BREAKING NEWS:CEMO Positive Numbers Increase06/02/2009
OTHER NEWS:Equine-Reproduction.com LLC Introduces its Stallion Station FacilityWith the moving of the center of operations for Equine-Reproduction.com LLC to Wynnewood Oklahoma, "outside" stallions may now be resident at the facility for the breeding season or permanently, in addition to our mobile and "drive by" collection services. Stallions standing at the facility are managed closely for optimal fertility, with semen being shipped on a daily basis (individual stallion dependent). On-farm A.I. breeding of mares is also available by resident or other stallions (using transported or frozen semen). For the 2009 season, we are pleased to be standing Blazin Jetolena (AQHA), Edelweiss de Bonce (Selle Français), L.A. Express (Hanoverian), Mannhattan (Oldenburg), and Touch of the Blues (Registered Irish Draught). For more details of these stallions and the facility, please visit our Stallion Station page. If you are interested in having your stallion stand at Equine-Reproduction.com LLC, please contact us. 05/31/2009 19th Stallion Tests Positive for CEMO; Traceback and Testing Continues A nineteenth stallion - the seventh in Wisconsin - has tested positive for presence of the Contagious Equine Metritis organism Taylorella equigenitalis. This stallion - an American Hackney - tested positive through test breeding mares, having previously tested negative on swab cultures. This is the second stallion to test positive on breeding after testing negative on cultures, reinforcing the need for both culturing of swabs and test breeding of stallions, and treatment of mares even if they have tested negative on swab cultures. In addition to the 19 positive stallions, there are 5 positive mares, and locations have been confirmed for 904 additional horses exposed to T. equigenitalis. The total of 928 exposed horses in the USA, located in 48 States, includes 270 stallions and 658 mares. All States other than Rhode Island and Hawaii have either positive or contact animals present. There are currently two additional exposed stallions, and sixteen exposed mares still being sought. 05/26/2009 CEM - The Canadian Situation; Canada Makes Optional Importation Protocol Adjustment Following the identification of stallions carrying Taylorella equigenitalis - the bacteria that is the causative agent of Contagious Equine Metritis - the unrestricted movement of equine semen from the USA to Canada was halted. Restrictions were put in place with the intent to ensure that no infective semen, animals or embryos were imported to Canada. The restrictions put in place for the semen required certification by both a licensed US veterinarian and USDA-Aphis that the stallion was not on a premises either under investigation or quarantine for CEMO presence during the 60 days prior to the semen collection, and that the semen extender used contained an antibiotic that would destroy the pathogen. At the same time as attempting to prevent the introduction of Taylorella equigenitalis to Canada, the authorities on both sides of the border were identifying and tracking animals - both stallions and mares - located in Canada that had been potentially exposed to the pathogen. The primary route of exposure was mares that were bred with transported semen from USA-based stallions carrying the pathogen. Once located, the mares required various tests that may include clitoral, cervical and endometrial swabs, and a complement fixation test (blood test). Some of these tests cannot be performed on mares already in foal, so they must remain under quarantine until after foaling. Some Canadian-based stallions may have been exposed to "at risk" (i.e. bred with potentially infective semen) mares, and they too had to undergo testing. The last report received from CFIA indicated the total number of direct contacts as being 136 animals, involving multiple quarantine sites in six Provinces (AB 4, BC 2, NB 1, ON 9, PQ 2, and SK 1). Testing of animals included on that list of exposures was not expected to be completed until August of this year, although all animals that had returned results so far had been found "negative". This last week however has brought a new threat, with the discovery that a stallion had been imported to Canada last summer from the USA, where he had been collected at one of the facilities later identified as having been a link in positive stallion infection in that country (this was not the original index farm in Kentucky, but a different location). That stallion, which had already bred mares in Canada "live cover" was scheduled to start undergoing testing on Tuesday April 21st. On-farm mares that had been exposed by breeding to the stallion had not shown obvious indication of infection (e.g. early return to estrus, copious vaginal discharge etc.) so it is hoped that the stallion will be found "negative" for the causative organism Taylorella equigenitalis. With the requirement that all semen - including cooled - imported from the USA to Canada be accompanied by both an import permit and a Zoosanitary Certificate endorsed by USDA, there arose a problem for many breeders in that time constraints prevented the obtaining of the USDA endorsement before the courier shipment deadline. Hence, many US stallions owners ceased to ship cooled semen to Canada. CFIA has - with immediate implementation - made an optional adjustment in that if desired the semen may now be shipped with a copy of the Zoosanitary Certificate unendorsed by USDA, provided that the certificate is endorsed by USDA prior to the semen arriving at the border and being presented for clearance. Upon receipt, USDA will endorse the certificate, and fax a copy of it to one of the applicable CFIA Import Service Centres ("ISC"). When the semen arrives at the import point, CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) personnel will refer