Contagious Equine Metritis case reported
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has reported a case of Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) in Gloucestershire after the routine pre-breeding testing of a 16-year-old Thoroughbred mare. The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is currently investigating, and a second Thoroughbred mare on the same premises is currently also being tested as a precaution. Neither animal has displayed clinical signs of CEM thus far and there is currently no evidence to suggest that the disease has spread any further.
CEM is a notifiable venereal disease that can be treated with antibiotics. Transmission occurs sexually, although it can also be spread indirectly via, for example, contact with breeding equipment previously exposed to the disease. It is not zoonotic in nature, and routine testing before export limits implications for the international trade in horses. The last case in UK territory was reported in 2010.
More information about CEM can be found here. Furthermore, the Horseracing Betting Levy Board has worked with DEFRA to draw up Codes of Practice for the prevention of disease which may be found here.
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