Equine infectious anaemia (EIA) has been detected in a horse in Northumberland following importation from the Netherlands, Defra confirmed today.

The premises is currently under restriction and the infected horse will be humanely destroyed in line with existing regulations. The other horses on the premises are currently subject to epidemiological investigation.

The horse arrived in a group of six horses originating in the Netherlands and all have been tested for EIA as part of routine post-import testing. The other five horses in the group have all tested negative.

Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens said: "This again shows the success of our post import testing regime. These were apparently healthy horses carrying a notifiable disease that we are keen to keep out of Great Britain. After considering the risk I have decided to take appropriate action and humanely destroy this horse."

Meanwhile, equine welfare charity World Horse Welfare is sending out an urgent plea to all horse owners across the UK and mainland Europe to work together in order to stop the increasing threat from this and a number of other diseases.

According to the charity, this case comes only eight months after the discovery of two horses suffering from the disease, which is notifiable, in Wiltshire. Those horses had been transported across Europe from Romania before being imported into the UK.  Since the end of August alone, there have been new outbreaks reported in Northern France (directly linked to horses imported from Romania), the Dordogne area, and Germany. 

World Horse Welfare Chief Executive Roly Owers said: "While World Horse Welfare welcomes the news that Defra has acted so promptly in dealing with this case, today's news is extremely concerning and demonstrates the changing environment we're living in. This is a real warning to us that we're sailing far too close to the wind.  The concerning question is where these horses came from given that Holland to date has not reported a case of EIA.

"With more and more horses moving across Europe, including the significant trade in low value animals, not just slaughter animals, we're facing an increasing threat from the spread of disease.  EIA is endemic in both Romania and Italy; Romania being one of the largest exporters and Italy being the largest importer of horses for slaughter in Europe.  In spite of the legal requirement for health certification before exporting horses from Romania, which were tightened in June 2010, there continues to be cases of EIA across Europe.

"World Horse Welfare advises owners to undertake rigorous checks when buying a horse from abroad and is discouraging anyone from importing Romanian horses. Owners should also ensure that any horse they buy or that comes on to their yard has a passport, is checked for a microchip and that isolation and biosecurity measures are strictly followed for any new entry onto the yard. If this disease spreads across the UK it could have catastrophic effects on our horse population.  Whether it's a child's pony or Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, disease does not discriminate."

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