The Equine Disease Communication Center helps broadcast real-time alerts to prevent and mitigate equine infectious diseases.
The threat of communicable disease in horses is very real. To name just a few examples, it’s not uncommon to use public water troughs on trail rides or to share one rag to wipe the nose of every horse from one barn before they walk into the show ring.
Though “routine,” each of these practices—and many others—invite the spread of disease, potentially between hundreds of horses.
Though horses are often in the company of others and don’t become ill, what happens when a horse comes down with an infectious disease? How are horse owners alerted, especially if their horse may have been in contact with the sick horse? How do they know what information is real and what has been blown out of proportion? Most importantly, how do owners learn how to keep their horses safe?
These questions and others were the impetus behind the creation of the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC). Similar to how the Weather Channel broadcasts weather alerts, the EDCC alerts horse owners to infectious diseases that are reported in North America.
The Cutting Show in Utah
In 2011, a cutting horse show in Ogden, Utah, experienced a significant equine herpesvirus (EHV-1) outbreak. With no means of organized information dissemination, rumors about the situation escalated rapidly, causing a state of near panic in some owners.
In total, over 2,000 horses were potentially exposed to the disease on 242 premises in 19 states. At the outbreak’s conclusion, 90 horses tested positive for the EHV-1 or equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), another name for the neurologic disease associated with an EHV infection. Fifty-four of the 90 had been at the Ogden event. Thirteen horses died or were euthanized.
During the outbreak, Facebook and X (then called Twitter) lit up with rumors, causing heightened anxiety over horse health and spurring the cancellation of equine events across the country, even though most events had no connection with any horses that attended the Ogden event.
Seventeen of the confirmed EHV-1 and EHM cases were in California; show organizers opted to cancel 142 of the 530 sanctioned shows that were to be held in the state that year. The economic impact of those cancellations was significant and would be felt for years.
Creating the Equine Disease Communications Center
It became clear that a unified industry response plan to disease outbreaks was needed—one that not only allowed for the dissemination of legitimate data, but that also provided vetted information on how to prevent disease transmission and how to handle disease outbreaks.
The American Horse Council, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) all collaborated to fundraise and launch the Equine Disease Communications Center, which went live in 2015.
Nathaniel “Nat” White, DVM, DACVS, professor emeritus of equine surgery at the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg, Va., and director of the EDCC, organized the working model and gave the EDCC its moniker. In 2023, White won the Equine Industry Vision Award for this work at the American Horse Publications Equine Media Conference in Tempe, Ariz.
According to White, it was anything but a one-man show. State veterinarians, veterinary practices, horse-owner organizations (like breed and discipline associations), and individual donors helped—and continue to do so.
“Similar to the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], the EDCC seeks information about disease outbreaks, posts messages, and informs the equine industry about confirmed diseases, their location, and if there are potential risks to other horses,” White explains.
How It Works
Unlike a phone number or website where anyone can submit leads on suspected illness, the EDCC allows only specific people to report disease: an attending veterinarian or a state or federal official.
The veterinarian or official submits a confirmed or suspected disease through the EDCC website, which records the information in the database. The database then generates an alert, which is posted to the EDCC website and Facebook page.
Anyone who has become an alert subscriber via the EDCC website is also emailed. The reported disease is linked to an EDCC disease page, which has information describing the disease, the diagnosis and the treatment, says White. Downloadable disease fact sheets are also available.
All information regarding disease outbreak mitigation and how to handle an affected horse is reviewed for accuracy by the AAEP Infectious Disease Committee, which is populated by subject matter experts.
Reportable Diseases
Though the veterinarian or official can report a confirmed case of any equine disease to the EDCC, reporting of infectious diseases is of the most importance, says Katie Flynn, BVMS, the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s senior staff veterinarian. A confirmed “reportable” disease is submitted to the EDCC by the state veterinarian, who is made aware of a confirmed diagnosis by the testing laboratory.
A reportable disease is one that is deemed to have a potential for significant impact on the equine industry, both on the health of the United States equine population and economically. When a reportable disease is diagnosed, the veterinarian or laboratory employee is required to report the disease to state or national veterinary health officials.
The list of reportable disease varies by state and may include:
◆ Equine Herpesvirus-1 neurologic (Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy)
◆ Equine Herpesvirus -1 abortion
◆ Equine influenza, Streptococcus equi (strangles)
◆ Western Equine Encephalitis (WEE) and Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE)
◆ Equine infectious anemia (EIA)
◆ Equine piroplasmosis (EP)
◆ Equine viral arteritis (EVA)
◆ Rabies
◆ Vesicular stomatitis (VS)
Many veterinarians, state horse councils and other horse-health organizations rely on the EDCC to inform horse owners of disease outbreaks. The alerts are posted in real time—the same day they are reported.
However, this doesn’t mean that the alert comes out the day the horse becomes ill; the alert is posted the day the veterinarian receives positive confirmation that the horse is ill with a specific disease.
The alert system can provide information about disease risk to horses at a specific location or at the location where the horses intend to travel, like to a horse show or trail ride.
“As the Equine Health and Biosecurity Veterinarian for the USEF, I encourage all horse show managers to visit this site frequently to keep informed of disease occurrences in the area,” says Flynn. “[This way] they can be prepared to implement stricter biosecurity measures, such as requiring shorter-dated health certificates or mandating temperature-taking for horses at their event.”
The EDCC alert system isn’t just for equine event managers or those who travel with their horses.
“This is also a beneficial tool for boarding facility managers,” says Flynn. “If a disease is detected in the geographic area of their facility, they can implement enhanced biosecurity measures, such as requiring every horse to have its temperature taken twice daily to quickly identify and isolate any potential sick horses to protect the rest of the herd.”
But Is It Working?
Though the EDCC is working as intended (as a warning system that can help prevent the spread of infectious equine diseases), more reporting of diseases is necessary. Submission of any disease to the EDCC is voluntary—whether it’s considered reportable or not.
“Reporting to the EDCC is voluntary, but strongly encouraged as a means for increasing awareness of equine infection diseases in the U.S.,” says Flynn. “Horse owners want to know if there is disease in the area that could put their horse at risk, so it’s important for horse owners to support and encourage reporting of equine infectious diseases cases by their veterinarian to the EDCC.”
The EDCC is a unique resource that serves to protect horses and the horse industry. All horse owners should sign up for EDCC alerts so they can be informed and aware of possible infectious disease in their area.
“Vigilance is necessary to ensure we’re adequately prepared for the storm—horse health, weather, or otherwise,” says White.
You can do your part by promoting the EDCC “as the trusted, accurate and verified disease alerts and biosecurity information,” says Flynn.
There is no fee associated with the use of the EDCC. However, donations to keep the service going are welcomed—and necessary.
Learn more at equinediseasecc.org.
