Argentina has declared a health emergency and established equine tethering due to an outbreak of encephalomyelitis, after detecting the virus in the centre and north-east of the country, the nation's SENASA National Agricultural and Food Health Service informed on Thursday.
“The health measures are immediate, extraordinary, exceptional and of containment due to outbreaks of Equine Encephalomyelitis (EE)” and consist of “the restriction of movement and concentration of equines,” according to the provision published in the Official Gazette.
Early cases were reported in ranches of the provinces of Corrientes, Santa Fe and Córdoba.
The health service has specified that the virus detected is the Equine Encephalomyelitis (EE) variant, with a mortality rate between 40 and 90 percent.
This diseased is transmitted from birds to mosquitoes, which in turn can infect equines and human beings, with an incubation period between 5 and 14 days, the Senasa stated.
Argentina had already experienced an outbreak in 1988, in that case of Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (WEE), with a lower mortality rate, between 20 and 30 percent.
Argentina is one of the countries with the best stocks of polo horses, especially treasured given their speed, docility and endurance.
– TIMES/AFP
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