the importation clearance to the applicable ISC, who will then review their faxed permit file and issue an order for the release of the semen as long as they have had a copy of the applicable Zoosanitary Certificate faxed to them by USDA. There is a Cdn$35 charge for CFIA clearing semen in this manner. It is unknown what USDA will charge. Contact information, and which ISC should be used is presented on the CFIA web site at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/imp/importe.shtml 04/27/2009 3 More Positive Stallions; Frozen Semen Implication; USDA to Raise Permit Charges Three more stallions have tested positive for presence of Taylorella equigenitalis. Two are located in Illinois at the same facility as the stallion previously identified as positive in that State. All three stallions at that facility had also been collected at the same facility as the previously identified fourth positive Wisconsin stallion during the breeding seasons 2004-2007. The third newly identified positive stallion is located in Wisconsin - the sixth to test positive in that State - and is a Thoroughbred that had semen collected several times between 2004 and 2008 at the same facility as the fifth positive stallion in Wisconsin. USDA have confirmed that a mare bred in Illinois (located at the same farm as the positive stallions in that State) was bred with frozen semen from one of the positive stallions. It does therefore appear that cooling or freezing does not destroy T. equigenitalis although further research is definitely warranted in this regard in view of the possibility - remote though it be - of cross-contamination from one of the positive stallions located on that farm. With only 5 mares positive out of hundreds that have been bred to positive stallions - thankfully most of those hundreds of breedings were performed by AI - it does seem that the incidence of transmission through the use of on-farm AI or transported semen is significantly reduced. It is fortunate that until now the Thoroughbred industry has not been involved. With the first positive Thoroughbred, and the awareness that the bacteria is very effectively transmitted through live cover (but not effectively, as demonstrated, by AI) it would seem that it may be time for the Thoroughbred industry to seriously reconsider the archaic requirement of "Live Cover Only" for the production of registrable Thoroughbred foals. The last major US outbreak of the the late 1970's cost the Thoroughbred industry an estimated US$1 million per day. It is ironic that this current outbreak was identified as a result of routine testing of a stallion that was having frozen semen exported. Had the index stallion been a Thoroughbred, as there is no allowance for frozen semen use in that breed and therefore semen freezing would have been unlikely, the issue would not have been identified in that manner! The current charge of $51 for USDA endorsement of the "Zoosanitary Export Certificate for Semen" - the form issued in the USA that is required to accompany semen being exported to Canada - is to be increased (along with a variety of other USDA charges) to $72 on April 29th 2009. This is the first increase in USDA charges for several years. 04/16/2009 USDA Announces 2 More Positive Stallions and 1 More Mare USDA yesterday announced the addition of more "positive" animals to the list, bringing the totals to fifteen stallions and five mares. The newly identified stallions are located in Illinois and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin stallion had been collected at the same facility as other positive stallions from that State, while the Illinois stallion - a Fjord horse born in Denmark and imported from the Netherlands in 2000 - was periodically co-located at the same facility as the fourth positive Wisconsin stallion during the 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons. The newly identified positive mare in Illinois was bred by AI in 2008 with semen collected in 2007 from an exposed stallion; that stallion is currently being tested to confirm his status for Taylorella equigenitalis. In addition to the 15 positive stallions and 5 positive mares, locations have been confirmed for 706 additional horses exposed to T. equigenitalis. The total of 726 horses, located in 46 States, includes 120 stallions and 606 mares. Of the 120 stallions, 15 have tested positive for T. equigenitalis presence, 24 negative, and 81 have pending results. Of the 606 mares, 5 have tested positive, 305 negative, and 296 are pending. One mare is still being traced in Maine. 04/03/2009 4th Mare Tests Positive for CEMO; Original Index Farm Clears Quarantine A fourth mare - the second to be located in California, and the third to be bred with transported semen - has tested positive for the presence of Taylorella equigenitalis, the Contagious Equine Metritis Organism. The mare is located in California and was bred to the positive Friesian stallion "Nanning 374". To date there have been 13 stallions identified as positive, and 4 mares. In addition to the identified positive animals, locations have also been confirmed for 698 additional horses exposed to Taylorella equigenitalis. The 715 horses are located in 46 States. There are 113 exposed or positive stallions in 19 States and 602 exposed or positive mares in 44 States. Three exposed mares and one exposed stallion are still actively being traced. All stallions on the original Kentucky index farm, DeGraff Stables, have now completed treatment and been confirmed as clear of the organism, and quarantines have been lifted. It is fortunate that this original index facility maintained excellent records which have allowed a comprehensive tracking of the pathogen's path, but even though it has been tracked back to two stallions resident in Wisconsin in 2005, USDA observes that a conclusive point of origin has not yet been identified. 