疗决策以及马匹活动的健康记录要求等方面，按马匹用途确定了显著差异。总之，结果表明大多数所有者对疾病风险或生物安全措施的使用并不高度关注。有几种生物安全应用和技术可以增加，这将有利于马匹的健康和福利。这些包括依靠温度监测、在设施中隔离新马、马匹混处的风险、活动中的疫苗接种和健康证明等入场要求，以及强调为马匹混处的设施和活动制定生物安全计划。这项研究的信息将用于创建工具和信息，供马匹所有者和兽医用于为不同类型的马匹用途和活动实施适当的生物安全措施。
