Equine grass sickness warnings
The Animal Health Trust (AHT) has reminded owners to be vigilant for cases of equine grass sickness (EGS) as spring arrives.
Cases of the debilitating and largely fatal disease tend to rise in the spring, and particularly May, prompting the AHT's warning.
The trust notes particular clinical signs for owners to be aware of, including depression, colic, constipation, muscle tremors and drooping eyelids.
Other signs mentioned include rapid heart rate, drooling, naso-gastric reflux, patchy or generalised sweating and problems with swallowing.
Owners have been warned to contact their vet immediately if any of these signs are displayed, as the disease has a mortality rate of 85 per cent, and only mild cases have a chance of survival.
Along with the EGS Fund and the Universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool, the AHT has developed a nationwide EGS surveillance scheme.
In order to improve understanding of the prevalence of EGS, the trust is calling on vets and owners to confidentially submit information on any cases of the disease seen since the year 2000.
Click here for more information on EGS or the EGS surveillance scheme.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