04/01/2009 Georgia Stallion Tests Positive for CEMO Presence A stallion resident in Georgia has tested positive for presence of Taylorella equigenitalis upon test breeding. His penile swab cultures had previously tested negative for presence of the organism - the first stallion in the current outbreak to test negative on cultures, but positive upon test breeding. This stallion was co-located during the 2008 breeding season in Wisconsin with three of the positive stallions previously identified, and full traceback for contacts with this stallion have not yet been completed. The fact that the previous swabs from this stallion tested negative on culture, but his test breeding of mares returned a positive result, suggests that the voluntarily implemented protocols recommended by the British Horse Racing Betting Levy Board in their Codes of Practice on CEM may well be worthy of introduction and implementation by breeders in North America. The Code of Practice for CEM recommends that "high risk" stallions be both swabbed (clean) and then have the first four mares that they bred in the current season have a clitoral swab taken two days after breeding. "High risk" is defined as stallions that have not been previously used for breeding purposes; or have previously tested positive for CEMO presence and have not yet been tested negative following treatment; or have in the previous 12 months been present at any premises at which the CEMO has been isolated; or which have mated a mare that has not been swabbed "clean" for CEMO presence. As most mares in North America will fall into this last category, it will mean that most stallions would be considered "high risk" and require both pre-breeding swabbing and mare testing. In light of the obvious potential for transfer via breeding equipment (seen in the current outbreak), it may also be that the HBLB should recommend that a "high risk" stallion also be one that has not been tested, and that has been collected at a facility that has collected other untested stallions. An un-named USDA source has recently observed that although USDA can run tracebacks and oversee official testing and treatment, it behoves the industry itself to become pro-active, and attempt to gain control by earlier identification of positive animals, and not by relying solely on traceback. The traceback process is continuing, but has still not provided a definitive source for the outbreak. It now appears clear that the imported Friesian stallion "Nanning 374" who had been thought by some to have been a possible point of origin was not. Nanning 374 was imported in 2005, but was not co-located until 2007 with other stallions that have tested positive; nor have there been any positive mares identified in the intervening 2 years bred to Nanning 374. It does however seem likely that - as four of the stallions that were subsequently identified as positive were co-located during the 2006 (and in the case of two, the 2005) season - the source will traceback through one of those other stallions. None of those stallions were co-located with Nanning 374 until 2007, when three were. The fourth in the 2006 co-located group that tested positive was not co-located with Nanning 374 in 2007, but was at a different Wisconsin facility that season. 03/12/2009 Fourth Stallion in Wisconsin Tests Positive for CEMO Presence A 12th stallion - the fourth in Wisconsin - has tested positive for presence of the Contagious Metritis Organism, Taylorella equigenitalis. This stallion was co-located during the 2005 and 2006 breeding seasons in Wisconsin with two of the other known positive stallions (one of the positive stallions currently in Wisconsin and one of the positive stallions currently in Indiana). Culture results are pending for 4 more stallions in Wisconsin, and 1 each in Mississippi, Washington and Wyoming. There are currently 12 known-positive stallions and 3 known-positive mares. A total of 623 horses are confirmed as having been exposed, with 17 States having positive or exposed stallions, and 44 States having positive or exposed mares. One additional exposed mare thought to be in California is still being traced. Eleven exposed stallions have now completed their entire testing and treatment protocol and been determined to be negative for Taylorella equigenitalis, while another 52 exposed stallions have had at least one set of negative cultures prior to test breeding. A total of 191 exposed mares have completed their testing and treatment protocol and are negative for CEMO presence, while at least another 251 exposed mares are pregnant and will not complete their protocols until after foaling, and are currently in quarantine. 03/06/2009 Canada Adjusts Import Restrictions for Equine Semen Coming from USA, but Originating in Another Country The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today reported changes to import restrictions for semen being imported from the USA to Canada that originated in another country, but that was legally imported to the USA. With the implementation of the increased restrictions on semen import to Canada of January 29th 2009 as a result of the CEM outbreak in the USA, importation to Canada from the USA of third-country semen was prevented. This restriction has now been lifted, although there is still a requirement that - as with semen of US origin - an import permit and Zoosanitary Export Certificate for Semen accompany the shipment, along with a Canada Customs or Commercial Invoice. The Zoosanitary Export Certificate for Semen must certify that the semen was legally imported into the U.S. for unrestricted use, and the country where the semen was collected. This lifting of restrictions applies to both fresh (cooled) and frozen semen, although it has the most implications for frozen semen. Canadian horses potentially exposed to the Contagious Equine Metritis Organism (CEMO) have now been identified and isolated in six Canadian Provinces - Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia - and testing is underway, but as yet no mares have returned a "positive" result. 