Signs of Equine Influenza from AAEP
Did you know your horse can catch the flu, too?
While there isn’t a specific time of the year for “flu season” in the equine world, any time is good to learn more about this highly contagious respiratory condition—particularly because it’s one of the most common infectious diseases of the respiratory tract of horses, and recent years have been unusually active for Equine Influenza Virus (EIV) on a global scale.
EIV spreads rapidly through groups of horses in aerosolized droplets dispersed by coughing, and the severity of clinical signs depends on the degree of existing immunity within the affected individual, among other factors (i.e., correctly vaccinated horses are less affected than unvaccinated horses). The complete disease factsheet is available on our website here: https://tinyurl.com/5n7enrey.
Any horse showing signs of respiratory disease (cough, nasal discharge, persistent fever) should be isolated immediately until your veterinarian can determine the exact cause.
Learn more about your horse’s health from the American Association of Equine Practitioners: Home | American Association of Equine Practitioners (aaep.org)