02/27/2009 Kentucky Introduces Import Restrictions for Stallions Kentucky has introduced restrictions on all stallions entering the State for breeding or semen collection purposes that originated in Wisconsin. These stallions must be tested negative for presence of Taylorella equigenitalis - the causative agent of contagious equine metritis - within the 28 days preceding entry. The test results must be certified by the attending veterinarian, who must also confirm that the stallion had neither bred live cover, nor had semen collected after the swab sample for culture was taken. Additionally, an import permit is required, which can be obtained by the attending veterinarian from the Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian by calling OSV at (502) 564-3956, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. EST to 4:30 p.m. EST. 02/26/2009 3rd Mare Tests Positive for CEMO - 2nd to be Bred by AI A second mare bred by AI has tested positive for presence of the Contagious Equine Metritis Organism - this being the third mare overall to test positive. This mare is located in California, and was bred to a different stallion than the other mare bred by AI that tested positive. USDA-Aphis reports that in addition to the 11 positive stallions and 3 mares, locations have been confirmed for 600 additional exposed horses, while another nine exposed horses - eight mares and one stallion - are still actively being traced. 02/19/2009 Regulatory Steps for Shipping Semen from the USA to Canada Importation of semen from the USA to Canada is not insurmountable with the new regulations - indeed, they are essentially the same as the "old" regulations that were in place before the border opened to semen movement about 10 years ago - but they may prove impossible for some who want to ship cooled semen because of time-lines. The steps are as follows:
Note that there are NO differences as to the region where the horse is located. Some Internet bulletin board posts that we have seen reference the stallion being in a "CEM free zone" or a "State not currently affected" and that it might make a difference, but it makes no difference to the import requirements. It is semen from ALL of the USA that must be certified in the manner described.
02/18/2009 Please visit our archived news page for past news items that have appeared on this index page.
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and enter your foal's gestational duration! Non-Reproduction Equine Headline News from: TheHorse.com News Equine Sinus Infection Treatment Balloons at WCVM 1 Jul 2009 A few years ago, a magazine article describing a minimally-invasive treatment for people with chronic sinusitis caught the eye and imagination of Chris Bell, DVM. What if such a treatment could be adapted for use in horses? Last summer, the chance... Kentucky International Equine Summit Dates Set 3 Jul 2009 The second Kentucky International Equine Summit (KIES), sponsored by the Equine Industry Program at the University of Louisville in cooperation with the University of Kentucky's Equine Initiative, will be held April 26 and 27, 2010, in Lexington, Kentucky.... Drug Problem Exaggerated: Horsemen, Chemist Say 3 Jul 2009 The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) said July 1 it plans to be more involved as the racing industry considers medication and drug-testing policies, which horsemen believe could be detrimental and counterproductive. The... Trainer Banned, Fined After Queen's Horse Is Doped 3 Jul 2009 ... Boston Police Horses Relocated After Budget Cuts 1 Jul 2009 The horses of the Boston Police Department Mounted Unit disappeared from Boston's streets as of June 30, the end of the fiscal year. The 12 horses fell victim to budgetary cutbacks needed to bridge a $20 million shortfall and avoid layoffs of uniformed... Oregon Horse Shooting Case Concludes 2 Jul 2009 Russell Willeford, the Oregon man convicted of shooting and abandoning a 6-year-old Arabian gelding in the Deschutes National Forest, will serve 90 days in the Deschutes County Jail and pay more than $9,000 in restitution in connection with the incident.... Free Thoroughbred Identification Service Expanded 2 Jul 2009 The Jockey Club has enhanced its free Tattoo Identification Services by adding access its markings database to the tattoo research module. The free tattoo identification service was unveiled in April to help owners identify tattooed but unknown Thoroughbreds... Poll: Mosquito Control Measures 1 Jul 2009 About 980 readers of TheHorse.com responded to a poll asking, "What mosquito control measures do you utilize?" Results were as follows: Insect repellants 78.27% (767) Regular cleaning of water troughs 72.76% (713) Eliminate... |
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In our ongoing efforts to assist breeders with directing access to good quality and well priced equine reproduction equipment, we are able to offer a listing of reconditioned equine reproduction ultrasounds for sale at affordable prices direct from Universal Ultrasound.
Equine reproduction topics covered in our articles section on this site include artificial insemination (A.I.); information about, and the use of frozen semen; stallion handling articles, including "phantom mare" training, and other semen collection methods; the collecting and processing of cooled transported semen; different equipment and supplies needed for semen collection and processing, and artificial insemination; managing the mare for breeding (including hormonal manipulation and the use of other drugs such as Oxytocin); and some articles relative to foals and foaling.
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